I Never Wrote a Book Review, Until
To this child of the Piney woods in Mississippi, whose parents were part of the high times, political and social, before living the Depression years, the Book, Rising Tide, was to be a great history lesson. Remembering my Grandfather’s 
story of Vardaman & Bilbo’s rise, beating a drum made of something far from love for his fellow man, was not so fun. The book did tell the tale, however, and it confirmed Bascom’s story. Can’t you imagine the man pictured here telling a story? Anyway, this book recounts of many of the ‘institutions’ of the time, some of which I do adore so. There are others about which I am sorry that I saw at all, but I did see and they made me too. 
The book is the history of America and its River. There is early history and politics of a growing land, constantly being peopled to dream and work. Engineers and entrepreneurs, lawyers and doctors, the held and the hired are all tied to the River. It is the story of how the great river helped form a nation that had spread over small mountains from a colony along the sea.
As I read along, being a Mississippi boy from the red clay hills far from the River, I was reminded of the recent movie “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” Right there in that 90 minutes of film is much of the same story, winding here and there to end with the great flood. There in the film was the same politician, James K. Vardaman, stomping all round the same red clay ranting his favorite subject “miscegenation.” They made him far too real.
Read on and change scenes to New Orleans, long a hangout in my 60’s raging. I know it well. There, one never fails to get the taste of “society” so proud of itself. This includes the HIGH and the LOW. To the High, Galatoire’s remains supreme. Then listen to Randy Newman’s Louisiana 1927 and realize that “Rising Tide” tells many great truths. Walk into the City today and the Low is all ’round.
As I was reading along in May, 2011, the River was at historic flood stage, the raised and strengthened levees never having been tested since 1927. Friends in Greenville fretted and packed up many valuables. In Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, all along the way, the River’s rise backed muddy water up. The Water flowed through four open gates of the Morganza spillway ( ABC News Story ) into the Atchafalaya River basin. Here for sure is the Book’s story being told in real time.
My life lies along a hogback, as we say, a ridge between the one “age” and another. I am blessed, and cursed as well, to look over into both sides. This book, recalling the days before my time, the good and bad still very evident, was delightful to study and put such color to my memories.
With my eyes on things as they are today, while reading Rising Tide about times and places still thriving, I began to understand some of what makes Mississippi much more of a CLUB than it is a STATE.