Research Catalog

Working the Mississippi Two Centuries of Life on the River

Title
Working the Mississippi [electronic resource] : Two Centuries of Life on the River / Bonnie Stepenoff.
Author
Stepenoff, Bonnie, 1949-
Publication
  • Baltimore, Maryland : Project Muse, 2015
  • Columbia, Missouri : University of Missouri Press, [2015]

Available Online

  • Available from home with a valid library card
  • Available onsite at NYPL

Details

Additional Authors
Project Muse.
Description
1 online resource (1 PDF (xxii, 182 pages) :) : illustrations.
Summary
The Mississippi River occupies a sacred place in American culture and mythology. Often called The Father of Rivers, it winds through American life in equal measure as a symbol and as a topographic feature. To the people who know it best, the river is life and a livelihood. River boatmen working the wide Mississippi are never far from land. Even in the dark, they can smell plants and animals and hear people on the banks and wharves. Bonnie Stepenoff takes readers on a cruise through history, showing how workers from St. Louis to Memphis changed the river and were in turn changed by it. Each chapter of this fast-moving narrative focuses on representative workers: captains and pilots, gamblers and musicians, cooks and craftsmen. Readers will find workers who are themselves part of the country's mythology from Mark Twain and anti-slavery crusader William Wells Brown to musicians Fate Marable and Louis Armstrong.
Uniform Title
  • Working the Mississippi (Online)
  • Book collections on Project MUSE.
Alternative Title
Working the Mississippi (Online)
Subject
  • River life > Mississippi River > History
  • North America > History
  • Mississippi River > Description and travel
  • Mississippi River > History > 20th century
  • Mississippi River > History > 19th century
Note
  • Issued as part of book collections on Project MUSE.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 165-173) and index.
Access (note)
  • Access restricted to authorized users.
Source of Description (note)
  • Description based on print version record.
Contents
Introduction -- St. Louis, Missouri -- Captains -- Ste. Genevieve, Missouri -- Pilots -- Chester, Illinois -- Mates, deckhands, and roustabouts -- Cape Girardeau, Missouri -- Stewards, cooks, and maids -- Cairo, Illinois -- Engineers -- New Madrid, Missouri -- Confidence men and gamblers -- Memphis, Tennessee -- Musicians and entertainers -- Conclusion -- Appendix One. Glossary of names -- Appendix Two. Glossary of boats.
OCLC
ssj0001526324
Author
Stepenoff, Bonnie, 1949-
Title
Working the Mississippi [electronic resource] : Two Centuries of Life on the River / Bonnie Stepenoff.
Imprint
Baltimore, Maryland : Project Muse, 2015 (Baltimore, Md. : Project MUSE, 2015)
Columbia, Missouri : University of Missouri Press, [2015] (Baltimore, Md. : Project MUSE, 2015)
Series
Book collections on Project MUSE.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 165-173) and index.
Access
Access restricted to authorized users.
Connect to:
Available from home with a valid library card
Available onsite at NYPL
Added Author
Project Muse.
Other Form:
Print version: (DLC) 2015940296 0826220533 9780826220530
View in Legacy Catalog