Title: Immortal river : the upper Mississippi in ancient and modern times /
Authors: Fremling, Calvin R., 1929-2010
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press,
Year: 2005
Subjects: Mississippi River History.; Mississippi River Valley History.; Mississippi River Environmental conditions.; Mississippi River Valley Environmental conditions.
Abstract: Documents the history of the Mississippi River and the dramatic changes that have transpired as humans have exploited and attempted to subdue the waters since their discovery.
Contents: Prologue -- Introducing Old Man River -- Majestic river bluffs and beautiful valleys -- Glaciers : sculptors of the upper Mississippi River basin -- The upper Mississippi River : child of the Pleistocene -- The land missed by the glaciers -- After the glaciers -- The Mississippi's prehistoric Native Americans : hunters, gatherers, farmers, and city planners -- The quest for furs and a northwest passage : changing ownership of the Mississippi River basin, 1673-1803 -- Prairie, savanna, and the big woods : the riverine landscape at the time of exploration and settlement by Americans and Europeans -- Early exploitation of natural resources -- Steamboats 'round the bend -- "Improving" the river, 1878-1930 -- Mission impossible : the nine-foot channel project -- The glory years -- Diesel-driven towboats and steel barges : a rebirth of commercial river transportation -- The Corps giveth, the Corps taketh away : long-term impacts of the nine-foot channel and related projects -- Vital strands in the river's web of life -- "Mayflies! : what the hell good are they?" -- Flooding : "the river is a strong brown god--sullen, untamed and intractable" -- Pollution : has a defiled river been reborn? -- Who's in charge? -- Can this be the same river? : St. Louis to the mouth of the Ohio and beyond -- Epilogue : the river yesterday, today, and tomorrow.