The Mississippi. Mighty, muddy, dangerous, rebellious and yet a strong, fathering kind of river. The river captured the author's imagination when he was young and that appeal has never waned. 'Mississippi Solo' tells the story of Eddy's voyage by canoe down the river, from its source in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. Paddling into the Southern states - going from 'where there ain't no black folks to where they still don't like us much' - Eddy is confronted by the legacy of slavery and modern racism, including an incident with a pair of shotgun-toting bigots. There are also the dangers of passing barges, wild dogs roaming the wooded shore, and navigating a waterway that grows vaster, and more hazardous, every day.