Voices on the River

Voices on the River

The Story of the Mississippi Waterways

Walter Havighurst

$16.95 Paper
ISBN: 0-8166-4177-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-8166-4177-2

A captivating history of river travelers.

Voices on the River relates two centuries of tales of famous steamboats and of the men who piloted them, from the renowned Mark Twain to the trailblazing Captain Henry Shreve. The book portrays roustabouts on the main deck, passengers in plush cabins, pilots at the big steering wheel, and government engineers at work in shifting channels. It shows Native American tribes carried to exile; soldiers transported to army posts; artists, scientists, and adventurers on their way to wild country; immigrants thronging river landings where the inland cities rose.

Voices on the River follows frontier commerce up the Mississippi River and its two major tributaries, the Ohio and the Missouri. It tells of steamboat speed records, races, and disasters, and of the growing nation in the vast Midwest. This book gathers memories of a wide variety of Mississippi characters to provide an engrossing portrait of the expanse of river life.

"A big book, well balanced in facts and colorful stories." —Christian Science Monitor

“This sterling volume is the story of the men and women who devoted—and on occasion gave—their lives to the Mississippi. It is a compelling read, the narrative leaping from the pages as this remarkable story unfolds. A must for all students of history fascinated by the process of a nation’s birth.” —Evening News (Worcester, U.K.)

A longtime professor of English at Miami University, Walter Havighurst (19011994) grew up in Wisconsin and was a prolific and passionate writer of regional history and fiction. He is the author of The Long Ships Passing, (2002).

336 pages | 17 halftones | 6 x 9 1/4 | 2003
Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Book Series

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Voices on the River *The Story of the Mississippi Waterways* Walter Havighurst		$16.95 Paper ISBN: 0-8166-4177-3 ISBN-13: 978-0-8166-4177-2
A captivating history of river travelers. Voices on the River relates two centuries of tales of famous steamboats and of the men who piloted them, from the renowned Mark Twain to the trailblazing Captain Henry Shreve. The book portrays roustabouts on the main deck, passengers in plush cabins, pilots at the big steering wheel, and government engineers at work in shifting channels. It shows Native American tribes carried to exile; soldiers transported to army posts; artists, scientists, and adventurers on their way to wild country; immigrants thronging river landings where the inland cities rose. Voices on the River follows frontier commerce up the Mississippi River and its two major tributaries, the Ohio and the Missouri. It tells of steamboat speed records, races, and disasters, and of the growing nation in the vast Midwest. This book gathers memories of a wide variety of Mississippi characters to provide an engrossing portrait of the expanse of river life. "A big book, well balanced in facts and colorful stories." —Christian Science Monitor “This sterling volume is the story of the men and women who devoted—and on occasion gave—their lives to the Mississippi. It is a compelling read, the narrative leaping from the pages as this remarkable story unfolds. A must for all students of history fascinated by the process of a nation’s birth.” —Evening News (Worcester, U.K.) A longtime professor of English at Miami University, Walter Havighurst (19011994) grew up in Wisconsin and was a prolific and passionate writer of regional history and fiction. He is the author of The Long Ships Passing, (2002). 336 pages \| 17 halftones \| 6 x 9 1/4 \| 2003 Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Book Series