Following the success of the Center for Western Studies' first foray into river histories, Heartland River: A Cultural and Environmental History of the Big Sioux River (second printing, 2025), the CWS is publishing The Missouri, America’s Longest River in 2026 as part of its America’s 250th Anniversary Commemoration. Also an anthology, the book features chapters by thirty-five historians, scientists and writers exploring the natural and human history of the waterway that defines the region that is the focus of the Center for Western Studies―South Dakota and the surrounding six state areas.  Chapter contributors represent the following institutions: Augustana University, College of New Jersey, Helena College, Loras College, Loyola University, Midland University, Minnesota State University–Mankato, Nebraska Game and Parks, Northern Illinois University, Ohio State University, Oklahoma City University, Providence College, South Dakota School of Mines, South Dakota State Historical Society, South Dakota State University, State Historical Society of North Dakota, University of California–Riverside, University of Colorado–Boulder, University of Kansas, University of Kansas–Monticello, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of South Dakota, and the United States Geological Survey. The collection is edited by Jon K. Lauck , whose most recent book is The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, 1800–1900 (University of Oklahoma Press). Harry F. Thompson is executive director of the Center for Western Studies.