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Taking viewers to places never seen by passengers, Jon Kral photographs aboard all six remaining real paddlewheel steamboats on the Mississippi River system. Imagine standing underneath the mighty American Queen, largest steamboat ever built, while in drydock. Stand a midnight watch in a wheelhouse that has no wheel. Experience a man overboard drill from the rescue boat. Text contributed by some of steamboating's most noted figures like noted musician and riverman John Hartford ("Gentle on My Mind"), legendary Captain Clark C. "Doc" Hawley, and naval architect Alan Bates, designer of the "Natchez". Over 100 sepia duotone photographs show the complete story of what it takes to run a steamboat.