Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

#1 The Mississippi River is the largest river in the United States, and it flows through the heart of the country. It was the perfect task for the nineteenth century, as it required more than just confidence; it required hubris.

#2 Eads was not treated kindly in life, but he did not accept reverses. He learned first-hand the differences between honest dealing and sharp practice, and how a piece of information could make a man a fortune if he had the sophistication to understand it and the guts to risk it all for it.

#3 Eads had a passion for machinery and math. He built a six-foot-long working model of a steamboat complete with engines and boilers, a working model of a sawmill, and a working electrotype machine. He was 16 years old.

#4 Eads was a young man who had an idea to salvage sunken cargo ships. He walked into the St. Louis offices of boatbuilders Calvin Case and William Nelson, and asked them to build a ship and several diving bells for him, for free. In payment, he would make them partners in the salvage business.