Mississippi River Tragedies: A Century of Unnatural Disaster

by Christine A. Klein (Brand), Sandra B. Zellmer

Read a free excerpt here! American engineers have done astounding things to bend the Mississippi River to their forcing one of its tributaries to flow uphill, transforming over a thousand miles of roiling currents into a placid staircase of water, and wresting the lower half of the river apart from its floodplain. American law has aided and abetted these feats. But despite our best efforts, so-called “natural disasters” continue to strike the Mississippi basin, as raging floodwaters decimate waterfront communities and abandoned towns literally crumble into the Gulf of Mexico. In some places, only the tombstones remain, leaning at odd angles as the underlying soil erodes away. Mississippi River Tragedies reveals that it is seductively deceptive—but horribly misleading—to call such catastrophes “natural.” Authors Christine A. Klein and Sandra B. Zellmer present a sympathetic account of the human dreams, pride, and foibles that got us to this point, weaving together engaging historical narratives and accessible law stories drawn from actual courtroom dramas. The authors deftly uncover the larger story of how the law reflects and even amplifies our ambivalent attitude toward nature—simultaneously revering wild rivers and places for what they are, while working feverishly to change them into something else. Despite their sobering revelations, the authors’ final message is one of hope. Although the acknowledgement of human responsibility for unnatural disasters can lead to blame, guilt, and liability, it can also prod us to confront the consequences of our actions, leading to a liberating sense of possibility and to the knowledge necessary to avoid future disasters.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2014

Reviews

[A Reader's Heaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)



I must admit that I was quite surprised by just how much I enjoyed this book. As an Australian, I know a little of the Mississippi River and the surrounding area but what I didn't know was a lot of the history of the people of the immediate area. There was quite a lot to like about this book:

Historical narratives of the flood, hurricanes and other natural disasters: This part of the book could have been quite dry and uninteresting but I was constantly surprised by the detail and circumstances around each of these occurrences.

The human story: For me, probably the best part of this book. From settlement of the area to the personal accounts of the struggles, tragedies and, in some cases, triumphs of those who live and work amid the constant chaos. Also, the accounts of the work done trying to hold back Mother Nature - engineering marvels (and mistakes) add an interesting angle to this book.

So, in summing it up - not just a history of natural disasters but a human history of trials, tribulations and tragedy. And success as well...


Paul
ARH

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://bookreviewsbyme2.wordpress.com...

I honestly enjoyed this book. I found the content to be extremely informative and the writing to be crisp and concise.

This book covers a lot of information on historical floods and hurricanes on or near the Mississippi river and flood plain. I had no idea that the Mississippi River Flood Plain covered such a wide expanse of area and that we had built so many cities directly in the path of the raging waters. This book provided a lot of information on when we settled in those areas and why and then what happened to the settled areas when the Mississippi flooded. It was interesting to read about how we put so much faith in engineering and settled in areas where flooding is common, then people were surprised when the levees didn't hold and flooding occurred.

I thought this book did a really good job of following disasters through history, starting with the early 1900's and ending with the present day. I also thought it was pleasant how the author didn't focus entirely on floods or on the Mississippi River area; the author mentioned issues with hurricanes and the floodplains and also went outside of the Mississippi River area to California (and other places) where there were important court cases being fought that would impact the Mississippi River area.

The writing in this book was highly pleasant to read. The author writes in a crisp and factual manner, making this book easy to read and follow. I didn't find that the authors writing style to be too scientific, in fact, I thought that she did a good job of explaining concepts and information in a way that was extremely easy for a general reader to comprehend.

Overall, I found this book to be a refreshing nonfiction read. This was a topic I hadn't know much about and I felt that this book really informed me. On top of that, the author writes in a pleasant manner, making this book an enjoyable read. I would highly recommend this book for anyone living in a floodplain or anyone interested in natural disasters and engineering.

I received this book for review purposes via NetGalley.

[Wesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I liked this book. I'm a bit of a history nerd but don't know extensive geography or nautical or maritime or shipping aspects of it. This book really held my attention. They make the point that when something happens on the river (flooding usually) people river to it as an act of God, something humans have no control over. However, there have been tons of changes done to the Mississippi river facilitated by humans some for the better some for the worse. I like this point because I think we forget how responsible we are for things, especially something that effects so many people/places/states/situations like the might Mississippi. I thought the section about how Mark Twain was sad about the state of the river, after returning to it from a long absence. The lazy river of his childhood had completed disappeared into something he couldn't even recognize.

I think this would be a great book to give the history lover in your life, it's amazing how much of our natures history is caught up in one geographical feature.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a battle between MAN and NATURE, NATURE always wins. How quickly we forget this. Klein and Zellmer have done an incredible job of showing us the damage that has been done in efforts to "re-align" this river to suit the various population needs.

And, poor, poor New Orleans!! This beleaguered city is constantly battling the flowing of the swollen Mississippi River and hurricanes from the Gulf of Mexico.

This book is a revelation. It's a wake-up call for big business, the military, and congress. Screaming for a non-partisan assessment and action before more tragedies ensue.

An eye-opening read for everyone.

