Explore the entire length of the Mississippi River - from its mouth at Delacrois Island, Louisiana, to its source at Lake Itasca.Minnesota, as it flows past ten states and casts a potent spell over the entire nation. Just two hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson bought for our young nation a vast territory with a mighty river--and created the America we know. Here, celebrating the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase--surely the best real estate deal in history--is a stunning, consistently engrossing chronicle of the waterway that has shaped the history of North America. Featuring hundreds of illustrations from Abell's evocative photo essays to period artwork, artifacts, and maps, this is a history every bit as vivid as the colorful,powerful tale it tells.