100 books like Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley

By Ephraim G. Squier, Edwin H. Davis,

Here are 100 books that Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley fans have personally recommended if you like Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Dig: A Novel Based on True Events

Jim Metzner Author Of Sacred Mounds

From my list on ancient mounds.

Why am I passionate about this?

To me, it seemed the ancient mounds were fertile ground for literary exploration, a living metaphor – evidence of what was likely the first places of spiritual practice in our country, ancient, unknown, and buried, what a symbol to form the basis of a novel! When I began my research, I soon came into contact with the Natchez. I attended their annual gathering and eventually became close friends with the Principal Chief of the Natchez Nation, who vetted Sacred Mounds and wrote its foreword. The book includes historical figures like the Great Sun, descended from the Sun Itself, and his war chief, the Tattooed Serpent. They are part of the tapestry of history woven in Sacred Mounds.

Jim's book list on ancient mounds

Jim Metzner Why did Jim love this book?

The popular Netflix film The Dig was based on this book, one of the few works of historical fiction that deal with ancient mounds. It tells the story of the 1930-era excavation of a Celtic Burial Mound. Not all mounds were burials, however. Some were ceremonial and their purpose remains largely unknown. The book gives a good sense of what archaeology was like a hundred years ago, both the practice and the politics behind what yielded the largest buried treasure in Britain's history.

By John D. Preston,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dig as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the long hot summer of 1939 Britain is preparing for war. But on a riverside farm in Suffolk there is excitement of another kind: Mrs Petty, the widowed farmer, has had her hunch proved correct that the strange mounds on her land hold buried treasure. As the dig proceeds against a background of mounting national anxiety, it becomes clear though that this is no ordinary find ... And pretty soon the discovery leads to all kinds of jealousies and tensions. John Preston's recreation of the Sutton Hoo dig - the greatest Anglo-Saxon discovery ever in Britain - brilliantly and…


Book cover of The Moundbuilders: Ancient Societies of Eastern North America

Jim Metzner Author Of Sacred Mounds

From my list on ancient mounds.

Why am I passionate about this?

To me, it seemed the ancient mounds were fertile ground for literary exploration, a living metaphor – evidence of what was likely the first places of spiritual practice in our country, ancient, unknown, and buried, what a symbol to form the basis of a novel! When I began my research, I soon came into contact with the Natchez. I attended their annual gathering and eventually became close friends with the Principal Chief of the Natchez Nation, who vetted Sacred Mounds and wrote its foreword. The book includes historical figures like the Great Sun, descended from the Sun Itself, and his war chief, the Tattooed Serpent. They are part of the tapestry of history woven in Sacred Mounds.

Jim's book list on ancient mounds

Jim Metzner Why did Jim love this book?

This was one of my go-to non-fiction books when researching for my book. It gives a great sense of the history and variety of the mounds in the United States. It's estimated there were once thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands. A few have been preserved, most have been forgotten or obliterated.

By George R. Milner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Moundbuilders as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Brought up to date with the latest research, The Moundbuilders is the definitive visual guide to North America’s eastern region and the societies that forever changed its landscape.


Hailed by Bruce D. Smith, curator of North American archaeology at the Smithsonian Institution, as “without question the best available book on the pre-Columbian . . . societies of eastern North America,” this wide-ranging and richly illustrated volume covers the entire prehistory of the Eastern Woodlands and the thousands of earthen mounds that can be found there, built between 3100 BCE and 1600 CE.


The second edition of The Moundbuilders has been…


Book cover of Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico

Jim Metzner Author Of Sacred Mounds

From my list on ancient mounds.

Why am I passionate about this?

To me, it seemed the ancient mounds were fertile ground for literary exploration, a living metaphor – evidence of what was likely the first places of spiritual practice in our country, ancient, unknown, and buried, what a symbol to form the basis of a novel! When I began my research, I soon came into contact with the Natchez. I attended their annual gathering and eventually became close friends with the Principal Chief of the Natchez Nation, who vetted Sacred Mounds and wrote its foreword. The book includes historical figures like the Great Sun, descended from the Sun Itself, and his war chief, the Tattooed Serpent. They are part of the tapestry of history woven in Sacred Mounds.

