Mason Leaver
Senior Project 2022
Annotated Bibliography
3/25/22
Barry, John M. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and how it changed America. Simon and Schuster.
Rising Tide by John M. Barry chronicles the Mississippi Flood of 1927, one of the worst floods in American history. It speaks to what caused the flood, the communities affected by it, as well as the infamous government response. The text goes in-depth about the combining circumstances that led to the flood and devastation that it caused. Additionally, it also goes into detail about the immediate aftermath as well as how many people were able to survive. The text also provides political and geographical context for the events, both pre and post flood.
The author expertly conveys the brutally unavoidable nature of the 1927 flood in the text by exploring multiple perspectives. By delving into a personal, ground-level perspective of the flood, the author makes the event seem more affecting and real rather than simply observing it from a completely technical perspective. Barry provides multiple examples and anecdotes of everyday citizens’ experiences with the flood. He also explores the more technical and legislative side of the event, providing context to both perspectives and giving the reader a more complete understanding.
This book is massively helpful to my project for a few reasons. First and foremost, the book speaks to a massive example of the issue I am exploring in the area I will be in. The Mississippi Delta has been shaped by flooding for hundreds of years, and now more than ever it is important to recognize and learn about what occurred in the past, particularly given that the 1927 Mississippi Flood is the most formative and influential flood event in the region’s history. The book provides regional examples which are helpful to me, sheds light on the evolution of Louisiana and Mississippi’s water infrastructure, and emphasizes the devastating nature and potential of floods along the Mississippi River.
Rose, Chris. 1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina. 2005.
1 Dead in Attic gives light to the devastation and trauma both during and immediately after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The text speaks to how the hurricane and subsequent destruction unfolded neighborhood to neighborhood, and then across the entire city and region. It also explores the immediate aftermath of the hurricane. It delves into what the city looked like the day after, as well as speaking to the rescue effort and subsequent nationwide response.
1 Dead in Attic takes a surprisingly similar approach to Rising Tide in that it explores different perspectives in an effort to paint a more complete picture of the event. By showing street level perspectives of the flood occurring moment to moment and day to day, it puts one in the shoes of someone experiencing the event so as to make it feel more real and traumatic such as it was for those who experienced it. Additionally, it pulls back and explores the immediate aftermath in a more impersonal and technical lense. It provides context to the response from the surrounding community and parishes as well as the nation, while also speaking to how the city rebuilt and was forced to rethink and reorganize its water infrastructure in an effort to prevent the same devastation from occurring again.
1 Dead in Attic has proved immensely helpful for my project for a few reasons. In one sense, it chronicles one of the most destructive flooding events to have ever struck the region similarly to Rising Tide. However, it also provides context into how flooding like this affects communities and individuals by specifically giving examples of the death and destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina on the people of New Orleans, particularly those in the 9th Ward, a historically lower income part of the city. By providing us with urban context into the devastating power of floods such as these, it gives us a sense of what is to come should Climate change worsen.
Goodell, Jeff. The Water Will Come; Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the remaking of the Civilized World.
The Water Will Come explores the issue of climate change related flooding and rising sea levels in a much broader sense. It explores what is continually causing this problem to worsen, as well as how humans as a species are directly responsible for perpetuating and worsening this problem. It explores the science behind the phenomenon of rising seas in depth. It speaks to the melting of the ice caps as a result of human CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Additionally, it speaks to how the issue is already devastating millions of people around the globe as coastal and island nations and communities are already reeling from the floods and are being forced to relocate.
The Water Will Come takes a very persuasive and chilling stance in order to emphasize the severity and urgency of the issue at hand. One of its most effective tools is outlining in extremely clear terms what certain areas of the US will look like in the near future if the problem is addressed. By giving a realistic prediction of what New York City or New Orleans will look like in the coming years, it paints a stark and grim picture of what is to come should humans not immediately change their behavior. Providing examples of future worst case scenarios is a particularly effective tool given that Americans respond almost exclusively to threats and disruptions of their own lifestyle rather than the suffering of those abroad. The combination of the scientific analysis of the issue and clear-cut potential future scenarios makes for an equally concerning and compelling experience.
The Water Will Come is quite helpful to my project for one major reason: broader context. The first two texts I explored were fantastic illustrations of the effect of floods on a particularly flood-prone region. However, The Water Will Come provides technical context to the entire issue and what causes it as a whole. Additionally, by giving potential scenarios for flooding in other parts of the country that have thus far not experienced the issue as badly as the Mississippi Delta, it illustrates to the reader just how dire the issue is regardless of where you live even if you may think flooding will never affect you. The broader context and entirely technical analysis of the issue has been immensely helpful for my project.
Otto, Friedrike. Angry Weather: Heat Waves, Floods, Storms, and the New Science of Climate Change.
Angry Weather explores a different side of the issue. It explores how humans, directly as a result of our consumer-based culture and massive carbon output, have disrupted the weather cycle so massively that floods, storms, and other massive weather events are now stronger and extremely less predictable. The text speaks to how carbon emissions disrupts the weather cycle. It also speaks to how, as a result of the warming atmosphere, flooding and super-storms are much more likely given the warm air.
By exploring a different side of the issue, Angry Weather provides more context as well as emphasizing the severity of the issue. Given that the weather cycle has now adopted the trend of unpredictability whether we like it or not, it proves to us that what we’ve done to the environment and atmosphere is affecting us more than we realize. We think of the weather as something that cannot be controlled or changed, but when it is working against us this much entirely as a result of our own activity, it is a chilling warning about the floods to come if the trend continues.
Angry Weather was very helpful to me in my project, as it provided context for the extreme weather events that have caused such devastation in Louisiana. Abnormal weather, longer periods of storms and rain, longer hurricane season, all of these contribute to the region being pounded by floods annually, in a way they can’t successfully combat or recuperate from. Allowing me to learn more about the weather-side of the issue and how humans have contributed to it provided me with more knowledge and understanding going into my project.
Extreme flooding to increase as temperatures rise, study finds (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/09/13/extreme-flooding-increase-climate-change/
This article details the technical side of the issue similarly to The Water Will Come. It speaks to a very accurate and detailed potential future scenario where the temperature rise directly correlates to rising sea levels and extreme levels of flooding and flooding-related weather events such as hurricanes and tropical storms. By analyzing the technical side of the issue and providing a singular detailed future scenario, it provides context for what the effects will look like across the entire country should the worst come to pass.
The article does not have opinions or biased perspectives about what caused the issue or what should be done about it. Rather, it simply paints a brutally honest picture of future without any baggage or beating around the bush. By providing such a succinct and direct message, it ends up being vastly more effective as a result.
This article helped me very much for the same reason the book The Water Will Come helped me. It provides technical information and context to the issue, giving light to potential future scenarios that can and will come to pass should the issue worsen. As a result, it ends up being terrifying and inspiring simultaneously, as painting an unopinionated picture of the future is, in my view, the most effective way to convey the seriousness of the issue.