Customer Reviews

Steamboats on the Mississippi (American Heritage Junior Library)

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The American Heritage Junior Library was one of the most richly illustrated set of juvenile history books ever produced, even if they were largely written during the administrations of JFK and LBJ. "Steamboats on the Mississippi" plays on the inevitable association between "Mississippi" and "steamboat" that most Americans have to look at the important role the Mississippi River played. Author Ralph K. Andrist is telling the story of the river that drains one of the world's largest watersheds, that has a valley that extends from the Rockies to the Gulf of Mexico, and which has borne the world's largest indland fleet since the early 1800s. Consequently, "Steamboats on the Mississippi" is the story of great men, great steamboats, and great legends.

This book is filled with a wealth of contemporary paintings and prints, as well as rarely seen photographs, that describe the Mississippi steamboat and the world through which it moved. The emphasis of Andrist's narrative is on the heyday of western steamboating, which began when Nicholas Roosevelt launched the first steamboat in the West, the "New Orleans," in 1811, and continued for the rest of the 19th century. This book is mostly about the boats, but we also learn about the men that built then, the communities that rose along the banks of the river, as well as the tale tales and legends that sprung up about the steamboats and their often tragic ends. The result is an informative visual treat that shows why these American Heritage Junior History books are still around after forty years.