Jim's book list on ancient mounds

Jim Metzner Why did Jim love this book?

If you're interested in learning the history of Mississippian tribes, this is the bible! It contains first-person accounts of First Nation groups written by missionaries. They're the first and only such written descriptions we have. The Jesuits had their own cultural biases, to be sure, but their observations are invaluable.

By John Reed Swanton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Concentrating primarily on the Natchez Indians, but also profiling the Muskhogean tribes, the Tunican group, the Chitimacha, and the Atakapa, the comprehensive study describes each tribe's material culture, religion, language and social organization, with engrossing accounts of practices related to war, marriage, medicine, hunting, feasts, funeral ceremonies, and other customs.


Book cover of The Natchez Indians: A History to 1735

Jim Metzner Author Of Sacred Mounds

From my list on ancient mounds.

Why am I passionate about this?

To me, it seemed the ancient mounds were fertile ground for literary exploration, a living metaphor – evidence of what was likely the first places of spiritual practice in our country, ancient, unknown, and buried, what a symbol to form the basis of a novel! When I began my research, I soon came into contact with the Natchez. I attended their annual gathering and eventually became close friends with the Principal Chief of the Natchez Nation, who vetted Sacred Mounds and wrote its foreword. The book includes historical figures like the Great Sun, descended from the Sun Itself, and his war chief, the Tattooed Serpent. They are part of the tapestry of history woven in Sacred Mounds.

Jim's book list on ancient mounds

Jim Metzner Why did Jim love this book?

The Natchez were the last tribe observed inhabiting and interacting with the ancient mounds. Their culture was remarkable in many ways, such as the tribal imperative for those in the top echelon to marry members of the lowest caste. Barnett's book is the best book available on this remarkable First Nation group.

By James F. Barnett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Natchez Indians as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Natchez Indians: A History to 1735 is the story of the Natchez Indians as revealed through accounts of Spanish, English, and French explorers, missionaries, soldiers, and colonists, and in the archaeological record. Because of their strategic location on the Mississippi River, the Natchez Indians played a crucial part in the European struggle for control of the Lower Mississippi Valley. The book begins with the brief confrontation between the Hernando de Soto expedition and the powerful Quigualtam chiefdom, presumed ancestors of the Natchez. In the late seventeenth century, Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle's expedition met the Natchez and initiated sustained…


Book cover of Unworthy Republic: The Dispossession of Native Americans and the Road to Indian Territory

Alan Taylor Author Of American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850

From my list on the early United States.

Why am I passionate about this?

Alan Taylor is a professor of history at the University of Virginia, where he holds the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Chair, he has published nine books, including William Cooper's Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early Republic, and The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, both of which won the Pulitzer Prize for American history. In May, Norton will publish his tenth book, American Republics: A Continental History of the United States, 1783-1850.

Alan's book list on the early United States

Alan Taylor Why did Alan love this book?

With deep research and moral clarity, Saunt vividly narrates the American efforts to force Native peoples to forsake their homelands and accept reservations beyond the Mississippi River.  He uncovers the eloquence of Native leaders exposing the hypocrisy of Americans who broke the promises of repeated treaties. And Saunt offers a chilling accounting of the thousands of dead produced by violent dislocation from hearth and home. 

By Claudio Saunt,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Unworthy Republic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In May 1830, the United States launched an unprecedented campaign to expel 80,000 Native Americans from their eastern homelands to territories west of the Mississippi River. In a firestorm of fraud and violence, thousands of Native Americans lost their lives, and thousands more lost their farms and possessions. The operation soon devolved into an unofficial policy of extermination, enabled by US officials, southern planters, and northern speculators. Hailed for its searing insight, Unworthy Republic transforms our understanding of this pivotal period in American history.


Book cover of Mississippi Solo

Rick Van Noy Author Of Borne by the River

From my list on river travel for your next journey.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up on the Delaware River and took my first canoe trip around 12. Later, in my teens, I worked for a canoe outfitter. During college, I took several longer trips with friends. When a father, I would bring my kids and family along, often with a dog. Later, I would paddle the whole stretch of it, 200 miles from the headwaters to my boyhood home, which I wrote about in my book. To write it, I reread many of these books, including Powell and Graves, who also paddled with his dog. Mine, Sully, joined me on my 9-day trip. 

