Allan W. Eckert, author of The Frontiersmen and That Dark and Bloody River:

"Mary Sue Anton's research underlines the considerable care she employs in searching for the truth. Her research, which appears beyond reproach, explores the known possibilities of historical events in a singularly unbiased format and provides the reader with the latitude to judge on a very personal level what actually occurred. Refreshingly honest and delightfully readable, clearly, this is history as it needs to be revealed."

William E. Foley, author of The Genesis of Missouri:

"Mary Sue Anton draws from a wide-ranging assortment of primary and secondary sources and a storehouse of local lore to fashion this lively and comprehensive portrait of her native New Madrid and its environs."

Dr. Arch C. Johnston, Director, Center for Earthquake Research and Information, University of Memphis:

"Mary Sue Anton shows us in her superb New Madrid that New Madrid was and is a special town, sustained under five different flags over two difficult centuries by a very special people."

Jay C. Buckley, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School:

"As an astronaut, I am often asked about the value of time and effort put into exploration. Mary Sue Anton shows how our ancestors faced challenges and took risks that would seem unacceptable today. These stories from one town on the Mississippi—New Madrid, Missouri—remind us of the boldness, drive, and dedication that made America the country we love today."

Anthony Cohen, Director, Menare Foundation:

"New Madrid—a forgotten crossroads town, the stomping ground of explorers, westbound settlers, Indians, and slaves—emerges as a picture of America itself on the banks of the Mississippi River."

Janathan Zophy, Professor of History, University of Houston-Clear Lake:

"Mary Sue Anton is to be commended for bringing this intriguing slice of history to life."

Jane Randol Jackson, ret., Cape Girardeau County Archive Center:

"What a beautiful job describing life in the New Madrid, Missouri, area from 1789 to 1900 plus the floods of 1927 and 1937. As I read the stories, I could envision the events as they unfolded."

Gloria Morris, Emeritus Professor of Media Studies, University of Houston-Clear Lake:

"When New Madrid focuses on the cataclysmic earthquakes of 1811, the reader is transported back into one of the most turbulent eras in American recorded history. The eyewitness accounts are riveting."

Keith A. Sculle, Head, Research and Education, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency:

"Best known for earthquakes centered near there two centuries ago, New Madrid, Missouri, has a far richer history than one of calamity. Mary Sue Anton helps us understand that. A genealogist by initial interest, Anton researched for ten years and then wove this graceful narrative history of New Madrid, carefully distinguishing between fact and myth."