Customer Reviews

Red River Rising: The Anatomy of a Flood and the Survival of an American City

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book was both compelling and informative. The way Shelby was able to explain the complex ideas of hydrology in terms that any person could understand was impressive. The author told a story of truth-which I believe is why the reviewers from Grand Forks have had problems with its content. Nobody likes the truth especially if it makes one look bad. This book is extremely well researched and I enjoyed reading it. Because of Shelby's sharp journalistic writing and her ability to connect with the people, she was able to tell a story that was both honest and heart wrenching. It takes a person of great talent to weave such a delicate web of human experience and fact. Thank you for the book and I will be the first in line to buy your next.

This is an excellent book--readable, dramatic, and well-written. The book has garnered praise from the country's most respected historian, Douglas Brinkley, author of many books, including one on the Mississippi River. I think this emminent historian's praise speaks more accurately to the quality of Red River Rising than the petty typos pointed out by an associate professor of history who plugs her own book in a review commissioned by a newspaper that gets slammed in the book. Do yourself a favor and read this wonderful book, and learn the real story of the flood--the story that some people don't want you to know.

Poor North Dakota. They are hit hard by nature--and hit even harder by their own sad infighting. My only problem with this book is the claim of "survival" in the subtitle. It's clear that Grand Forks has not survived this flood, not without some serious wounds to the community.

There is something of the Old Testament in this story. This book is beautifully written, fast paced, and gripping. I found it absolutely gut wrenching.

I am from the West Coast and found this book to be both a compelling and informative documentary of a community coming apart at the seams. I could care less if the Governor of ND is spelled wrong... who cares. I didn't even know nor did I care who the Governor of North Dakota was before I read this book. If you are looking to read a book that is well written and educational order and read this book. If you are looking to read a book that demonstrates the do's and don'ts of grammatical punctuation in american literature contact the lady from Grand Forks who gives this book one star..... incedently her review contained grammatical errors itself. Can't wait to pick up Shelby's next book. Take an opinion from someone outside Grand Forks.... This is a great book

The book's great. The criticism, laughable. What's even funnier to an old river rat is to see someone say that Shelby moves the Mississippi "250" miles; actually the reviewer doesn't understand Shelby when she refers to the '93 Mississippi flood, which affected more than 400,000 square acres, including the city of Des Moines, Shelby writes. Des Moines is, as anyone knows, on the Des Moines River--which is in the Mississippi River basin; Shelby never once says Des Moines is on the main channel of the Mississippi. She simply says it was affected in the Mississippi River floods of '93, which, like the Red River floods, affected a number of tributaries. Maybe the reviewer should take a course in hydrology and geography before lobbing accusations like that, which just make him or her look foolish.

This is a book about Democracy and the roll of government. Increasingly, as taxes, tensions and the everday involvement of government slowly rise, we ask ourselves and our leaders: Where should personal responsibility end and regulation begin?

Do taxpayers owe anything to disaster "victims" who willingly live, year after year, uninsured, at the constant verge of mortal danger?

And the rich social and political subtexts abound. Anyone who wonders why no qualified leader in his or her right mind would enter public service in America needs only read "Red River Rising." Shelby's descriptions of the government, the press and the people and their interactions -- from the origin of questionable information under the strict rigors of flawed government mandates, to its botched transfer through the hands of under-educated reporters, to the public's inability to assimilate and use it, is priceless.

Aside from being an amazing book about strife, courage and recovery, this is a text so socially relevant to our country's current struggles that it can be extrapolated to relate to any issue on any level. From imposing a recycling tax, to going to war, this book describes how every public decision in America transpires -- right down to the last militant holdout spitting in the face of The Man.

Every leader, voter and reporter needs to read this book.

Bryan Harris
Journalist

Although I traditionally steer away from books related to science and politics, I found myself enthralled with the story of the 1997 Grand Forks flood and recovery in Ashley Shelby's "Red River Rising." Shelby's lucid prose and talent for storytelling kept me turning the pages. What I found so fascinating was not only the series of mishaps that led to the flood itself, but the reaction of the community after the flood waters had receded.

This book has clearly generated some strong reactions, as evident by a couple of the reviews here on amazon. But what bothered me about one review in particular is that a few of its comments are misleading.

First, the claim that "the author failed to interview any Herald editors who served at the time of the flood" is deceptive. Shelby does interview Tom Dennis (see note 183 in the back of the book), who, though not living in Grand Forks at the time of the actual flood, was the Herald's opinion editor during the time of the city's reconstruction (the focus of Shelby's discussion of the Herald). Dennis was present at a number of the meetings that Shelby describes in the book.

Second, to call Shelby a "pretentious fiction writer," is erroneous. I fail to understand how this book is pretentious (because there is a reference to Joyce? or is it the hydrological charts?). A glance at the book jacket also reveals that Shelby has an MFA in non-fiction (not fiction) writing from Columbia University. She has also been published in "The Nation." Has Shelby published fiction as well? Yes. It's not unusual for an author to write in both genres.

I could go on and refute the rest of the aforementioned amazon review, but I'll let readers come to their own conclusions.

Needless to say, I highly recommend "Red River Rising." It's fascinating, well-researched (endorsed by Douglas Brinkley), and if it generates this much controversy, it certainly can't be dull!

I picked this book up as a gift for a friend who lived through the flood and I became so engrossed in it I never put it in the mail! (I bought another copy for my him. ) As well as being hugely infomative, there was a richness of detail and character that gave it the feel of a gripping novel.

The book brought home for me the true devastion of the flood, which I had of course heard about, but could not truly fathom until Red River Rising.

I was surprised to read another Amazon reviewer (and local) say: "There is a sense throughout the book that North Dakota residents are hicks waiting on federal hand outs, too stupid to purchase flood insurance, and too easily swayed by a newspaper column."

It's a strange comment. You could only conclude the person read a different book. Red River Rising reads as nothing less than a moving tribute to the intelligent, proud, generous and above all courageous people of Grand Forks.

I recommend it highly!

Being a person NOT from Grand Forks, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Shelby is, contrary to the review below which is clearly from the editor of the Grand Forks Herald, actually not over her head. Having a background in hydrology myself, I can tell you with full confidence that this woman got the science right. I bet if the National Weather Service hydrologists she profiled were allowed to endorse books, they would come out and say that themselves. Excellent nonfiction provokes responses like the one below, because truth hurts. Being there during the flood actually makes you a LESS reliable witness. One thing is true: after reading this book, the last place you'll ever want to visit is Grand Forks, North Dakota.

You'll probably hear from lots of bitter North Dakotans who are unhappy about this book (including the one below, whose review sounds suspiciously like the axe job of a review the book got by the local newspaper, who hates the book for obvious reasons, if you read the book). But make your own judgments--it has received positive reviews from the Star Tribune, the Pioneer Press, Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal, and the Ann Arbor News. Interestingly, these are all non-partisan, non-North Dakota newspapers. This is a smart, objective look at a terrible disaster and the worst mistake in the history of the National Weather Service.