Rick's book list on river travel for your next journey

Rick Van Noy Why did Rick love this book?

Traveling down the length of the river, Harris describes his journey less as an external vacation and more as a process of getting to know himself better and better. Harris, from St. Louis, had little to no canoeing experience, but as he gains confidence, he comes to believe he is capable of almost anything.

He also begins to understand what it means to be a Black American on the historic river, but it becomes clear that “people will see I’m Black only moments after they see my canoe is green.” He travels “from where there ain’t no Black folks to where they don’t like us much.” Pair with James, by Percival Everett. Based on Huck Finn, it stays close to the original, yet tells Jim/James's side and takes more seriously his quest for freedom and to reunite with his family.

By Eddy L. Harris,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mississippi Solo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Since the publication of his first book, Mississippi Solo, Eddy L. Harris has been praised for his travel writing. In this exciting reissue of his classic travelogue, readers will come to treasure the rich insightful prose that is as textured as the Mississippi River itself. They will be taken by the hand by an adventurer whose lifelong dream is to canoe the length of this mighty river, from Minnesota to New Orleans. The trip's dangers were legion for a Black man traveling alone, paddling from "where there ain't no black folks to where they still don't like us much." Barge…


Book cover of Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The Development of Afro-Creole Culture in the Eighteenth-Century

Christian Pinnen Author Of Complexion of Empire in Natchez: Race and Slavery in the Mississippi Borderlands

From my list on race and slavery in colonial Mississippi Valley.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a historian of race and slavery in the lower Mississippi Valley because the region is a fulcrum of United States history. I was always fascinated by the significance of the Mississippi River for American expansion, society, and culture. Ultimately, this region of the country is so deeply influenced by people of African descent that must be included in all histories, and I wanted to share their stories in a particular place during the colonial period. Telling these stories in places where they have commonly been less well represented is very rewarding and it opens more ways to understand the histories of places like Natchez along the Mississippi River.

Christian's book list on race and slavery in colonial Mississippi Valley

Christian Pinnen Why did Christian love this book?

Gwendolyn Hall’s Africans in Colonial Louisiana is still a foundational text when it comes to studying African people in the colonial lower Mississippi Valley. Her deep knowledge of the archives and skill in bringing the stories of enslaved Africans to live make this a wonderfully informative book. She draws deep connections between the places that Africans left and their forced new homes in Louisiana, while placing a special emphasis on how that culture turned into an African creole culture in the lower Mississippi Valley.

By Gwendolyn Midlo Hall,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Africans in Colonial Louisiana as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Although a number of important studies of American slavery have explored the formation of slave cultures in the English colonies, few books have undertaken a comprehensive assessment of the development of the distinctive African-Creole culture of colonial Louisiana. This culture, based upon a separate language community with its own folklore, musical, religious and historical traditions, was created by slaves brought directly from Africa to Louisiana before 1731. It still survives as the acknowledged cultural heritage of tens of thousands of people of all races in the southern part of the state. In this work, Gwendolyn Hall studies Louisiana's Creole slave…


Book cover of Behind the Rifle: Women Soldiers in Civil War Mississippi

DeAnne Blanton Author Of They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War

From my list on women in the Civil War.

Why am I passionate about this?

DeAnne Blanton retired from the National Archives in Washington, DC after 31 years of service as a reference archivist specializing in 18th and 19th century U.S. Army records. She was recognized within the National Archives as well as in the historical and genealogical communities as a leading authority on the American Civil War; 19th century women’s history; and the history of American women in the military.

DeAnne's book list on women in the Civil War

DeAnne Blanton Why did DeAnne love this book?

When Lauren Cook and I published They Fought Like Demons, we knew that our book, although groundbreaking, was only the tip of the iceberg in the story of women soldiers in the Civil War, and we always hoped that another scholar would pick up the torch and move the story forward.  Shelby Harriel has done just that.  Behind the Rifle is a meticulously researched and ably written account of the distaff soldiers who hailed from Mississippi, or found themselves there.  Citing previously unknown sources along with revealing newly-located photographs, Harriel’s contribution to the history of women soldiers is remarkable.

