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The Mississippi River has intrigued the footloose for centuries. Here, for the first time, are the biographies of the chief protagonists in the drama, with Old Man River as the constant and invincible antagonist.
From conquistadors to nineteenth-century gentlemen explorers, Tim Severin depicts the disasters and adventures of familiar - and often misunderstood - figures in American history, as well as the chicanery of others, less well known, who used the river for their own purposes.
Explorers of the Mississippi authoritatively chronicles the explorations of voyageurs and charlatans who discovered, opened up and ultimately exploited the Mississippi River Valley.
"For all of the books on the Mississippi River, no one has ever told the entire story of the exploration of that mighty "father of waters." Mr. Severin's work fills that need, and it does so with a soundness and attractiveness that will commend Explorers of the Mississippi to the sophisticated general reader as well as to fans of the genre." - Kirkus Review
"Tim Severin is one of the last of the old-style explorers. . . . His deeds speak to us of the purity of achievement in an age where experience has become blunted by comfort and complacency. We watch them, awed." - The Times
"I am a great admirer of Tim Severin's work... He uniquely combines in himself the gifts of the adventurer, the historian, and the litterateur." - Jan Morris
"Tim Severin's narrative skills rival those of Scheherazade's" - The Oxford Times
"An extraordinary explorer." - The Independent
From conquistadors to nineteenth-century gentlemen explorers, Tim Severin depicts the disasters and adventures of familiar - and often misunderstood - figures in American history, as well as the chicanery of others, less well known, who used the river for their own purposes.
Explorers of the Mississippi authoritatively chronicles the explorations of voyageurs and charlatans who discovered, opened up and ultimately exploited the Mississippi River Valley.
Praise for Tim Severin
"For all of the books on the Mississippi River, no one has ever told the entire story of the exploration of that mighty "father of waters." Mr. Severin's work fills that need, and it does so with a soundness and attractiveness that will commend Explorers of the Mississippi to the sophisticated general reader as well as to fans of the genre." - Kirkus Review
"Tim Severin is one of the last of the old-style explorers. . . . His deeds speak to us of the purity of achievement in an age where experience has become blunted by comfort and complacency. We watch them, awed." - The Times
"I am a great admirer of Tim Severin's work... He uniquely combines in himself the gifts of the adventurer, the historian, and the litterateur." - Jan Morris
"Tim Severin's narrative skills rival those of Scheherazade's" - The Oxford Times
"An extraordinary explorer." - The Independent
Used availability for Tim Severin's Explorers of the Mississippi