From the earliest rudimentary conveyances to the floating palaces of the present day, a period of 200 years, steamboats have carved out a very special place in American history, especially along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, where they brought passengers, cargo, mail, entertainment, and news-both good and bad-to the settlements of a still-developing nation.
With paddle-wheels churning, tall smokestacks billowing, calliopes singing, and steam whistles sounding, the steamboats of the Mighty Mississippi proudly ruled the river. Some offered all the comforts of home (and more); others did the work for the industries that transformed the United States into the industrial giant it became. They carried presidents and kings, socialites and commoners, cotton and coal, lumber and steel. They enabled some of our nation's major cities to grow and flourish. Told through historic photographs in these pages, the story of steamboats that plied the Mississippi and the glorious era they symbolized is vividly captured and enshrined for generations to come.
Dean M. Shapiro grew up near the Hudson River in New York where some of the first commercial steamboats ran. He now lives in Gretna, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, where excursion steamboats still run, and within earshot of the Natchez calliope. He graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey with a B.A. in history and is the author of four other books, one of which became a made-for-TV movie (Prophet of Evil: The Ervil LeBaron Story) that aired on CBS in 1993. A journalist and freelance writer for 40 years, he has more than 1,500 published articles in newspapers, magazines, and Web sites to his credit. He currently writes for the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation's Web site and monthly newsletter, TravelHost magazine, Where Y'At magazine, NewOrleans.com, and Arthur Hardy's Mardi Gras Guide. He is also a writer for world-renowned health and fitness guru, Mackie Shilstone. |
