Rising Tide

Why it’s on the list: Barry’s account of the 1927 Mississippi flood — the engineering argument that caused it, the Delta planter order it drowned, and the Black migration and federal expansion that followed.

Where I saw it: In the reply thread to @typesfast’s question, “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025) — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved to his Apple Note “Books To Read”; the full set of replies lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet). It was listed there as “Rising Tide by John Barry”.

Connections

• Migration — The Great Migration the flood accelerated.
• Institutions — The federal response that reset who owns a river.
• History — The form: one disaster as the hinge of a national story.
• What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.