Paddleways of Mississippi: Rivers and People of the Magnolia State

Chosen as Mississippi's 2025 Great Read for Adults by the Mississippi Center for the Book

Mississippi rivers and creeks have shaped every aspect of the state’s geology, ecology, economy, settlement, and politics. Mississippi's paddleways―its rivers, rills, creeks, and streams―are its arteries, its lifeblood, and the connective tissues that tie its stories and histories together and flood them with a sense of place and impel them along the current of time. The rivers provide structure for the telling of stories. In Paddleways of Mississippi: Rivers and People of the Magnolia State, readers will discover flowing details of virtually every waterway in the state―the features, wildlife, vegetation, geology, hydrology, and specific challenges to be expected―alongside many wonderful historical and social accounts specific to each system.

Interviews and oral histories enliven these waterways with evocative scenery, engaging anecdotes, interesting historical tales, and personal accounts of the people and communities that arose along the waterways of Mississippi. Part natural history, part narrative nonfiction, Paddleways of Mississippi will appeal to outdoor enthusiasts, anglers, naturalists, campers, and historians, and is suitable for novices as well as experts. Told together, the pieces included are a social and ecological history that exposes and deepens the connection coursing between the people and the rivers.