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Mississippi
River
A Journey down the Father of Waters
By Peter Lourie |
The Mississippi River derives its
name from Misizubi, an Algonquian word that means
"Big River." The Mississippi is indeed big, both in its
geography and history. From its modest source at Lake Itasca
in northern Minnesota, the Mississippi runs approximately
2,340 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the second-longest
river in the United States, exceeded only by the Missouri.
The river's tributaries and feeder streams stretch all the
way from New York to Montana, from the Alleghenies to the
Rockies.
One September, Peter Lourie decided to explore the river
by canoe, by bike, by car and by foot. His adventure with
the Big River becomes an encounter witht he past and the
present. The Mississippi remains a major commercial waterway,
busy with tankers, tugs, and other big boats. But at the
same time it is still the river of Mark Twain, full of mystery
and natural beauty, with pine forests to the north and tropical
mangroves in the south. Between these extremes flows a majestic
river.
Peter's journal
from this trip:
Mississippi River Journal
NCSS-CBC NOTABLE SOCIAL STUDIES TRADE BOOKS FOR YOUNG
PEOPLE - 2001
Reviews:
"Intrepid explorer Lourie tackles the "Father of Waters,"
the Mighty Mississippi, traveling by canoe, bicycle, foot,
and car, 2,340 miles from the headwaters of the great river
at the Canadian border to the river's end in the Gulf of Mexico.
As with his other "river titles" (Rio Grande, 1999, etc.),
he intertwines history, quotes, and period photographs, interviews
with people living on and around the river, persona observations,
and contemporary photographs of his journey. He touches on
the Native Americans--who still harvest wild rice on the Mississippi,
and named the river--loggers, steamboats, Civil War battles,
and sunken treasure. He stops to talk with a contemporary
barge pilot, who tows jumbo-sized tank barges, or 30 barges
carrying 45,000 tons of goods up and down and comments: "You
think 'river river river' night and day for weeks on end."
Lourie describes the working waterway of locks and barges,
oil refineries and diesel engines, and the more tranquil areas
with heron and alligators, and cypress swamps. A personal
travelogue, historical geography, and welcome introduction
to the majestic river, past and present." - Kirkus Reviews
, September 1, 2000
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