The Missouri was the river of Lewis and Clark, of Manuel Lisa, General Ashley, and other organizers of the fur trade; of such noted travelers as George Catlin, Henry R. Schoolcraft, and Prince Maximilian; of a host of adventurous steamboat captains; of explorers like Jedediah Smith, Kit Carson, and Frémont; of doughty hunters and trappers like Hugh Glass, Jim Bridger, and John Colter. Stanley Vestal's rollicking story of one of America's most fabled waterways presents western history on a grand scale, one that. according to the New York Times, "anyone remotely interested in the American West will read."

"Vestal takes the Big Muddy as the central character in an intriguing story. . . . It is always readable, always informative."—Los Angeles Times