Customer Reviews

Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History (Dover Maritime)

5 star:		(3)
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I highly recommend this book. I was assigned Steamboats on the Western Rivers in a graduate level course at University of Missouri-St. Louis about ten years ago. I'm now re-reading it for the second time...it is just that good!

I was glad to see it reprinted in paperback. When I first read it I had to get it through inter-library loan from Rolla, Missouri...there were no copies in St. Louis or Chicago! This new printing is most welcome.

If you have an interest in Westward Expansion, the Civil War, or the growth of technology then this book should be on your "must read" list.

Hunter's book stands the test of time. As a professional steamboat historian, this is the book I refer to time and time again. It is a scholarly work, with data and research. If you are looking for a casual read, this is not it. But if you want to know how steamboats evolved, and the context for that evolution, this is the most important book you will own. It is also quite readable.

Hunter's work is excellent! He gives a thorough description of the evolution of the steamboat on the Mississippi, Ohio, and other rivers of the West. His writing style is highly readable, even enjoyable. I find myself referring to it again and again. Although written many years ago, it clearly stands the test of time and continues to be an excellent resource.

I was hoping for a least a modicum of color or human interest, or some detail of what the personal dimension of steamboat travel must have been. Regretably, there is quite alot of information about boilers, water displacement, rates for moving merchandise, and every other dry statistic to bore a non-specialist. The sub-title says it all, and I should have paid attention.