The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi

Journalist Upholt debuts with a dynamic history of the Mississippi River. Upholt describes human interactions with the river, starting with Indigenous peoples who lived on its banks for millennia. European explorers and pioneers saw the river as something to conquer and make work for them. Starting in the early 19th century, the Corps of Engineers began efforts to manipulate and tame the river. Competing ideas and interests as well as the engineering challenges of trying to control something as massive as the Mississippi have complicated plans for the river ever since. Today, levees meant to protect the land along the river’s path are longer than the Great Wall of China. The conundrum remains, can the Mississippi be tamed? Even if it can be, should it be? Narrator Gabriel Vaughn gives a consistent and well-paced performance, walking listeners through the ups and downs of this magnificent river’s past. Listeners may want to grab a print copy, however, in order to view maps of the area.