Wicked River
The Mississippi When It Last Ran Wild

I've been reading a lot of books about "the West," the West, that is, of the Plains, the Southwest, the Oregon country and California! But the Mississippi River was a frontier --the West--in the late 18th C. into the 19th. As the Age of the Steamboats unfolded after 1812, the great river was as str......more

A fascinating, if often hyperbolic and disjointed, look at the Mississippi River and especially the communities surrounding it, not to mention the customs and eccentric characters that thrived on the river frontier. It might also be called, the Book of Lists. I was surprised by the importance of pros......more

I thought I knew all there was to know about the Mighty Mississippi River, especially after reading over 400 pages of the well researched Rising Tide. But this was a wonderful telling of life on the Mississippi River in the 1800s. I particularly liked hearing the details of the siege of Vicksburg an......more

Possibly the most fascinating -- even gripping -- history book I've ever read, easily as difficult to put down as a good piece of fiction. Definitely made me think. An excellent piece of Americana; cannot recommend it enough.......more

It's a book, about a river, and how past authors have interpreted it and its place in American history. I was a bit taken aback by the grandiose writing of the author yet it did contain quite a few gems, highlighting the symbolism of it especially during the US expansionist times of the 1800s. His o......more