Western Rivermen, the first documented sociocultural history of its subject, is a fascinating book. Michael Allen explores the rigorous lives of professional boatmen who plied non-steam vessels--flatboats, keelboats, and rafts--on the Ohio and lower Mississippi rivers from 1763-1861.

 

Allen's comprehensive, highly informative study sheds new light on a group of men who played an important role in the development of the trans-Appalachian West and the ways in which their lives were transformed into one of the enduring themes of American folk culture.

 

Michael Allen, assistant professor of history at the University of Washington at Tacoma, worked for three years as a towboat deckhand and cook on the upper and lower Mississippi, Illinois, St. Croix, Ouachita, and Arkansas rivers.

ISBN: 9780807119075

Paperback

280 pages

6 x 9

Bibliography, Index, Illustrated, Maps, Table of Contents

LSU Press, 1994