Overview

The steamboat evokes images of leisurely travel, genteel gambling, and lively commerce, but behind the romanticized view is an engineering marvel that led the way for the steam locomotive. From the steamboat's development by Robert Fulton to the dawn of the Civil War, the new mode of transportation opened up America's frontiers and created new trade routes and economic centers. Firsthand accounts of steamboat accidents, races, business records and river improvements are collected here to reveal the culture and economy of the early to mid-1800s, as well as the daily routines of crew and passengers. A glossary of steamboat terms and a collection of contemporary accounts of accidents round out this history of the riverboat era.

Full Product Details

Author:   S.L. Kotar ,  J.E. Gessler
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.558kg
ISBN:  

9781476683683

ISBN 10:   1476683689
Pages:   307
Publication Date:   09 June 2020
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments      Preface      1. The “Invention of the Devil”      2. Keelboats and Barges: The “Arks” of the New World      3. Onward to the “Father of Waters”: The Fulton-Livingston Patent      4. The Meschasipi—Or Is That the “Mississipi”?      5. “St. Looy” and the Upper Mississippi      6. A World Unto Their Own: The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers      7. Navigating the Inland Western Waterways      8. The Trades and the Trade-Offs      9. Economic Conditions During the Steamboat Era      10. Making Money on the Rivers      11. Man Overboard! Steamboat Disasters on Western Waterways      12. The Steamboat Race Is On!      13. The Development of Steamboat Crews      14. Deckhands: A Distinctive Class of Casual Workers      15. Steamboat Gothic: The Florid and the Ornate      16. “My satisfaction was complete”: First-Class Passengers      17. Steamboat Diversions      18. “Just the bar’ necessities, ma’am”      19. The Nameless Masses: Deck Passengers      20. An International Incident      21. Potions, Purging and Practitioners      22. (In)Famous Steamboat Cities      23. The Roaring ’50s: The Railroads Come Calling      Appendix A: Glossary      Appendix B: Original Accounts of Steamboat Disasters      Chapter Notes      Bibliography      Index     

Reviews

colorful, anecdotal, and interesting...recommended - Choice fascinating details...the book is a good one and well worth owning - SpeedReaders

Colorful, anecdotal, and interesting...recommended. - Choice Fascinating details...the book is a good one and well worth owning. - SpeedReaders

Author Information

S.L. Kotar of St. Louis has been writing (together with J.E. Gessler) for more than four decades, beginning with scripts for television’s Gunsmoke. The late J.E. Gessler lived in St. Louis.

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