"The historical survey covers the entire period from the days of exploration through the development of the great steamboat traffic to the present. The pirates, gamblers, the etiquette of the floating palaces, the steamboat races... The old devil river is in the foreground, the valley in the background..."

-The New Republic

"A gorgeous and dramatic presentation of the great human story entwined in the history of the Mississippi River from the time of DeSoto to the present day."

-The American Mercury

"The concluding chapters are devoted to the flood of 1927 [and are] journalistic writing of a high order, and by future historians will undoubtably be regarded as valuable material for the event."

-Journal of American History

Lyle Saxon (1891-1946) was a Louisiana historian and collector of folklore who wrote several books of enduring interest on South Louisiana, including Gumbo Ya-Ya, Old Louisiana, and Fabulous New Orleans. We also served as the WPA Writers Project director in Louisiana and worked tirelessly to preserve the historic French Quarter from demolition and development. This work, his history of the Great River Valley and those who farm and navigate it, remains the seminal work on the great flood of 1927.

This work has been formatted and typeset for River Heritage Books. It is not a facsimile reprint.