The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 143 ratings

Price: 15.3

Last update: 01-06-2025


About this item

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.


Top reviews from the United States

Barry R. Bertram
5.0 out of 5 stars Good historical overview
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2024
Well written, deep.y researched. Takes the reader into the heart of the river.
Should be required reading in every US history class.
wilke
4.0 out of 5 stars Much more than a history of the River
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2024
This is a history of development of the mid west starting with indigenous people. It tells the story of the movement of people and goods along the great river. The floods. Farming. Building levees. Steam boats. People. Land. European Immigrants. Enslaved peoples. The drainage of a continent into a massive basin. The flow of people. Big ideas that worked. Big ideas that failed. A very good read with a blend of facts and interesting stories.
Larry Perrine
5.0 out of 5 stars It is a Great River
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2024
The Summer of 1966 I worked as a deck hand apprentice on a tow boat pushing timber and limestone for dikes and revetments. From Natchez to the Tennessee via the lower locks of the Ohio. I was 19 and trying to pay for. b college and avoid the draft. I watched from the decks and the Pilot House as the Corps worked to manage the Great River with revetments and concrete mattresses. Mostly that summer was my Huck Finn adventure. I read Dr. Zhivago during my rest shift. I had never read a book with that many pages or characters. Sitting at the bow of the lead barge. The sound the river makes as a tow is pushed. Different upstream or downstream as river water carries the tow in her grip!
The Great River is a great read written by a Traveler
Taxing Experience
5.0 out of 5 stars An enlightening book.
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2024
I've learned stuff I never knew!
IdocMT
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written natural history of Mississippi River
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2024
A well-written and annotated history of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Fascinating story of man's attempt to control.
Joseph M. Plummer
5.0 out of 5 stars Weaves the Mississippi through the History of North America
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2024
I enjoyed this up to the present report on the geological prominence of the Mississippi River and its immense watershed in the history and present times of our continent. A great achievement by an author who explored his treatment through an extensive documentary archive while also dipping into the details of extended trips on the big river in his canoe.
Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars River history
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2024
Great background on the largest US river
Laura
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not compelling for me, lots of author opinions
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2024
Parts of this book were very interesting to me. I particularly enjoyed the history of the native peoples living in the Mississippi river and the accounts of exploration over the years. The book is interesting in that it's not exactly a linear history - it jumps around a bit to explain things, which may bother some people. It is not solely a history, though, as the author goes into great detail about engineering projects attempting to control the river itself. Parts of the engineering descriptions got WAY too detailed for me. The book has some photos and maps, but it would benefit greatly if some actual diagrams of the engineering projects described were included. I found some of this engineering part of the book a bit dry since I could not really understand what was being described. The other reason I took off another star was that for a non-fiction journalistic type book, the author seems to include a lot of personal opinions. It's not all supported by facts, though there is an extensive section of notes at the back. Some of the statements are clearly opinions, slanted in favor of the author's position on conservation. That's fine, but I felt like it didn't exactly belong in a book that seemed to be trying to explain the history of the Mississippi River and the engineering behind it. However, the book's description does give a clue to this standpoint, as it even says the engineering program "may not work much longer...a startling account of what happens when we try to fight against nature instead of acknowledging and embracing its power..." So if you're okay with that standpoint, go ahead and read it. I would prefer more history and facts and less opinions from the author.

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