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Title: Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America
ISBN: 0684840022
Author:
John M. Barry
Publicate Date: 1998-04-02
Publish: 1998-04-02
List Price: $17.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $2.89
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.39
Amazon Merchant Price: $11.56
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Utterly Fascinating Account of Men vs. the Mississippi!
What's left to say about a book after 100+ reviewers have already had their say? Given some of the insightful reviews posted on John Barry's book, there's probably little new to offer. Yet I felt Barry's book on the great flood of 1927 was so good I wanted to add my "atta-boy" to those countless other readers who found the book (1) a fascinating account of man vs. the Mississippi and (2) an absolute page-turner. I enjoyed this book more than any I can think of in recent memory and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fine writing!
I found two things compelling about RISING TIDE. Barry did a marvelous job of giving life to the Mississippi. It is the book's main character, a remorseless, implacable force of nature as awesome as it is fear-inspiring. Barry's descriptions of river dynamics was utterly fascinating; the mental images they created truly frightening.
And what an amazing cast of human characters connected to the river - Eads, Humphreys, Ellet, LeRoy Percy and his son not to mention Herbert Hoover. Giants and midgets, or perhaps, heroes and villains. Barry's account of Eads' life left me shaking my head in disbelief; what an incredible individual. Then there's Humphreys; what a wasted life, intelligence undone by ego. And LeRoy Percy, a fascinating character alternately admirable and repellent. Herbert Hoover, so aptly summarized as "the brilliant fool" and so on.
In 40-odd years of reading, RISING TIDE is one of a handful of books I'd rated as a page-turner. Yes, it loses momentum in places but it's still a wonderfully written book that brings some long-events and characters into vivid life.
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2: Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Great reading! This book is a terrific combination of science, history and politics. It was hard to put down, and kept me interested like a good novel does.
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3: Book Club loved this book
My book club of 7 very different women all loved this book. It is a riveting story of the development of the Mississippi River Delta area and how Louisiana came to be what it is today. The story starts in the 1920-30s and is a fascinating tale of politics, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, New Orleans, local politics, racial relations, the engineering of the Mississippi River, the beginnings of the Corps of Engineers and Civil Engineers, natural disasters, national politics, etc. Really an amazing book that we will not forget! Highly recommended for both its historical and cultural significance, and lastly - its just a good read and you will not be able to put it down. Makes for good book club discussion.
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4: Marvelous engrossing social history
I am finding this book a fascinating, read. Only part way through book, but I find it riveting. Insights into the personalities of two engineering giant whose conflict shaped the approach to managing the river -- the wrong guy won. I am discovering things about the political and social history of the first half of the 20th century in America that are profoundly disturbing, but add new understanding of where we are today. Uncomfortable similarities between 1010 - 1930 US and today. Can't wait for the flood. I'm almost there. Oh by the way, it is brilliantly written!
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5: Interesting piece of history.
Living near the Mississippi river made this particularly interesting. However, it is a good read in itself, while presenting a part of history that Gen X'rs and younger never heard about.
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