"Mr. Roosevelt's Steamboat" describes the first steamboat journey on the Mississippi. It reads like a fast-paced novel yet it is scrupulously accurate history thanks to the thorough research done by the gifted Ms. Dohan. The three-month voyage starts in Pittsburgh in 1811 and is an exciting adventure for Nicholas and Lydia Roosevelt and their two children--the second born enroute. (Nicholas was Theodore Roosevelt's great-granduncle.) Roosevelt believed in his boat and risked everything to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of steam transportation on the Mississippi. The adventure-packed voyage includes passages through dangerous falls, a chase by Indians, the New Madrid earthquake and an on-board fire. This excellently written book is a must for those who like true-action with their history.