The Big Muddy

[An] ambitious and cleanly argued environmental history of the lower Mississippi Valley.... * Historian *
The history of the Mississippi valley is the story of a constant tug-of-war between water and land. Morris has aptly told the stories that are often on the margin of the river, and have been on the margin of histories of the valley. In doing this, he has provided much-needed contexts for our endless fascination with the Mississippi River. * Journal of Historical Geography *
Christopher Morris has molded a thoroughly researched, smartly organized, and thoughtfully argued book. ... Morris deploys human stories and graceful prose to maintain the flow, making his an accessible study... The Big Muddy also comes in a compact size, ideal for adopting for a course, as this reviewer has done. * Journal of American Studies *
Christopher Morris has written an important book that is both history and advocacy. There is much to praise in this book, and it is certain to win acclaim and recognition for its author. * Arkansas Historical Quarterly *
Elegantly written, The Big Muddy is a sweeping environmental history of a famous river told with an eye toward the relationship between water and land. * Journal of American History *
This environmental history of the Mississippi River Valley has a thesis that Morris explores as it relates to different peoples and their technologies, ranging from Native Americans and Spanish and French explorers to current residents in post-Hurrican Katrina times. This is a a multidisciplinary history; the extensive endnotes show that Morris did his homework thoroughly. Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
Impressive in its chronological scope, thoughtfully covering five centuries of interactions between people and water, Morris's skilled and subtle work of environmental history shows how river-based ecological systems embed, underwrite, and challenge shore-bound human institutions. Demonstrating the possibility of writing a history of transnational scope while staying in the same place, The Big Muddy follows Spanish, French, and U.S. actors. * Ohio Valley History *
The Big Muddy makes a powerful argument that nature is trying to tell us 'something about the way we understand the natural environment and our place within it.' * American Scientist Online *
A story as sprawling and powerful as the river it describes. In the wake of 2011's epic flooding, this volume could not be more timely. * Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet *
Thoroughly researche, tightly written, and uncommonly well illustrated... Morris is at his best here. * Environmental History *
Few authors have so elegantly and succinctly merged human history and natural history as Christopher Morris does in The Big Muddy, his environmental history of the Mississippi River. Eschewing easy answers and simple explanations, he makes clear what is at stake in how humans live in nature. * Richard White, author of Railroaded *
Chris Morris has written a thoroughly engaging account of human encounters with the Mississippi River. He penetrates and clarifies the complex environmental history of this murky torrent while offering up a flood of fresh insights. As much as any recent history I've seen, this work not only narrates the past, but speaks with a powerful voice to the future of the lower river valley and its inhabitants. * Craig E. Colten, author of An Unnatural Metropolis: Wresting New Orleans from Nature *
More than any other book written so far, The Big Muddy forces us to understand how stubborn efforts to dry wetlands in the Mississippi Valley not only caused vexing environmental problems but also shaped social and economic relationships in troublesome ways. A society plagued by inequality and instability can learn plenty from Christopher Morris's skillful documentation of why we must more wisely adapt to nature's irrepressible mixing of land and water. * Daniel Usner, Vanderbilt University *
Christopher Morris's The Big Muddy is an extremely important new addition to our ever growing environmental history library. It's a tragic story about how the Mississippi River has been abused for centuries. Morris is a superb researcher and talented writer. Highly recommended! * Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast *
What is remarkable and fresh about this scholarly study of the Mississippi in the longue duree is its comprehensiveness, density, and nuance, as well as the fresh research upon which it is based. It is a sturdy, grand, and at times stunning achievement, deeply rooted in substantial interdisciplinary research and brimming with insight. * American Historical Review *