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Flood: Nature and Culture
From Noah’s Biblical deluge to the China floods of 1931 that killed more than 3 million people; and from the broken levees in New Orleans to submerged streets and homes all over Britain, floods have always been an unwelcome companion of humanity. They have many rain, melting ice, storms, tsunamis and the failures of dams and dikes. They have been used as deliberate acts of war causing thousands of casualties and have often been seen as punishments visited by vengeful gods. Flooding kills more people than any other type of natural disaster. This cultural and natural history of floods tells of the deadliest floods the world has seen, while also exploring the role of the deluge in religion, mythology, literature and art.Flood describes how aspects of floods – the power of nature, human drama, altered landscapes – have fascinated artists, novelists and film-makers. It examines the ancient, catastrophic deluge that appears in many religions and cultures, and considers how the flood has become a key icon in world literatures and a favourite component of disaster movies. John Withington also relates how some of the most ambitious structures ever built by humans have been designed to protect us against these merciless encroaching waters, and discusses the increasing danger floods pose in a future beset by the effects of climate change. Filled with illustrations, Flood offers a fascinating overview of our relationship with one of humanity’s oldest and deadliest foes.
197 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 11, 2013
15 people want to read
About the author
John Withington
10 books1 followerJohn Wihtington is a television producer and writer, Among his television credits are 'Royal London' (LWT), 'From Marx to the Market' (BBC2) and 'Global Gamble' (Channel 4). He writes regularly for newspapers and magazines and the author of Shutdown, a book about the effects of shipyard closures on Teesside.
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July 31, 2021
John Withington's book, Flood: Nature and Culture, goes through the entire history, culture, events, and future of floods. The book explains the place floods have had in society and how humans have dealt with and explained them throughout the centuries. The author uses myths, events, literature, art, engineering, and global warming to help the reader fully realize the impact that floods have had globally. This book gives much more information about floods than the textbook. Flood: Nature and Culture uses several vital points to create a central theme and give incredible detail to the most impactful and recurring natural hazard.
There are three main themes in Flood: Nature and Culture. One is to teach about the historically important flooding events and how they affected the population. Another is how humans handled these major flooding events, whether it was through creating defenses, literature, or art from them. The author expresses his fear for the future with the rise of flooding due to global warming and the damage it will do to civilization as a whole. These three themes give a fully developed understanding of floods and why they are so influential worldwide.
John Withington uses six points to help the reader understand his main themes. The first chapter is called myth, which discusses how different cultures and religions interpreted floods and their meaning. The author found that groups from Greece, India, Burma, Vietnam, Malaya, Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, the Philippines, Taiwan, the Kamchatka peninsula of Far Eastern Russia, Lithuania, Tran Sylvania, and across North and South America all had similar stories of the great biblical flood that Noah endured for forty days and forty nights. Chapter two presents facts about massive historical floods and how they happened because of dyke and dam bursts, melting snow, tidal surges, heavy rain, storms, tsunamis, mudslides, and acts of war. For example, the flood caused by Hurricane Katrina was because the storm broke the levees protecting New Orleans, while in 2004, several islands and towns in the Indian Ocean were devastated by a flood that occurred due to a tsunami. Chapter three tells of the references of floods in literature. The story of the little boy with his finger in the dyke trying to keep his town safe from a flood is still used today when it feels one is trying to hold everything together. Chapter four shows the evolution of how floods are depicted in art and cinema. One of the first Christian art subjects was Noah's flood, which was painted around the third century in a catacomb beneath the city of Rome. The Impossible, a movie about the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, has so far been one of the few movies based on a flood to be taken well by critics. Chapter five tells of all the defenses different civilizations took to defend their communities from floods. For example, one of the first methods used to deter floods by ancient cultures in places like China and Brazil was human sacrifice. Today, countries like Great Britain, the Netherlands, the United States, and Germany are creating embankments with detectors to tell whether there is a danger in the embankment giving way. Chapter six offers facts and warns the public of global warming and the increase of flooding. The melting ice and more intense storms caused by global warming will continue to create more flooding all around the world. An example of increased flooding is the shut down of the Thames Flood Barrier, which had to be shut down four times in the 1980s, 35 times in the 1990s, and over 80 times between 2000 and 2010. The effects of flooding because of global warming will only worsen due to the increase in population and the migration to flood-prone areas. The best depiction of the harm this is truly causing in the twenty-first century is the picture of the woman giving birth to her baby in a tree because of high floodwaters. These points help the reader fully comprehend all aspects of how floods have shaped the world we live in today and the world to come.
