A sweeping history of the Mississippi River-and the centuries of human meddling that have transformed both it and America.
Over thousands of years, the Mississippi watershed was home to millions of Indigenous people who regarded "the great river" with awe and respect, adorning its banks with astonishing spiritual earthworks. But European settlers and American pioneers had a different vision: the river was a foe to conquer. In this landmark work of natural history, Boyce Upholt tells the epic story of human attempts to own and contain the Mississippi River, from Thomas Jefferson's expansionist land hunger through today's era of environmental concern. He reveals how an ambitious and sometimes contentious program of engineering, government-built levees, jetties, dikes, and dams, has not only damaged once-vibrant ecosystems, but may not work much longer, and explores how scientists are scrambling to restore what's been lost. Rich and powerful, “The Great River” delivers a startling account of what happens when we try to fight against nature instead of acknowledging and embracing its power.
This informative and insightful audiobook history of the Mississippi River and its regions quickly and necessarily focuses on questions of protection and preservation. The Mississippi is the center of American prosperity but is difficult to control and at every point is vulnerable. Narrator Gabriel Vaughan is a steadfast guide through a tangled history of levy building and floodplain management. H
