Descripción
Paddlewheel riverboat, showboat, sternwheler: in all its myriad forms, the steamboat revolutionized American travel in the 1800s, taking millions of people inland and helping to serrle and develop the vast territories beyond the original colonies. It was an ere in which young boys dreamed of beconing steamboat pilots and Mark Twain immortalized the «floating palaces» that traveled up and down the Mississippi River. In this fascinating history, Wriht explains the factors that made the era perfect for the development of the steam engine and paddle boat, taking the reader far beyond the romantic image and revealing the steamboat as a vital and essential force in the development of the nation.
