Break out the party hats! It’s Book Review Wednesday!

I thought I might make this a regular feature on this here blog. I read a lot and a few of you out there may enjoy my take on what I’ve read and wish to pick these books up yourself or download them or whatev’s. If not, too bad so sad, this is my blog.  I do tend to read mostly biographies, histories, historical fiction, the occasional thriller and Stephen King. I’ll start with one book that I finished recently and really enjoyed.

Wicked River: The Mississippi, When it Last Ran Wild by Lee Sandlin

This book is a sweeping overview of the Mississippi River from when this country was first settled until the end of its glory days at the hand of the U.S. Corps of Engineers at the beginning of the last century written in a very enjoyable and concise style. It takes you through harrowing tales of those first river men who were the lifeblood of the river and the only source of food and supplies for the first white settler’s.  The arrival of these barges would be a time to celebrate and these master’s of the river knew how to drink. This book is filled with pirates, natural disasters, war, violence, and mayhem. The coming of the steamboats was really the beginning of the end of the wild Mississippi, the river wild as forever immortalized in Mark Twain’s stories. The river today is but a shadow of what it once was and I had never really thought about it, but this book made me sad that I will never get to see this force of nature the way it was meant to be. Instead the river today has its hair combed and stuffed into an uncomfortable suit, it is forced to behave. This book is a wonderful slice of our countries history, ranging from unsavory to respectable, from violence to heroism and back again.  Basically, the story of humanity told against the backdrop of the river. The writer is very easy to read and the stories were entertaining. I highly recommend this book to anyone, even those who may not think they would like this subject matter. It is meticulously researched and documented and it is a quick read at 241 pages with lots of beautiful pictures. This was a wonderful surprise.