From Library Journal
While exploring the Mississippi by towboat, flying over its mouth, and hiking its levees, Mathur (landscape architecture, Univ. of Pennsylvania) and da Cunha (fine arts, Univ. of Pennsylvania and Parsons School of Design) encountered a range of opinions on how the river should be handled. In this beautiful working document, they seek common ground among the conflicting interests of flood control, navigation, ecology, and environmental protection. Through essays and original works of art, the lower Mississippi is portrayed as a dynamic, living phenomenon, especially in a landscape of flood. The gorgeous prints, drawings, paintings, and collages make this a book to treasure, while the hydrographs, models, maps, photographs, and enlargements of design elements will interest engineers, policy makers, and residents, as well as historians and armchair travelers. The authors hope that the book will lead to a public project to rethink the present ideological constructions of the lower Mississippi. Despite the need for a magnifying glass to appreciate many of the images, this book is highly recommended for academic and public libraries. Margaret Aycock, Gulf Coast Environmental Lib., Beaumont, TX
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
American Scientist
[The authors] tell America's history with the river [using]. . . silk-screen prints, . . . artwork, photographs and antique maps. . . [of] undeniable beauty.
