Mississippi River Reading List

Not long after I started working on riverboats, I picked up the habit of reading books related to whatever region I happened to be in at the time. On the Ohio, where we were surrounded by ballparks, I read about baseball; on the Tennessee, in the homeland of the Muscle Shoals Swampers, I read about rock 'n' roll. On the good days, it brought even more pizazz to the sites and scenery, and on the bad days, it helped me remember to appreciate the uniqueness of my floating workplace.

The hobby was a bit more sustainable on the Mississippi, where it seemed every gift shop had a new book I just had to buy. Below are seven of them. Some fiction, some nonfiction — some pictorial, others prosaic — all of them are emblematic of a time and a place on the river that I loved.

Wicked River - Lee Sandlin

In this readable biography of the Mississippi "before Mark Twain," Lee Sandlin tells the tales of the great river as it was: dark, dangerous, unpredictable, yet still enticing. He introduces us to pirates and presidents, captains and stowaways, brigands and belles — all building a life for themselves against the backdrop of the river. Focusing on moments in time, instead of a piece-by-piece history, with chapter titles like "Old Devil River" and "The Desire of an Ignorant Westerner," these are the type of stories you might hear around a campfire or while sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch. In my experience, that style of storytelling is often the most memorable.

The Autobiography of Mark Twain

At the risk of sounding blasphemous, I was never a Mark Twain fan. I respected him for his place in literary history, sure, but I never quite saw the humor or felt the pull of the river in his works. And then I read The Autobiography. Equal parts comedy, history, travelogue, and commentary, this book had me hooked almost from the first line and deserves a spot on any Mississippi reading list.

Steamboat Gothic - Frances Parkinson Keyes

Frances Parkinson Keyes could have given a masterclass on writing believable characters. In this family epic spanning three generations and sixty years, there are plenty of heroes, but none of them are saints. Beginning in the aftermath of the Civil War, Steamboat Gothic follows one man's quest to build an idyllic life on the banks of the Mississippi, even as time and tide grow to threaten his idyll. From Gilded Age New York to the Louisiana countryside to the battlefields of Europe, the novel perfectly captures the love river people have for their river and the steamboats that once ruled its waters.

Views on the Mississippi - Mark Neuzil

Henry Bosse was in the right place at the right time. A draftsman with the Army Corps of Engineers, his photographs capture the upper Mississippi River during its transformation, at the end of the 19th century, from countryside to commercial highway. With subjects ranging from steamboats and villages to bridges and cliffs, the photographs — all done in shades of blue — chronicle the end of one era and the beginning of another. They are brought together for the first time, along with commentary and maps, in Views on the Mississippi.

Rising Tide - John M. Barry

Go anywhere on the lower Mississippi River, and you're likely to hear about the Flood of 1927. The most destructive flood in American history, it's a story of political hubris, race relations, engineering failures, and societal changes we're still experiencing to this day. John M. Barry pulls it all together in Rising Tide, a readable examination of the cause and effects of the flood, in addition to lessons learned and unlearned. Although its 500+ pages might seem intimidating, Barry's focus on the human experience, instead of just facts and figures, makes Rising Tide a page turner.

The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty

A Mississippi native, Eudora Welty recognized the influence settings have on stories — and, more specifically, the influence the South has on its inhabitants. In her fiction, the South is as much a character — a living, breathing, complicated entity — as are any of the humans who live amongst it. The two pieces below take place along the banks of the Mississippi, which is arguably one of the biggest characters of all.

• Before I ever set foot on a riverboat, "No Place For You, My Love" made me fall in love with New Orleans. Told from the points of view of two Northern strangers as they embark on a spur-of-the-moment nighttime drive southbound from the city, this piece looks at South Louisianan culture with outside eyes and reminds us of just how much life can be packed into a few hours.

  
  

• As a Southerner, I can confirm that the South clings to its relics and the past is never quite passed. Both statements hold true throughout "Asphodel," in which three elderly ladies meet at a ruined plantation to picnic and reminisce about its larger-than-life owners. Although its premise may seem staid, the piece gives insight into small-town politics and the certain haunted quality that, even today, sometimes drifts over the lower Mississippi.

Life on the Mississippi - Rinker Buck

In 2016, Rinker Buck built a flatboat and sailed from Pennsylvania to Louisiana, following in the footsteps — or wake, rather — of thousands of pioneers from a now largerly forgotten period of American history. He interweaves both stories in Life on the Mississippi. Although, at its core, the book is a travelogue chronicling his motley crew's experiences on their 2,000-mile sail, Buck also examines the history of migration on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and, even, what it means to be an American. Equal parts irreverent and thought-provoking, Life on the Mississippi brings new meaning to living history.