The River We Have Wrought is a landmark history of the upper Mississippi, from early European exploration through the completion of a navigable channel and a system of locks and dams in the mid-twentieth century. John Anfinson examines how politics has shaped the landscapes of the Upper Midwest and how taming the Mississippi River has affected economic sustainability, river ecology, and biological diversity.

John O. Anfinson is a historian with the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. For nearly twenty years he was the historian for the Saint Paul District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He is a founding board member of the Friends of the Mississippi River, an organization dedicated to improving the Mississippi's environmental health.

"John Anfinson does a wonderful job of telling the story of navigation improvements on the upper river and the impact that those improvements had on reshaping the river in the image of the people who effected and supported them."—Philip Scarpino, author of Great River

"A comprehensive new history of the upper Mississippi. Anfinson brings an evenhanded approach to the debate over how much river should serve commerce and how much it should preserve nature, a topic that has been politicized by shipping and environmental advocates."—Steve Brandt, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Anfinson’s history, which reaches back to the river’s European explorers and has as many plot lines as the river has side channels, is enormously informative and quite readable. Anyone interested in the fate of the Mississippi River would do well to read this book."—Minnesota Magazine

"This book demonstrates wide research and thoughtful synthesis of many sources. The River We Have Wrought deserves a wide audience. It is certainly an important book."—Minnesota History

"Anfinson succeeds in showing the importance of navigation in shaping the Mississippi. He draws from a variety of sources. Well-versed in the fields that overlap with history to create environmental history, Anfinson demonstrates an impressive command of river dynamics, ecosystems, transportation systems, and public policy."—Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"The River We Have Wrought provides the first comprehensive history of perhaps the least understood portion of the Mississippi River. Anfinson tells this story with admirable equanimity. A substantial contribution."—The Public Historian

"Anfinson adeptly weaves together multiple strands of human interaction with the river. He offers an informed discussion. This is a very satisfying contribution."—Indiana Magazine of History

"John Anfinson’s new book offers a compelling analysis of the technological and environmental history of the upper Mississippi River and fills a gap in the historiography of rivers in the United States."—Technology and Culture

"Anfinson does a wonderful job of evoking the ‘natural’ river. Anfinson’s stance as a public historian contributes to what is perhaps the book’s most enduring contribution. He speaks directly and self-consciously to current public policy issues, hoping to shed historical light on how we got to where we are in managing the Great River. Anfinson’s rich work provides such perspective on future management of the upper Mississippi River."—The Annals of Iowa

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