Explorers of the Mississippi
By Tim Severin
The Mississippi River has intrigued the footloose for centuries. Here, for the first time, are briskly told biographies of the chief protagonists in the drama, with Old Man River as the constant and invincible antagonist.
From conquistadors to nineteenth-century gentlemen explorers, Severin depicts the disasters and adventures of familiar, but often misunderstood, figures in American history, as well as the chicanery of others, less well known, who used the river for their own purposes.
Explorers of the Mississippi authoritatively chronicles the explorations of voyageurs and charlatans who discovered, opened up and ultimately exploited the Mississippi River Valley.
Acclaimed adventure writer and explorer Tim Severin was born in 1940 and educated at Tonbridge School and Oxford University. He has made a career of retracing the storied journeys of mythical and historical figures in replica vessels. These experiences have been turned into a body of captivating and illuminating books, including The Brendan Voyage, Tracking Marco Polo and In Search of Genghis Khan. He has received numerous awards for exploration and geographic history, including the Founder’s Medal of England’s Royal Geographic Society and the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. When not travelling, he lives in County Cork, Ireland.
