Drawing on never-before-seen documents and told from a unique insider's viewpoint, the CNN anchor tells the story of his legendary family and their remarkable influence. When eleven-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt began to work on his father's small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the nineteenth century, no one could have imagined that one day he would, through ruthlessness, cunning, and a pathological desire for money,...

Dead Man Overboard! Delilah Dickinson's literary travel agency is a hit! But the latest package tour, a leisurely steamboat trip down Huckleberry Finn's Mississippi, delivered one dead passenger. As it turns out, Ben Webster made a few enemies before he expired by trying to slug a roulette dealer. Delilah knows the steamship's no-nonsense head of security definitely is dirty and low-down and just plain old mean... But could he be a murderer? Pretty...

In 1896, fourteen-year-old Megan joins her sister and family on their steamboat for the summer riding up the Mississippi River towards St. Paul, Minnesota, and through all of their adventures, Megan realizes what is her "true calling."

Discusses the life and work of the inventor who developed the steamboat and made it a commercial success.

Provides an illustrated history of steamships and describes how they operate.

Nineteenth-century New Orleans is a blazing hotbed of scorching politics and personal vendettas. And it's into this fire that Benjamin January falls when he is hired to follow Oliver Weems, a bank official who has absconded with $100,000 in gold and securities. But it's more than just a job for January. The missing money is vital to the survival of the school for freed slaves that he and his wife Rose have founded. Following the suspected embezzler...

At the start of World War I, German imperial troops burn down a mission in Africa. The mission's reverend was so overtaken with disappointment that he passes away. Shortly after his well-educated, snooty sister Rose buries her brother, she must leave on the only available transport, the 'African Queen' steamboat. The boat is manned by the ill-mannered bachelor, Charlie. Together they embark on a long difficult journey, without any comfort. Rose grows...

In 1857, having arrived in Minnesota Territory on her father's steamboat, twelve-year-old Libby continues to harbor the runaway slave boy Jordan while worrying about a fugitive who has escaped from the local prison.