Wicked River: The Mississippi When It Last Ran Wild

By Lee Sandlin

Book Overview

A riveting narrative look at one of the most colorful, dangerous, and peculiar places in America's historical landscape: the strange, wonderful, and mysterious Mississippi River of the 19th century. Beginning in the early 1800s and climaxing with the siege of Vicksburg in 1863, Wicked River brings to life a place where river pirates brushed elbows with future presidents and religious visionaries shared passage with thieves. Here is a minute-by-minute account of Natchez being flattened by a tornado; the St. Louis harbor being crushed by a massive ice floe; hidden, nefarious celebrations of Mardi Gras; and the sinking of the Sultana, the worst naval disaster in American history. Here, too, is the Mississippi itself: gorgeous, perilous, and unpredictable. Masterfully told, Wicked River is an exuberant work of Americana that portrays a forgotten society on the edge of revolutionary change.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307473570
• ISBN13: 9780307473578
• Release Date: October 2011
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"