Rising Tide

The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America

By: John M. Barry

Narrated by: Barry Grizzard

An American epic of science, politics, race, honor, high society, and the Mississippi River, Rising Tide tells the riveting and nearly forgotten story of the greatest natural disaster this country has ever known, the Mississippi flood of 1927. The river inundated the homes of nearly one million people, helped elect Huey Long governor and made Herbert Hoover president, drove hundreds of thousands of blacks north, and transformed American society and politics forever.©1997 John M. Barry (P)1998 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division.

Critic reviews

"It is a gripping narrative...Rising Tide stands not only as a powerful story of disaster but as an accomplished and important social history, magisterial in its scope and fiercely dedicated to unearthing the truth." (The New York Times Book Review)

Disappointing so far

The topic is of great interest to me. But the author devotes too much space to developing a dramatic rivalry that isn’t that interesting and not enough to the science itself.

The reader is also working too hard on the drama.

The drama should come from what was known or not known about rivers, levees etc and what the consequences were in terms of success or failure.

Not one guy being a jerk.

My error in not securing this work as a full through read

The story (as with most historical stories of hubris) is compelling. A strong mix of entanglements involving politics, race, ego and science drew me close to the era. However, the narration by Barry Grizzard made the book fully come to life. Excellent.

a little dry, but good

probably the best way I can describe this book.. the writing and presentation are a little dry, but when the closing music started I honestly felt like "dang it, I'm ready to hear MORE from the regional/social/political/etc viewpoints!!"
very informative book, growing up in 80s 90s Louisiana, I'd heard something about Hoover, about "the great flood", about Percy.. but this gave a great review of that era and filled in a knowledge gap.
AND.. I was supposed to read this book for college.. never got past 1st chapter.. NOW its finally done.. 20+ years later, lol!!

Over-abridged

Would love an unabridged version, in this, too much was cut out, left it abrupt.

Mixture of politics, race and engineering

I very much enjoy books like this that present the engineering wrapped inside an excellent study of the people and the politics of complex times. The reader is extremely talented and makes the book very exciting. The story starts around 1840 and leads into the 1930's. I was very fascinated with the story of the Percy family of Greenville MS and of course with the politics of New Orleans. The section that discusses the conflicts between EADS and Humphreys is also very entertaining.

relevant!

I have listened twice, and it is quick. Power and water over people (again). amazing! Relevant and expansive.

a panoramic view of a bygone era

This author is new to me. This book was well written. The narrator's voice was pleased and moving with the required inflections necessary to bring the stories to life.

Great book

I found the story very interesting. Learning of how the River was tamed and the story behind it was awesome

I had no idea

I am 66 years old and have a fair education and a fair knowledge of American history. My parents were born in Arkansas, as were most of my relatives, although my family moved away long before I was born. Yet, Little Rock was always considered home. Still, somehow I knew absolutely nothing about this flood that changed the course of history. Recently, a cousin mentioned Granny, Granddaddy and their kids, including my father, had been evacuated from their home by boat during a flood. As usual, this particular cousin had all the facts wrong. They were not evacuated. She had the date and everything else wrong, except the fact there was a flood. I began to research and discovered this book.

This book not only tells the background of what led to the deadly flood, the how and why, including the political and economic issues that ripened conditions for the worse flood in American history, but also described what happened to American lives, the inconceivable racism, the corruption, greed, ambition, and the demons of human nature involved before, during, and after the flood.

The narration is well done, and John M. Barry's writing is descriptive and tells a complicated story in an understandable manner. For me, it was often too much to take in or absorb at times. I will listen to this book a few more times before I truly comprehend what happened, how it happened, and why it happened.

By the way, the Mississippi was not the only river to be involved. Although my grandparent's and their family did not evacuate, others along their street did. According to another relative, the Arkansas River only came up to Granny's back porch. To give you an idea, from the Clinton Library, in Little Rock, you can look across the Arkansas River and see where Granny's house once stood. Although, only the old pecan tree remains, and the street is now called
Brother Paul Drive, one can see how far from the normal riverbank the water had to rise.

Whether you are like me and are just now asking, "Wait, what? There was a flood?" or if you are well aware of The Great Flood of 1927, you will surely find this book to be an excellent resource.

Interesting History of New Orleans

This book was suggested by a friend who was reading the hard cover version. When I ordered it I didn't realize it was the abridged version. Actually, it was just long enough. I got all the great stories and history of how the Mississippi river changed New Orleans and it was not too long and drawn out. It gave me a wonderful understanding of the political machine that shaped New Orleans.