THE MISSISSIPPI: America's Great River System

Aimed at geographers a few years beyond Coward McCann's Getting to Know series, this has photos instead of drawings, is heavier on statistics and economics -- pointing up the Mississippi's importance as a freight artery and the problem of flood control -- and lighter on history and local color. Unfortunately the text also contains a few notable examples of knee-jerk pedagogy: Mark Twain's relationship to the river prompts a complete birth to death biographical sketch but not one quote from his writings; and a final chapter ""New Orleans and Points North"" outlines loosely connected facts, from mean annual temperatures to the names of professional sports teams for three major river cities. Factual, maybe functional, but a hodgepodge nonetheless.