I recently read "Five Days at Memorial", a non-fiction account of Memorial Hospital in New Orleans immediately after Hurricane Katrina's devastation. "Mississippi River Tragedies" is a perfect companion book.

I read this e-book courtesy of NetGalley.

[Tonja · Rating 1 out of 5]

Easily researched information clearly wrong when describing physical aspects of flood control systems and operations. It's as though they ignored readily available facts to support their arguments. I really wanted this book to contribute to the body of knowledge of flood control risks. Instead the authors kept it supremely shallow, offering little new information and analysis. At least it was a fast read since nothing they wrote went into a depth requiring the reader's full attention.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The legal perspective on Mississippi River flooding is new, and the conclusion is spot on.

[Ngaio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Building on a floodplain is like pitching your tent on a highway when there's no cars"-- Association of State Floodplain Managers, Mississippi River Tragedies

I really enjoyed this book. I only knew a little bit about the Mississippi River Basin and its history of problems, but it was really absorbing. Obviously the more recent disasters (Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy stand out in my mind) were familiar to me, but when one put them into context with all the history of disasters the nation has experienced it was more troubling.

Basic formula: Nature has System A for dealing with excess water (via flooding, hurricane storm surges etc.). Humans decide System A is not ideal for whatever reason (difficult for navigation, they'd rather have a strip mall there etc.) and change it/get rid of it. Suddenly humans have Problems B, C, and D appear and have no idea how this could have happened. Yet they still claim it's a "natural" disaster enough though they engineered it.

While this book largely looks at the Mississippi Basin (the river itself and its tributaries) and at flooding, it is more about that formula of humans causing or exacerbating disasters. It also looks at hurricanes and coastal flooding, the effects of damming, and very briefly on toxic dumping. I found it very comprehensive and all the parts felt like they fit in with the overall message of the work.

There is a strong social justice theme to this book. They frequently look at how these disasters affect people, and why they disproportionately affect racial minorities, the poor, and the marginalized. Some of the historical incidents were horrifying (e.g. forming a human dike of black people at gunpoint). Some were predictable if still terrible (e.g. refusing to rescue people of colour from flood-waters because then, gasp!, they might have to be in a desegregated refugee camp).
I found the institutional (and on-going) discrimination to be interesting. All the times when the chips come down and the government has to choose who to save, funny how the rich voters get helped first. Anyone interested in American social justice should probably read this book.

Only two things stood out to me as problems with the text. It goes into a summary towards the end which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but bits of it felt redundant. It could have been trimmed down some. The other thing is that I noticed the authors sometimes used the term "Indian" to refer to Native Americans. They didn't always and sometimes it was in a historical context, but occasionally it would appear in an unnecessary way that felt off.

I think this book would greatly interest people interested in social justice, history, urban planning, or engineering. It has helpful diagrams as well as historical pictures which are icing on the cake.

[Mary Whisner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two law professors (Christine A. Klein and Sandra B. Zellmer) look at the destructive floods of the Mississippi—powerful stories—and the ways that laws and policy choices made them the disasters they were. If you encourage people to move to the floodplain and subsidize their insurance and tell them that the levees are going to make everything safe, then you'll have a whole lot of damage one day.

No time to read even a very well-written, engaging book? Jump to the Conclusion.

We have learned much during our experiment with intensive federal flood management, which began in earnest with the passage of the Federal Flood Control Act of 1928. Three lessons stand out: 1) Rivers will flood; 2) levees will fail; and 3) unwise floodplain development will happen if we let it.

And then later in that chapter:

We propose the following: (1) Eliminate federal immunity for flood damage; (2) reform the decision-making metrics for the construction of flood control projects; (3) reform the Fifth Amendment takings doctrine; and (4) reform the National Flood Insurance Program both the keep people out of harm's way and to force those who engage in risky behavior to assume the risk (and the cost).

The authors elaborate, of course, but these are the main lessons and proposals.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was full of information but done in a way that makes the reading enjoyable. The flood plans for the Mississippi River and the river itself has changed over the years some good some not so good. The author goes into detail with how floods from storms has changed the path but also man has put his hand on it as well. Also goes into the many dams that have been built in Minnesota, which has something to do with the flow, along with hurricanes and other storms. The author also discusses the legal side of loss of property when a flood happens, risk and prevention, compensating for rebuild or loss, and insurance. This does not just include New Orleans but many along the Mississippi. A through look at the river and the good and bad that goes in living so close to it. A good book. Much more information than I am giving you. I got this book from net galley.

[Nicholas Aune · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be honest. This book is going to be incredibly hard to read because it is extremely depressing. Unless of course you are an Emergency Management nerd.

This is an extremely well researched an informative book that extensively covers all of the problems that might come up during a flood like exacerbating racial tensions, or , in an extreme case, turning an isolated town into an island. Starting from America demanding from the get go to get access to Mississippi, the book follows the series of tragedies that acquisition brought leading up to the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina finale.

[Adam J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched book covering flooding in the Mississippi River basin. Good legal history sprinkled with some great human interest tales.

[Mills College Library]

363.34935 K641 2014