The Delta Queen: Last of the Paddlewheel Palaces (Paperback)

~ Myron Tassin (Editor) "First there was the river..." (more)
Key Phrases: jazz ball, New Orleans, Delta Queen, Greene Line (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book opens with a brief essay and vintage photographs tracing the history of steamboating on the Mississippi and its tributaries. The second section focuses on the Delta Queen herself; in photographs and text it outlines how she came to be, with her hull fabricated in Scotland, her wheel shafts forged in Germany, and her decks and cabins constructed in California. It also documents the different facets of her character and the fifteen cities to which she continues to bring the grandeur of a bygone age. The final section presents the diary account by one passenger of the "Good Times Jazz Cruise" held in the fall of 1972. The photographs taken on this memorable trip will evoke all the magical sentiment that is part of a journey on the Delta Queen. For many years the only overnight passenger steamboat remaining on America's waterways (she now shares this distinction he sister, the Mississippi Queen), the Delta Queen continues to preserve a unique aspect of Americana.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company; Reprint edition (October 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882893076
• ISBN-13: 978-0882893075
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 7.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,735,960 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't do the Delta Queen justice, March 29, 2008

By	varied interests (Lansing, MI United States) - See all my reviews

Having gone on a Delta Queen cruise last fall, I thought this book would be a great gift for one of the elderly travelers who was a part of this group. The book was a disappointment.

The first 46 pages of the book are a history of steamboating, full of pictures of other boats, but not the Delta Queen. If you like steamboat photos in general, these pages will interest you. There's pictures of building vessels, wrecks, fires, and so forth. I'm not a riverboat expert, but I suspect most have been printed elsewhere. Many are apparently from glass plate negatives and the photos look washed out.

Page 47 starts a four page history of the DQ, ending about 1970. Of the pictures that follow, only 27 show the DQ or some part of her. Most of the photos are distant exterior shots. Interior pictures are sorely lacking. There's one small photo of the Forward Lounge and another of the Orleans dining room, but neither are labeled as such. Three unlabeled engine room photos are included, but one has a blurry background and two only show gauges; none show the powerplant. The best interior photo is the one of the grand stairway on the back cover, that you can see above. The same section features photos of unnamed people dancing or entertaining (17 of them).

There's a nine page recounting of a 1972 jazz cruise which is somewhat interesting. It provides a general review of the onboard experience, but could have been so much better. For example, the writer mentions meeting Betty Blakely, who was the driving force behind saving the DQ many years ago, but provide no recounting of anything discussed. However, in fairness, many of the memories covered in the recollection, such as of dining and cruising on the river, can be the words of today's travelers.

If you are looking for photos of Delta Queen details or of it's elegant interior (rich in wood and well worth seeing), you will be disappointed. You would be better off to search a photosharing website like Flickr, where the photos are numerous and of better quality.

As for the DQ history, I'd suggest reading the long out of print "Saga of the Delta Queen" by Frederick Way. It's often available from Amazon resellers or that other online auction site. While it only goes up to about 1950, it has detail of the DQ's journey from California through the Panama Canal to New Orleans and Pittsburgh. It has more DQ photos, one of which was used in this book. Most of the photos are of the wartime paint scheme, which is the era the "Saga of the Delta Queen" primarily covered.

Overall, "Last of the Paddlewheel Palaces" is billed as a photo-essay, but lacks any depth about the Delta Queen. I would not recommend it for anyone trying to research the history of the vessel. But it does give a weak glimpse into the history of steamboats and of the cruise experience. So that's why it received a weak two star rating.