The
Mississippi and the Making of a Nation: From the Louisiana Purchase
to Today
de Stephen E. Ambrose
Book Description
From
northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River runs
its course along the borders of ten states and cleanly bisects the
nation. But the Mississippi is more than an imposing natural landmark;
it is embedded in every facet of America’s national identity.
Stephen
E. Ambrose, renowned author of Undaunted Courage, historian Douglas
G. Brinkley, author of The Unfinished Presidency, and award-winning
National Geographic photographer Sam Abell traveled the entire length
of the Mississippi—from its mouth at Delacroix Island, Louisiana,
to its source at Itasca, Minnesota—to bring readers the full,
rich history of AmericaIs great river. In 11 chapters, each covering
a length of the river, readers will witness the early explorations
of DeSoto and the momentous signing of the Louisiana Purchase; they
will meet Jim Bowie, Ulysses S. Grant, and Robert Johnson; they will
relive the Civil War and the Great Flood, the Underground Railroad
and the Trail of Tears; and they will discover the immense impact
of the Mississippi on American arts, from the birth of the Blues to
the literature of Mark Twain and T.S. Eliot. To expand the book’s
visual dimension, each chapter of The Mississippi and the Making of
a Nation is illustrated with period paintings, lithographs, artifacts,
and maps, and features unique photographic essays by Sam Abell.
The
result is a lively, comprehensive, and beautiful work that panoramically
explores and celebrates the American icon that is the Mighty Mississippi
as it celebrates America itself.