By Shelby Harriel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Behind the Rifle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

During the Civil War, Mississippi's strategic location bordering the Mississippi River and the state's system of railroads drew the attention of opposing forces who clashed in major battles for control over these resources. The names of these engagements-Vicksburg, Jackson, Port Gibson, Corinth, Iuka, Tupelo, and Brice's Crossroads-along with the narratives of the men who fought there resonate in Civil War literature. However, Mississippi's chronicle of military involvement in the Civil War is not one of men alone. Surprisingly, there were a number of female soldiers disguised as males who stood shoulder to shoulder with them on the firing lines across…


Book cover of Old Glory: An American Voyage

Mike Gerrard Author Of Snakes Alive and Other Travel Writing

From my list on US travel writing chosen by a travel writer.

Why am I passionate about this?

I always wanted to be a writer but never thought I’d become a travel writer. And like many British teenagers, I also had a passion for the USA – its movies, its music, its writers – but never imagined I would end up living in Arizona. I’ve now traveled in the US widely and understand why its landscapes, its people, and its culture have produced so much good travel writing. It’s a country that’s inspiring and surprising in equal measure, ever-changing, vast, and even though I didn’t grow up there it certainly made me who I am. 

Mike's book list on US travel writing chosen by a travel writer

Mike Gerrard Why did Mike love this book?

Sometimes it takes an outsider to see deeper into a country. Raban was a respected English novelist and critic when he moved to the USA and settled there – something I would later do myself. He proceeded to produce a series of brilliantly vivid travel books about his new homeland, of which this was the first. Avoiding the inevitable road trip (though he did those later), he takes a motorboat for a solo journey down the Mississippi River. Long periods alone allow him the chance to reflect on the river, nature, and the USA, but he also has lively encounters with the people who live by the river, revealing their passions and their pains.

By Jonathan Raban,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Old Glory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Jonathan Raban is one of the world's greatest living travel writers.' William Dalrymple

'The best book of travel ever written by an Englishman about the United States' Jan Morris, Independent

Navigating the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to New Orleans, Raban opens himself to experience the river in all her turbulent and unpredictable old glory. Going wherever the current takes him, he joins a coon-hunt in Savana, falls for a girl in St Louis, worships with black Baptists in Memphis, hangs out with the housewives of Pemiscot and the hog-king of Dubuque. Through tears of laughter, we are led into the…


Book cover of The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes

Deborah R. Coen Author Of The Earthquake Observers: Disaster Science from Lisbon to Richter

From my list on what scientists don't know and why it matters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a historian of science fascinated by how scientists cope with uncertainty. I’m drawn to books that identify and try to explain the gaps in scientific knowledge and describe ways of knowing that might not be called scientific. I love to read stories about how ordinary people discover extraordinary things about their environments. I’m always curious about what happens when savvy locals are visited by scientific experts. Will they join forces? Admit what they don’t know? Or is a struggle brewing?

Deborah's book list on what scientists don't know and why it matters

Deborah R. Coen Why did Deborah love this book?

Amazingly, the seismic disasters that this book documents, which took place in the middle of the United States in the nineteenth century, have been almost entirely forgotten by scientists and planners.

How can earthquakes remake an entire region, physically and socially—and yet to be erased from history within two generations? This is a mind-boggling story about the short attention span of those entrusted to protect against environmental destruction.

By Conevery Bolton Valencius,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From December 1811 to February 1812, massive earthquakes shook the middle Mississippi Valley, collapsing homes, snapping large trees midtrunk, and briefly but dramatically reversing the flow of the continent's mightiest river. For decades, people puzzled over the causes of the quakes, but by the time the nation began to recover from the Civil War, the New Madrid earthquakes had been essentially forgotten. In The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes, Conevery Bolton Valencius remembers this major environmental disaster, demonstrating how events that have been long forgotten, even denied and ridiculed as tall tales, were in fact enormously important at…


Book cover of The Dig: A Novel Based on True Events
Book cover of The Moundbuilders: Ancient Societies of Eastern North America
Book cover of Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico

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