The steamboat evokes images of leisurely travel, genteel gambling, and lively commerce, but behind the romanticized view is an engineering marvel that led the w

Schwantes gathers historical photos, advertisements, posters, and contemporary accounts to recreate one of the most colorful periods in the American West. 255 i

An appendix details the workings of early steamboat engines. Other appendices provide data on steamboats discussed in the text and maps of the region. The narra

Running from New Orleans to St. Louis in the summer of 1870, the race between the Robert E. Lee and the Natchez remains the world's most famous steamboat race.

The arrival of the first steamboat, The New Orleans, in early 1812 touched off an economic revolution in the South. In states west of the Appalachian Mountains,