Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America

Rising Tide - Book Review - Eric DeLong

This was an excellent book. I gave it five stars. The book was interesting from start to finish. The information about the engineers who first sought to control the river, the mistakes made at a later date to control the river, the 1927 Missippippi flood, the stories of the local politicians, and the political ramifications at the national level after the flood all make this a great read. I do not come across more than a few books a year that I would consider to be of the high quality of this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

a long, but great book

If you want to understand the history of the Mississippi River delta, this is the book for you. Some of it is hard to wade through (pun intended), but when I finished I felt like I'd studied a semester with one of the most gifted history teachers.

Wow

Wow

A real "page-turner".

The Mississippi is currently flooding at or above the levels of 1927. So, after hearing John Barry on NPR, I decided to read the book, hoping it wouldn't be too boring. What a surprise! I could not put it down!! His amazing descriptions of the complexity of the River; the engineers; the politicians; the tragedy of the flood. The history is amazing, but so is the insight into the never ending story of the mighty Mississippi River. Thanks to the book I have an understanding of what is currently taking place along the River.

Well Researched and Very Compelling

It's hard to say that this book is simply about one of the greatest tragedies in our nation's history. In our time, Katrina stands as one of the worst tragedies-- and it certainly is (I do not want to tak away from that). However, the great flood of 1927 killed thousands and destroyed the homes of tens of thousands. Can you imagine standing on your front porch 75 miles from the Mississippi River and seeing a wall of water 10 to 15 feet high coming across the field? But the book certainly reaches much farther than just the story of the flood. The author weaves well-researched accounts of history, personalities, cultures, and politics into a story that covers decades of events from before the civil war to years after the great flood. And many of the decisions made back then still affect those of us who live in the Mississippi basin today.

I was particularly amazed and angered at the corruption that was in our political system even way back then. The author did not hide any of the scurilous dealings of our government officials. I also was taken aback at the ineptness of many in leadership at the time. But there were a few amazing individuals who rose above the others and stand out as heros.

Lastly, I was greatly saddened at the treatment of our black American brothers by some (certainly not all) of the white "leaders" in a couple of areas along the river.

This is a great book, in my opinion.

What I didn't know - and then some

Absorbing, very well written and researched... and so much information about an important historical event combined with a saga of wealth, greed, power, and corruption. Most importantly is the exposure of just how horribly black people in the South were treated. Even the Italians came in for a bit of moral turpitude. A real eye-opener!

A story about how we who live around the Mississippi got where we are.

From my Iowa perspective, it is very interesting to read here the development of Herbert Hoover's campaign. I also like the centering on certain individuals to illustate the time and situations that occur. However, the moving back and forth can get confusing and slighly tedious.

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