Flood: Nature and Culture had way more information about floods than the textbook. Understandably, the textbook is over the entire topic of natural hazards while Flood: Nature and Culture is just on floods. Furthermore, the textbook did not mention the religions, myths, folktales, art, or literature that reference floods. Knowing these aspects about floods helps researchers understand the magnitude that floods have had on society and how we treat them today. Otherwise, both books wrote about the defense engineering created to protect against floods and the different natural hazards that cause floods.
John Withington's Flood: Nature and Culture was one of the best natural disaster books I have ever read. He included pictures so the reader can visualize the concepts, which break up the text for a more enjoyable read. The order of the chapters made perfect sense and was not hard to comprehend with his writing style. I find it exceptional that he warned the reader of the floods to come due to global warming in hopes that we will begin to head scientists' apprehensions. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the natural hazard of flooding or has a book report due in two days like me.
There are three main themes in Flood: Nature and Culture. One is to teach about the historically important flooding events and how they affected the population. Another is how humans handled these major flooding events, whether it was through creating defenses, literature, or art from them. The author expresses his fear for the future with the rise of flooding due to global warming and the damage it will do to civilization as a whole. These three themes give a fully developed understanding of floods and why they are so influential worldwide.
John Withington uses six points to help the reader understand his main themes. The first chapter is called myth, which discusses how different cultures and religions interpreted floods and their meaning. The author found that groups from Greece, India, Burma, Vietnam, Malaya, Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, the Philippines, Taiwan, the Kamchatka peninsula of Far Eastern Russia, Lithuania, Tran Sylvania, and across North and South America all had similar stories of the great biblical flood that Noah endured for forty days and forty nights. Chapter two presents facts about massive historical floods and how they happened because of dyke and dam bursts, melting snow, tidal surges, heavy rain, storms, tsunamis, mudslides, and acts of war. For example, the flood caused by Hurricane Katrina was because the storm broke the levees protecting New Orleans, while in 2004, several islands and towns in the Indian Ocean were devastated by a flood that occurred due to a tsunami. Chapter three tells of the references of floods in literature. The story of the little boy with his finger in the dyke trying to keep his town safe from a flood is still used today when it feels one is trying to hold everything together. Chapter four shows the evolution of how floods are depicted in art and cinema. One of the first Christian art subjects was Noah's flood, which was painted around the third century in a catacomb beneath the city of Rome. The Impossible, a movie about the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, has so far been one of the few movies based on a flood to be taken well by critics. Chapter five tells of all the defenses different civilizations took to defend their communities from floods. For example, one of the first methods used to deter floods by ancient cultures in places like China and Brazil was human sacrifice. Today, countries like Great Britain, the Netherlands, the United States, and Germany are creating embankments with detectors to tell whether there is a danger in the embankment giving way. Chapter six offers facts and warns the public of global warming and the increase of flooding. The melting ice and more intense storms caused by global warming will continue to create more flooding all around the world. An example of increased flooding is the shut down of the Thames Flood Barrier, which had to be shut down four times in the 1980s, 35 times in the 1990s, and over 80 times between 2000 and 2010. The effects of flooding because of global warming will only worsen due to the increase in population and the migration to flood-prone areas. The best depiction of the harm this is truly causing in the twenty-first century is the picture of the woman giving birth to her baby in a tree because of high floodwaters. These points help the reader fully comprehend all aspects of how floods have shaped the world we live in today and the world to come.
Flood: Nature and Culture had way more information about floods than the textbook. Understandably, the textbook is over the entire topic of natural hazards while Flood: Nature and Culture is just on floods. Furthermore, the textbook did not mention the religions, myths, folktales, art, or literature that reference floods. Knowing these aspects about floods helps researchers understand the magnitude that floods have had on society and how we treat them today. Otherwise, both books wrote about the defense engineering created to protect against floods and the different natural hazards that cause floods.
John Withington's Flood: Nature and Culture was one of the best natural disaster books I have ever read. He included pictures so the reader can visualize the concepts, which break up the text for a more enjoyable read. The order of the chapters made perfect sense and was not hard to comprehend with his writing style. I find it exceptional that he warned the reader of the floods to come due to global warming in hopes that we will begin to head scientists' apprehensions. Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the natural hazard of flooding or has a book report due in two days like me.
Displaying 1 of 1 review