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When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes. By Jay Feldman (New York: Free Press, 2005. Pp. Viii, 305. Illus., maps, notes, bib, index. Cloth, $27.00).
Jay Feldman has compiled a fascinating assortment of little known stories related to the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-12. Although the stories are not well known, the cast of characters include some of the best known names in our nation's history. Further, the book clearly illustrates how the horrible natural disaster had a direct impact not only the lives of numerous individuals, but actually helped shape the young nation.
Would you believe that two of President Thomas Jefferson's nephews committed a brutal and heinous murder in western Kentucky-and would have gotten away with it if not for the giant earthquake? Or, would you believe that a great grand-uncle of Theodore Roosevelt successfully navigated the first steamboat down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and on the craft's maiden voyage successfully rode out the convulsive waters...