New Book Journeys through Mississippi River Legend & Lore

Longtime journalist and travel writer Dennis McCann returns to the Wisconsin Historical Society Press with a new excursion, this time documenting the people, places and history along the Mississippi River from northern Illinois through Wisconsin and Iowa to Minnesota.

In This Storied River: Legend and Lore of the Upper Mississippi, McCann celebrates the river’s colorful history and the unique role it has played in shaping the Midwest for generations. He explores the histories of the people and places linked by the Mighty Mississippi’s past in this humorous and enlightening collection of true stories gleaned from newspaper accounts, local historical societies and the shoe-leather research of an experienced reporter with a deep love for his subject.

Far more than a travel guide, McCann inspires a new appreciation of America’s historic waterway, and the landscape that surrounds it, making special note of must-see sites for modern-day explorers.

McCann wrote often about Mississippi River events in his 25 years at the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In 1994, he spent four days on paddleboats slowly making their way from the Quad Cities to La Crosse, Wis., as part of the re-creation of the 1854 Grand Excursion, the first government-led effort to get the Upper Mississippi opened for commerce, farming and other uses. For more information visit wisconsinhistory.org/whspress.