Rivers Revealed
Rediscovering America's Waterways

Jerry M. Hay (Author)

9780253218759

Paperback / softback, published 31 May 2007

328 pages, 50 b&w photos
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.5 cm, 0.549 kg

"River historians, folklorists, and buffs will enjoy and learn from Rivers Revealed: Rediscovering America's Waterways. It can sit on the shelf, ready for reading in long or short installments.Sept. 2008"—Michael Allen, Indiana Magazine of History
"The opening chapters of this book bring visions of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn as Hay describes his early adventures on the river. I found myself longing for adventures of my own. I immediately felt the author's love of the rivers and his desire to share his passion with others."—Dan Back, River Historian

Written in an engaging, conversational style, Rivers Revealed combines the author's lifelong love of America's waterways with practical and historic information gathered from his three decades as a professional riverlorian for the Delta Queen Steamboat Company in New Orleans. A modern-day Huck Finn, Jerry Hay spins yarns laced with personal anecdotes on such topics as navigating 500 miles of the Wabash River, the trials and tribulations of building a sternwheeler, "reading" the river, how to plan your own river adventure, a hair-raising but humorous river rescue, an unforgettable goose named Gilligan, the language of the rivers and riverboats, early to present-day river navigation, and much, much more. A book for all who love Mark Twain, these river adventures will entertain the landlubber and engage the boating enthusiast.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Boy in a Johnboat
2. Wabash 500
3. Wabash Queen
4. Reading the River
5. River Guide Books
6. Gilligan Goose
7. Rescue from a Dock
8. Great Duck Race
9. Anatomy of a River
10. Language of the Rivers
11. Nine Days on a Towboat
12. Navigable River Know-How
13. Bizarre River Experiences
14. Evolution of Riverboats
15. Restless River
16. Steamboat Passengers
17. Ghost of Mary Greene
18. River Royalty
19. Top Ten River Towns
20. Canoeing Misadventures
21. Grand Excursion 2004
22. Potpourri
Bibliography
Index