History & United States & 20th Century

Rising Tide- The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America

5 stars (Of Man and the River) - If you thought Hurricane Katrina packed a devastating whallop to the Louisiana and Mississippi Coast, wait until you read this engrossing story of the 1927 Great Mississippi Flood which inundated the entire Misssissippi Delta. Barry does a great job of providing the background for the levee system which has repeatedly failed the Delta because beauracrats were unwilling to bend to any common sense when it came to handling the mighty Mississippi. They insisted on building their levees higher and wider, channeling the river into a raging torrent come high water. The Army Corps of Engineers chose to cling to outdated manuscripts rather than study the situation first hand, which was repeatedly asked for by civil engineers who saw a monumental crisis in the making. Barry makes a good case for Eads' proposal for jetties in deepening the mouth of the Mississippi and creating a greater flow of water into the Gulf of Mexico. While this was done primarily to increase navigation into and from the Port of New Orleans, jetties would have made a lot more sense than a system of levees that essentially served to choke the river. To make matters worse the Corps systematically closed off spillways and refused to cut canals even after the 1922 flood should have served as a warning call. But, Barry treats the rising Mississippi as a metaphorical tool as well, describing Jim Crow South in intimate detail, contrasting the bigoted paternalism of the Percy family with the malignant growth of the Ku Klux Klan, and its impact on Southern politics. It is a well written book that focuses mostly on the Mississippi Delta, the cultural and economic battle for this prized acreage and the river that would ultimately engulf the region. 5 stars (Prophetic and lively read) - John Barry's superb RISING TIDE can be viewed through many prisms, but obviously today, we will all see it through post-Hurricane Katrina eyes. Let it first be said that Barry is a superb ...
Simon - Schuster :: History & United States & 20th Century :: United States - State & Local - General :: United States - 20th Century&20s :: Natural Disasters :: Mississippi Rive :: Rising Tide- The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America

Let Me Play - The Story of Title IX- The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America

5 stars (Richie's Picks: LET ME PLAY) - "Female admissions to colleges and graduate programs picked up speed, driven by female ambition, the law, and a growing acceptance that it was simply wrong to reject someone just for being a girl. Between 1971 and 1976 the number of women attending college jumped 40 percent. By the fall of 1976 one in every four law students was a woman, up from fewer than one in ten in 1971; likewise, a quarter of first-year medical students were female, up from about one in seven just five years before." Recently at this year's Book Expo in New York City, I had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with Patricia Macias. At publishing conventions, Patricia is known as the wife of author Ben Saenz. But back home in El Paso, she is more frequently referred to as "Your Honor." As I wandered the exhibition halls at Book Expo, I frequently got the chance to catch up with old friends in the publishing industry. Many of the women I've known for years who are employed by the large publishing houses now have titles like "President & Publisher" or "Vice President and Associate Publisher." They not only have the positions; they have the power that accompanies those titles. I also had the opportunity at Book Expo to chat briefly with my favorite member of the United States Senate. I feel so fortunate to be represented by Barbara Boxer who, like me, grew up in New York and moved westward. When we first elected Barbara to the US Senate in 1992, having her join Diane Feinstein there in representing California, it was the first time in US history that two women Senators were representing the same state at the same time. Myra Bradwell would have though that it was long past time. "In 1869, Mrs. Bradwell passed the Illinois bar exam with high honors and turned in her application to practice law. Though she easily qualified, she was turned down because she was a married woman. She filed a lawsuit, but the Illinois Supreme Court turned her d...
Atheneum :: Juvenile Nonfiction & History & United States & 20th Century :: Women athletes :: United States :: Sports & Recreation - General :: Sex discrimination in spor :: Let Me Play - The Story of Title IX- The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America

Seabiscuit- An American Legend

4 stars (Seabiscuit: An American Legend) - Seabiscuit, by Luara Hillenbrand, is an absorbing tale of a horse racing legend. The vivid descriptions in the book makes the reader feel like you lived in the 1930's. The book ressurects the drama of horse racing. Hillenbrand has a way with words, in this novel, the reader feels like the jockey participating in the race. The book wasn't just centered around the horse. Those who owned and took care of Seabiscuit were just as interesting as the horse. Personally, I would give this novel two thumbs way up. 5 stars (Horse Sense) - A horse is a horse, of course. Unless that horse is something more. Much more. Like Hope. Winning. Success. Beating the Odds. A Second Chance. Being an American. Striking it Rich. Coming from Behind. The underdog that finishes on Top. Seabiscuit. In his time, he was as great a representative, and in many ways a better spokesman, for the eminence of American rugged individualism and perseverance, than some of his less communicative superhero contemporaries such as Lucky Lindy, John D, Joey D, Stan the Man and the Brown Bomber. Surely a great American icon deserves an equally great biographer. But a big name author would not be in keeping with the spirit of our story. Seabiscuit was a nobody. His greatness was built on adversity, his own and that of his teammates, Pollard, Smith and Howard. So too, it is with Hillenbrand. Before she discovered this remarkable quartet, she too was a sickly, defeated nobody, suffering from severe depression. We may never know for sure what personal demons she needed to exorcise by writing this book. But, her achievement speaks for itself. Thanks to this most unlikely Boswell, it can now be said that Seabiscuit is not only a great horse but also a great biography, an accolade that can not be made for even the grandest of historical subjects from Columbus to Lincoln to Ali. 5 stars (A Wonderful Read) - This is the first book that I was able to read after the mo...
Ballantine Books :: Reading Group Guide :: History & United States & 20th Century :: United States - 20th Century :: United States :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Seabiscuit (Rac :: Seabiscuit- An American Legend