Heaven's ditch : God, gold, and murder on the Erie Canal / Jack Kelly.
"The technological marvel of its age, the Erie Canal grew out of a sudden fit of inspiration. Proponents didn't just dream; they built a 360-mile waterway entirely by hand and largely through wilderness. As excitement crackled down its length, the canal became the scene of the most striking outburst of imagination in American history. Zealots invented new religions and new modes of living. The Erie Canal made New York the financial capital of America and brought the modern world crashing into the frontier. Men and women saw God face to face, gained and lost fortunes, and reveled in a period of intense spiritual creativity. Heaven's Ditch by Jack Kelly illuminates the spiritual and political upheavals along this "psychic highway" from its opening in 1825 through 1844. "Wage slave" Sam Patch became America's first celebrity daredevil. William Miller envisioned the apocalypse. Farm boy Joseph Smith gave birth to Mormonism, a new and distinctly American religion. Along the way, the reader encounters America's very first "crime of the century," a treasure hunt, searing acts of violence, a visionary cross-dresser, and a panoply of fanatics, mystics, and hoaxers. A page-turning narrative, Heaven's Ditch offers an excitingly fresh look at a heady, foundational moment in American history"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781137280091
- ISBN: 1137280093
- Physical Description: ix, 290 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition
- Publisher: New York : St. Martin's Press, 2016.
- Copyright: ©2016
Content descriptions
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-281) and index.
- Formatted Contents Note:
- 1 5 -- Hardship -- Bond of Union -- A Mighty Baptism -- A Perfect Wilderness -- Hair-hung -- Eternity -- Visionary -- Navigable -- Abduction -- 2 39 -- Groundbreaking -- To Feel and Shout -- Damned If You Do -- Practical -- All -- Spirit of God -- Clouds of Heaven -- Beyond Description -- 3 65 -- Excited -- On Fire -- Otherwise, I Am Fine -- Mania -- Magnificent -- Ill-Advised Zeal -- Gold Bible -- Ingenious -- Whiskey -- Methods -- Abyss -- 4 111 -- Translation -- Time -- Most Imminent Danger -- By the Hand of Mormon -- A Battlefield -- Morgan's Ghost -- Story -- Awake -- Tel! It to the World -- Latter Days -- All Rochester -- 5 157 -- Wedding -- Big Things -- Work of God -- Sharp Sickle -- Zion -- Fort Niagara -- Salvation -- Deep Prejudice -- Velocity -- Spirit -- Extermination -- 6 201 -- Packet -- Unutterable Magnitude -- Pagans -- War -- Public Prosperity -- Thunderer -- Bones of God -- 7 231 -- Whole of America -- O Blessed Year -- As It Is -- Strong Meat -- Awful Forebodings -- O Lord, My God -- Epilogue 255 -- Today -- Everything -- Highway -- Martyr -- Old Mule -- Pageant.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Erie Canal (N.Y.) > History.
New York (State) > History > 1775-1865.
Available copies
- 4 of 6 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at McDowell County Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 6 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion Library | 386.4809 KEL (Text) | 37810435413637 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
