Mississippi River Valley: The Course of American Civilization
By Michael Allen

Published: June 2023
Subjects: History / United States
ISBN: 978-1-958291-00-9 (PDF), 978-1-958291-05-4 (epub)
DOI: 10.31274/isudp.2023.135

Book description

The Mississippi River Valley has played a huge role in the evolution of American history and culture, from the time of the Mississippian mound builders, through European colonialism, the early American republic and Civil War, to the modern-day civil rights movement. In this wide-ranging work, historian Michael Allen examines America's great river valley through the lenses of history, economics, folklore, literature, movies and television, and music—country, blues, gospel, jazz, and rock and roll.

About the author

Michael Allen, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Washington, Tacoma, was born and raised in Ellensburg, Washington, and graduated from Ellensburg High School in 1968. After service as a U.S. Marine Corps artilleryman in Vietnam (1969–70), he worked as a Mississippi River deckhand, oil tankerman, and cook. He earned his BA, MA, and PhD in history from, respectively, Central Washington State College, University of Montana, and University of Washington, Seattle. He has published eight books and taught at Tennessee Technological University, Deep Springs College, Eastern Montana College, and University of Washington, Tacoma. Michael Allen has three adult children—Jim, Davy, and Caroline—and lives in Ellensburg. In 1997, he helped found the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame Association, and he currently helps create museum displays at the Western Culture and Arts Center in Ellensburg.

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