Explore a small tidal river that enters Massachusetts Bay between Boston and Plymouth.
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It is the first state-designated scenic river, brimming with history from pre-colonial times.
It survived state-approved plans to dam the river and develop its extensive salt marshes.
Its story informs our future with climate change.
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Tales of the river and its amazing people (and fish) —- shipbuilders, toolmakers, storytellers, ministers, river pilots, fishermen, farmers, salt hayers, scientists, and politicians John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster
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More than 140 images, some rare, including before, and after, the 1898 storm that transformed the river
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A readable record of the river, its people, towns, marshes, their relationships, and environmental issues
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On a River results from years of research by historian Lyle Nyberg. His books include On a Cliff (2021), Summer Suffragists (2020), and Seacoast Scituate By Air (2022). More about him is here.
More about the river — sub-tabs under River tab.
On a River
Acclaimed by academics, hailed by historians, lauded by locals
This is a real history book. It is loaded with sources, maps, charts, graphs, backstories, explanations, and footnotes. It is also loaded with a sly sense of humor. The reader gets a complete education as the story evolves and gets to smile at subtle asides that hide among the facts. That is a great combination.
— Bob Gallagher, 25-year history teacher, co-author of Legendary Locals of Scituate
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A timely exploration of a historic estuary in twenty-first-century contexts —
cherish its flow.
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— John R. Stilgoe, Harvard University
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Available now at
747 Chief Justice Cushing Hwy
Cohasset, MA 02025 Tel (781) 383-2665
Available online
More praise here.
In paperback and hardcover, 8 1/2 x 11 inches, and eBook (with alt text for images)
ISBN: 978-1-7354745-8-8 (paperback)
ISBN: 979-8-9925277-0-4 (Kindle)
ISBN: 978-1-7354745-9-5 (hardcover)
Library of Congress Control No.: 2025901787
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View this fabulous aerial video of the North River, here.
Check out Barnes & Noble bookstore (hardcover)
Bookstores and libraries may order hardcover copies from IngramSpark
My article on Canals of the North River was just published in the Summer 2025 edition of the Norwell Historical Society's newsletter North River Packet. Go to https://norwellhistoricalsociety.org/newsletters%3A-2020-2025.
A recording of my talk on July 10, 2025, is on YouTube here.
You may also like Robert Macfarlane's latest book, Is a River Alive? (New York: W. W. Norton, 2025).
