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Original Essays | September 9, 2013
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This title in other editionsOld Man River: The Mississippi River in North American Historyby Paul Schneider
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:A fascinating account of how the Mississippi River shaped America In Old Man River, Paul Schneider tells the story of the river at the center of Americas rich history—the Mississippi. Some fifteen thousand years ago, the majestic river provided Paleolithic humans with the routes by which early man began to explore the continents interior. Since then, the river has been the site of historical significance, from the arrival of Spanish and French explorers in the 16th century to the Civil War. George Washington fought his first battle near the river, and Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman both came to President Lincolns attention after their spectacular victories on the lower Mississippi. In the 19th century, home-grown folk heroes such as Daniel Boone and the half-alligator, half-horse, Mike Fink, were creatures of the river. Mark Twain and Herman Melville led their characters down its stream in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Confidence-Man. A conduit of real-life American prowess, the Mississippi is also a river of stories and myth. Schneider traces the history of the Mississippi from its origins in the deep geologic past to the present. Though the busiest waterway on the planet today, the Mississippi remains a paradox—a devastated product of American ingenuity, and a magnificent natural wonder. Review:"Older than the Atlantic Ocean, fought over by the French, Spanish, and English, birthplace of Washington and Grant's military careers — the Mississippi River, as Schneider tells it, is the central character in the story of America. In this stunning tale, the author of The Adirondacks documents the rich history of the Mighty Mississipp and its watershed. From the otherworldly funerary structures built by early American peoples to the booming, bawdy river towns that arose in the wake of the nascent slave trade, and from the struggles between Native Americans and the first European explorers to the war that almost rent the nation asunder, the Mississippi has played host to myriad acts of creation and destruction that have shaped American life. Migrants, speculators, and slaves have called it home, and their legacies live on in realms as diverse as heavy industry and jazz. The river stretches from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, and Schneider guides readers all the way from geological antiquity to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. With such an expert hand on the tiller, Old Man River is an astonishing journey. 60 b&w halftones. Agent: David Kuhn, Kuhn Projects. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
About the AuthorPaul Schneider is the acclaimed author of Bonnie and Clyde, Brutal Journey, The Enduring Shore, and The Adirondacks, a New York Times Book Review Notable Book. He and his family live in West Tisbury, Massachusetts.
Table of ContentsPrologue
The American Watershed 1 Book One: River of Giants Continents Collide, Glaciers Recede, Mastodons Bellow, and Humans Arrive 1. Ice on the Rocks 9 2. The Missouri Leviathan 13 3. Bones and Stones 20 4. Broken Arrows 30 5. Mammoth Season 35 Book Two: River of Mounds The Rise and Fall, and Rise and Fall, and Rise of Native America 6. Among the Effigies 43 7. Poverty Point 54 8. 60,000 Pearls 58 9. The Mississippian Moment 64 10. The Great Serpent 73 Book Three: River of Fortune The Spanish Exit, the French Arrive, the Iroquois Take Action 11. Bonjour Great Khan 81 12. In the Iroquois Longhouse 88 13. The American Bottom 98 14. The Illinois Country 102 15. Adrift 111 16. The Incomparable La Salle 120 17. Nous Sommes Tous Sauvages 129 18. The Wrath 136 19. If the River Dont Rise 145 Book Four: River of Empires The English Enter, the French Exit, the Iroquois Negotiate, and the Americans Take Over 20. The Scramble for the Forks 153 21. The Half King 159 22. Adieu New France 171 23. The American Watershed 180 24. Allegheny Mornings 194 Book Five: Life on the Mississippi Flatboats and Keelboats, Steamboats and Showboats, Songsters and Soul Drivers 25. Down a Lazy River 205 26. I Long to See You 223 27. Up the Wicked River 236 28. All Aboard 246 29. Down Below 257 Book Six: River of blood Lincoln and Davis, New Orleans and Vicksburg, Victory and Defeat 30. Blood on the Tracks 267 31. Anaconda 272 32. Up in Flames 285 Book Seven: On the Lake of the Engineers Floods Rise, Levees Rise, Dams Rise, while Mountains Fall and Grasses Sink 33. The Mouth 305 34. All the Lists of Clay 314 35. Old Man River 331 Acknowledgments 335 Source Notes 337 Bibliography 353 Index 381 What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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