| AUTHOR | TITLE | COMMENTS |
| Arabia Steamboat Museum |
Link | A very good website, a fun museum, and a lot of people who love their steamboats. Their enthusiasm is contagious. |
| Davis, William C. | Portraits of the Riverboats | Pictures and commentary on all riverboats, not just the big Mississippi packets. |
| Delta Queen Steamboat Company |
Link | A 1927 steamboat still sailing America’s rivers with engines that Hal and Rosalind would understand. A lovely boat with an incredibly friendly, happy crew. |
| Gandy, Joan W. and Thomas H. Gancy |
The Mississippi Steamboat Era in Historic Photographs, Natchez to New Orleans 1870-1920 | Boy, did I pore over these pictures! |
| Gillespie, Michael | Wild River, Wooden Boats: True Stories of Steamboating and the Missouri River | The Missouri River was not (and is not) like the other western rivers. Its steamboats therefore had some very interesting differences from those on the Mississippi or Hudson. This book helped bring the Missouri River’s unique world to life. |
| Hunter, Louis C. | Steamboats on the Western Rivers: An Economic and Technological History | Priceless. It relies on primary sources and is incredibly thorough and detailed. |
| Lass, William E. | A History of Steamboating on the Upper Missouri | Excellent history. Since it focuses on Sioux City to Great Falls stretch, I primarily used it for background. |
| Merrick, George Byron | Old Times on the Upper Mississippi: Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863 | A newspaperman recounts his former life. Very vivid and very well-written, it truly bought steamboats alive for me. I primarily relied on this book and Hunter for the steamboat passages. |
| Schneiders, Robert Kelley |
Unruly River: Two Centuries of Change Along the Missouri | A scientist’s history of the Missouri River ecosystem, including the politics. Very interesting, although the bulk is about the 20th century. |
| Twain, Mark | Life on the Mississippi | What can I say? It’s a great book. |
| USS Cairo Gunboat and Museum |
Link | USS Cairo was a City-class gunboat sunk during the Civil War at Vicksburg. She was raised and partially reconstructed fromn 1965-1977 and can now be seen at the Vicksburg battlefield. Looking at her was like walking into the past. |
| Watson, Ken | Paddle Steamers: An Illustrated History of Steamboats on the Mississippi and its Tributaries | Good diagrams and descriptions of the technology. |
| Way, Frederick, Jr. compiled by |
Way’s Packet Directory, 1848-1994 | Lots of very interesting information in this book. |
