Kevin Fedarko Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Kevin Fedarko is a seasoned journalist and author best known for his journeys of exploration of the American Southwest and a noted advocate of environmental conservation. As a journalist, he has worked at Time magazine as a staff writer where he used to work the foreign affairs desk. He would then work for Outside as a senior editor in charge of everything outdoor adventure. His writings have been featured in the likes of National Geographic Adventure, Esquire, and The New York Times among many other publications. On his adventures, he has explored the Colorado River, the Horn of Africa, and the Himalayas.

Earlier on, Kevin Fedarko went to Columbia University where he studied political science, and then to Oxford where he studied Russian history. It was after graduating from college that he found employment with Time magazine. Fedarko published his first novel The Emerald Mile in 2013. The work would go on to become a New York Times bestseller, Southwest Books of the Year top pick, and won the PEN Literary Sports Writing Award. He currently makes his home in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he is a part-time whitewater guide.

As for how he became a traveler, KevinFedarko started down that path when he was a high school senior. It was at that time that he went to Pune, India as an exchange student from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. The exchange program was sponsored by Rotary International and for the year he was in India, he lived with half a dozen different families. All of these families were from different religions and languages and as such, he often felt as if he had been travelling to half a dozen different cultures over just 12 months. This was a very formative experience for Kevin Fedarko since before it, he had only had one trip outside the United States. This trip had been one he had taken with his parents to Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. That trip made Fedarko realize that there was a very interesting world beyond the borders of his Pennsylvania backyard, where he had lived for most of his life.

As for his writing, Kevin Fedarko came to it completely by accident since unlike most authors, he never wrote stories as a child or edited the college paper. He got into writing just because he had certificates saying he was fluent in Russian and had a Russian history master’s degree. At a time when the Soviet Union was slowly buckling, Time Magazine needed someone who could speak Russian and hence he got the job. Over about seven years, he moved from the lowly ranks of fact checker to become a researcher, then a staff writer, and ultimately a correspondent. However, his biggest break was a self-made one. Back then Time Inc. used to hire young people for four months and then fire them so that they would be deemed temporary staff. They would then rehire them at the end of two weeks and rinse and repeat the cycle just to save money on benefits. While he was on one of these forced leaves he traveled to Newfoundland where he reported on cod fishing in the North Atlantic. It was such a good story that his superiors published it in the magazine and soon enough, he was writing all manner of stories.

In 2013, Kevin Fedarko published his debut novel The Emerald Mile which is all about the Grand Canyon. As a man who has worked as a river guide, Kevin is very familiar with the many secrets of the Canyon. The work portrays an adventure filled with thrills in addition to showcasing the hidden kingdom of rapids and beautiful water at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It follows three river guides who decided to take a trip down the river at one of the most interesting times. Due to extreme amounts of rain and large snowfall, the water levels were about to top over the rim of the Glen Canyon Dam hence necessitating the opening of the spillway. However, the water was too much even for the spillway tunnels and had begun to destroy them too. To prevent further deterioration, the technicians opened the runnels further and unleashed a massive torrent of water down the Colorado River. It was at this time that the three guides took the risk of rafting down the majestic river to break the record, as they made the fastest trip through the Grand Canyon.

In 2024, Kevin Fedarko published the novel A Walk in the Park, which is his account of an adventure trekking across the Grand Canyon. The American treasure that is the Grand Canyon is frequented by more than 6 million visitors looking to enjoy its complexity, mystery, and vast beauty. In this work, Kevin Fedarko writes about a 750-mile hike along the Canyon through a vertical wilderness suspended between the Colorado River and the caprock along the rims of the sheer drops. It was a trek that included steep drops, countless cliffs, and vast stretches with hardly any access to water. It was so challenging that when he announced he was going to do it, more people had walked the surface of the moon than had ever taken that hike. But it was an endeavor that required intense effort such that he ultimately had to split it into several legs. Nonetheless, each leg came with many unexpected discoveries and dangers. Along for the ride through the perilous yet sublime terrain was Peter McBride, the award-winning photographer who captured it all in some of the most breathtaking photos of the Canyon ever.

Kevin Fedarko published The Colorado River: Chasing Water, a collection of essays and photography in 2024. Like his other novels, this is a work that celebrates his journey, particularly his adventure across the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. He dives deep into the water crisis in the Western United States with the Colorado River as one of the biggest talking points. The work is a comprehensive look into how the US has exploited the Colorado River, which supports a fifth of the country’s GDP and supplies drinking water to more than forty million Americans. Yet again, Peter McBride adds flavor to the essays and stories with his trusty camera that made National Geographic dub him a freshwater hero. Through Fedarko’s words, and McBride’s photography, the work offers a grim look into the reality of the water crisis, alongside the resilience and remarkable beauty of the Colorado River.