As Lyle Saxon writes in his introduction: "This book is not a history of the Mississippi River in the strict sense of the word, although I have outlined the discovery, the exploration, and the settlement of the valley – but this volume is like a scrap-book in which I have collected men’s thoughts, my own thoughts. These incidents seem to me informative, or amusing, or terrible, or tragic, or fantastic, but they are all a part of the living pageant which moved down the river through the changing years." First published in 1927, Father Mississippi contains accounts of those who lived their lives along the Mississippi River, and documents the first ripple in a wave of tremendous changes that took place in its environment. Over 70 years later, Father Mississippi still stands as an important history of the floods of 1927, most often remembered for their far-reaching impact on the cities along the Mississippi River, and the devastation they caused to towns in the southern Mississippi River Valley region. The accounts provide easy reading while acquainting the audience with characters such as Father Hennepin and Molly Glass, the murderess, who speak in their own words. Photos of life along the river and of the floods accompany these captivating excerpts.
