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Rising Tide by John Barry - thoughts from MS/LA/AR folks?
Posted on 11/8/20 at 10:06 pm
Posted on 11/8/20 at 10:06 pm
Have any of you read Barry's book about the 1927 Mississippi Flood and the culture/social/governmental issues and structure leading up to it?
I had a very basic knowledge of it but have found the book fascinating. It centers around the levee vs spillway/jetties debates and the cultural changes in the Delta between the War and the early 20s, then the actual flood itself.
Just curious if anyone here from those regions that had family stories/feelings about those times knew about the book or had read it and how accurate it was.
I had a very basic knowledge of it but have found the book fascinating. It centers around the levee vs spillway/jetties debates and the cultural changes in the Delta between the War and the early 20s, then the actual flood itself.
Just curious if anyone here from those regions that had family stories/feelings about those times knew about the book or had read it and how accurate it was.
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Posted on 11/8/20 at 10:34 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Great book. Highly recommend. It’s very well researched and written. It’s probably one of the best books I’ve ever read. Some of that might be personal bias since I grew up in the delta region (not MS) and 20 miles from the Mississippi River in a farming family and my grandfather and father were both long time presidents of a very large drainage and levee district.
This post was edited on 11/8/20 at 10:36 pm
Posted on 11/8/20 at 10:37 pm to DownSouthJukin
quote:
Great book. Highly recommend. It’s probably one of the best books I’ve ever read. Some of that might be personal bias since I grew up in the delta region in a farming family and my grandfather and father were both long time presidents of a very large drainage and levee district.
I thought it was fantastic but know that these types of stories always slant one way or another (not by choice even), so I was curious of local historical opinions.
I learned a ton about a topic I embarrassingly had little knowledge of. Really enjoyed it.
Between that and the Spanish Flu book, guy has a gift.
This post was edited on 11/8/20 at 10:39 pm
Posted on 11/8/20 at 10:43 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Barry kept it pretty even handed. I thought he did a good job highlighting the difference between LeRoy Percy and his son as regards to relations with the sharecroppers.
I really appreciated the river history Barry taught beginning with Eads.
I haven’t read his book on the Spanish Flu.
I really appreciated the river history Barry taught beginning with Eads.
I haven’t read his book on the Spanish Flu.
This post was edited on 11/8/20 at 10:46 pm
Posted on 11/8/20 at 10:49 pm to DownSouthJukin
quote:
I really appreciated the river history Barry taught beginning with Eads.
Yea - I had absolutely no knowledge of it. It was great. The entire levee/spillway/jetties thing......it almost made me embarrassed to have never read or heard anything about it.
quote:
I haven’t read his book on the Spanish Flu.
The entire Rona thing brought it to my attention, but it's very similar in style. Lays out the background of American medicine and it's rise from backwater to world leader and how the Flu seemed to hit right at the moment it was emerging.
This post was edited on 11/8/20 at 10:51 pm
Posted on 11/8/20 at 11:01 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Fantastic book. Can't recommend it enough.
Posted on 11/8/20 at 11:15 pm to PrisonMike
I’m trudging through Spanish Flu right now. Wild book
Posted on 11/8/20 at 11:16 pm to Hogwarts
quote:
I’m trudging through Spanish Flu right now. Wild book
The US medical history (specifically medical schools) even up to the late 1800s is something I knew nothing about.
Posted on 11/9/20 at 8:01 am to SummerOfGeorge
I haven't read the book, I've been meaning to since I first heard about it.
My family has some stories about the flood, not surprisingly centered around my Great-Grandfather who was a real piece of work. He was a major land owner in the Arkansas delta and when the flood waters started to rise he refused to let the sharecroppers stay around his house (the only "high" point for miles) because they might not leave and he had paid good money for that home.
A couple of years later he lost almost everything (he had been one of the richest men in the Mid-South) when the stock market collapsed. Quite a character. When Coca Cola was first starting to expand he'd been offered 25% of the company to help it expand into Memphis but turned them down because "no one is going to drink this garbage." Yep. Great Grandpa, super business man.
My family has some stories about the flood, not surprisingly centered around my Great-Grandfather who was a real piece of work. He was a major land owner in the Arkansas delta and when the flood waters started to rise he refused to let the sharecroppers stay around his house (the only "high" point for miles) because they might not leave and he had paid good money for that home.
A couple of years later he lost almost everything (he had been one of the richest men in the Mid-South) when the stock market collapsed. Quite a character. When Coca Cola was first starting to expand he'd been offered 25% of the company to help it expand into Memphis but turned them down because "no one is going to drink this garbage." Yep. Great Grandpa, super business man.
Posted on 11/9/20 at 8:03 am to Arksulli
That's great shite
Posted on 11/9/20 at 5:13 pm to Arksulli
quote:
Arksulli
My dad gave me a book about the Arkansas Delta a couple of years ago. I have yet to read it, but he really liked it. I’ll see if I can find it and shoot you the name of it.
This post was edited on 11/9/20 at 9:06 pm
Posted on 11/9/20 at 7:46 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Im going to look for this book.
Posted on 11/9/20 at 7:55 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Arkansas delta checking in.
Posted on 11/10/20 at 10:45 am to DownSouthJukin
The Arkansas Delta is the land that time forgot. Honestly, nothing new seems to have been built there since the 50s.
It would be a real shock to the system to visit there are living in NW Arkansas. I was always worried in Fayetteville that someone would build a new subdivision while I was at the grocery store and I'd get lost on my way back home.
It would be a real shock to the system to visit there are living in NW Arkansas. I was always worried in Fayetteville that someone would build a new subdivision while I was at the grocery store and I'd get lost on my way back home.
Posted on 11/10/20 at 11:49 am to Arksulli
Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Agriculture in the New South
Author is Jeannie Whayne. It's about Mississippi County and Wilson, Arkansas.
A guy from my neck of the woods bought the entire town a decade ago: NY TImes Story
Author is Jeannie Whayne. It's about Mississippi County and Wilson, Arkansas.
A guy from my neck of the woods bought the entire town a decade ago: NY TImes Story
This post was edited on 11/10/20 at 11:51 am
Posted on 11/17/20 at 7:13 pm to SummerOfGeorge
Read it many years ago, but never lived in the Delta.
Thought it was very good. Still have a copy.
Thought it was very good. Still have a copy.
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