Wicked River The Mississippi (When It Last Ran Wild) (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
A most exciting book about the way the world once really was along the Mississippi up through the Civil War. Mostly it was a terrible lawless place where there was danger lurking at every turn. If any number of diseases did not kill you then a river bandit might have. We tend to think of modern society as self centered but in those days it seemed everyone was out looking for someone to con while in a perpetual drunken rage. Hardly the good old days of carefree times riding on a steamboat like Twain and films have taught us. Yet at the end, as the river was beginning to be tamed I still had a sense of nostalgia myself for what once was. I'm just glad I got to read about it rather than live in that cruel violent time period. A good series of antidotes about the Mississippi River and life on the Mississippi, from about 1810 to just after the Civil War concentrating on the lower Mississippi (St. Louis to New Orleans). I enjoyed reading it, as a audio CD, while working out at the gym. There was a nice combination of legend (Mike Fink) and history (the siege of Vicksburg). I particularly enjoyed the review of the earthquakes at New Madrid and the siege of Vicksburg. I also learned, for the first time, about the panoramas that were painted during this period.
What do You think about Wicked River The Mississippi (When It Last Ran Wild) (2010)?
A history of the people and events surrounding the Mississippi River.
—daliae1986
Sandlin takes us on a fascinating trip through time and country.
—junyassin
Pretty good history and stories relating to the river.
—smosh
