Customer Reviews

The Western River Steamboat (Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series)

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An academic but nevertheless interesting look at the steamboats of the American west from their start till about the time of the Civil War. Kane using nautical archeology and research to show how the construction of the steamboats evolved from near duplicates of Atlantic coast vessels to ones specifically designed for the most efficient use on the western rivers. He thoroughly covers the design and construction of the boats, assisted by many photos and illustrations. Although the book is rather short, it covers the topic very well and would be an excellent companion book to other studies like Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History by Louis C. Hunter.

This book is a discovery through historical archaeology, of the lost knowledge of how the Mississipi steamboats were built. It structures this as the story of technological adaptation of shipbuilding to the environmental and economic circumstances of Mississipi Basin settlement and development. The content is focussed on hull design and building, and, drawing on archaeological excvation of a hulls found in the river mud, does this very well. The discoveries from excavation are augmented with historical research. Being an academic book, it is thorough and expects intelligence of the reader, but is well within the ability of an 'educated layperson' to read. Unlike some strains of academia, it is thankfully free of ponderous and fashionable theories, and stays down to earth and focussed on its topic. It does however have very good endnotes and references, so it is always possible to answer the question "how does he know that?". It presents many diagrams of hull structure, so is well illustrated, and the text is economically (well) written. It does not give 'ship's lines' or worked-up plans and elevations, so modellers will need to go elsewhere for that. But is is an excellent primary resource for those interested in this branch of 19th century wooden shipbuilding.