Voices on the River: The Story of the Mississippi Waterways

by Walter Havighurst

This volume 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.

Genres: History

332 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Walter Edwin Havighurst (November 28, 1901 – February 3, 1994) was an American critic, novelist, and literary and social historian of the Midwest. He was a professor of English at Miami University.

Reviews

[Scott Drake · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fascinating historical piece with an abundance of names, dates, people, places and activities that frequently overwhelmed my senses. it took two starts in a year to get underway, much like a riverboat excursion during the dry season, but a deliberate and piecemeal pace does the truck.

I grew up in the Mississippi river so the fascination might be inbred, but if you're looking for the facts, history, economics, engineering, social and expansion behind the rivers, take some nice winter nights to dig in deep. just remember to watch for snags and sandbars.

[Lisa M. McDougald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! The stories of boilers blowing up and Mississippi stories brought to life the vernacular of the era of steamboats and whispers of the literary legacy of Samuel Clemens rang throughout.

[Jess Ferguson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in 1963, and it shows through on every page. Racist language abounds, in addition to the book declaring several times that history began on the Mississippi when the white man discovered it.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 1964,this version published in 2005. Historically fascinating accounts of life on the Mississippi waterways including the Ohio and Missouri Rivers.Accounts of the people, the towns, the communities and life on the river towns from the early 1800's through the early 1900's. Last sections concerned with how the rivers were tamed, to some extent, by the various dams and levees that were built in the late 1950's along the Ohio River system.

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is gifted in writing descriptions of what he sees or imagines. I enjoyed his descriptions of life along the rivers and the riverfronts. Some of the later chapters that detailed the lives of specific boats became repetive; but overall, it is enjoyable.

[Carol]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13570622