The book was well written and researched, although at times could be long. The audio was well narrated.

The Great River was an incredibly interesting read. I didn't really know what to expect when I started listening to it and erroneously assumed it would be a dry recounting of the history of the Mississippi River. Much to my delight, it was a well-crafted story using the Mississippi River's history to tie in the history of North America through current times with conservation, capitalism, & politics. The narrator had an engaging tone and was easy to listen to. I do listen to audiobooks on a faster speed than normal and his diction was clear and easy to understand. There's enough in this book to be interesting to a wide variety of people, not just history aficionados.

Boyce Upholt says it like he sees it, and provides plenty of support, references, science and since he is taking the long view, has plenty of consequential examples of what humans can do to change the landscape. Wipe out whole species. Change environments by levels, degrees and turn a life-giving resource into a dangerous threat to whole communities.

The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi is the story of that river that has been in the center of many civilizations, most lately the one we call USofA. A thousand years from now. . .will it still ? This was a compelling read for me, fleshing out a name on a maps and in books I read. I once spent a few days quite close to this great muddy river, and she stretches her weighted presence across and through the lands, sweeping the known and unknown stories as far out to sea as she can. . .I was very pleased to find this book. The author never lets the reader forget that the Mississippi River is a wild thing, no matter how she is reshaped, caged or bound up. As a wild thing, she deserves our serious respect and consideration from all perspectives - present, past and future.

I hope to find other works from this author.

*A sincere thank you to Boyce Uphold, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

As someone who lived most of their life on the Mississippi River, this book was a total joy and filled with fascinating information and tales from its history.

This was a bit too dense for me, but think that other non-fiction readers will find value in it! I enjoyed the background on the Mississippi River, and the cultural elements also included in. Narration was great too!

I listened to the audio version of this book which was read clearly by Gabriel Vaughan. He has an excellent delivery and I enjoyed listening to the book. I'd happily listen to more read by this narrator.

An interesting and informative look at the social and geographical history of the Mississippi which, if you're a Brit like me, is a river firmly rooted in the southern states of the USA except its not - it follows an almost vertical line from Minnesota - a fact that constantly amazes me.

The story of the Mississippi is, I imagine, the story of most great rivers in "developed" countries ie it is man's desire to tame the waterway and make it conform to what he needs it for. However, rivers have other ideas and as climate change begins to bite deeper the Mississippi I'd becoming increasingly difficult to control.

I recently read a story about the history of Native Americans and this book (very sadly) reminded me very much of that. The river has been home to lots of civilisations - the current inhabitants of the US being merely the most recent. Unfortunately the story is very much the same for the people who live and work on or near the river - the people who constantly miss out are the ethnic minorities and the already poverty-stricken. Even to this day what is best for the environment or those whose precarious livelihoods rely on the river are the ones who will lose out the most.

It certainly appears from this history that environmental issues come a very poor second place to the needs of those who already make a fortune out of the Mississippi. It is a short-sighted view because the work to try to "fix" previous improvements now runs into the billions of dollars. It is a shame that the politicians are so beholden to their biggest contributors as it appears they will continue to make short term plans for an environment that requires long term solutions.

The whole book is well researched and fair in its conclusions and I can't say I enjoyed it because it depressed me but I did find it fascinating.

Thankyou to Netgalley and RB Media for the audio advance review copy.

The author does a great job of telling the intertwined story of both the people and land on and around the Mississippi throughout time. I especially appreciate the emphases on its Indigenous history and on the marginalized populations that live(d) there.

I listed to this almost all in one sitting, which I think is a testament to the strength of the writing, but content-wise it just isn't all for me. There are a few sections that go a bit too deep into American history for my interest, but I do recommend the book regardless of whether you think you might like these sections or just skim them.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the audio ARC of #TheGreatRiver. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I enjoyed this natural history of the Mississippi River - from the indigenous tribes who thrived along it's shores to the engineers who have tried to contain or redirect it as well as the towns and ecosystems whose vibrancy depends on the ebb and flow of the great river. Upholt seamlessly weaves together the history and impact this consequential waterway has on America.

The story of how the “mighty” Mississippi River took shape (via nature and humans) long before America’s founding and in the years following. It also looks to the river’s future and how infrastructure like levees and dams have hurt ecosystems and may not work much longer.
It’s funny because I actually reached out to Boyce because of some work my company is doing in Louisiana & he was unable to come out because he was releasing a book (good excuse!) and then this came across my feed. Excellent storytelling and research!
Thank you RBmedia for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ah, makes you feel like you're back in school, wondering why you have to learn so much about Oxbow lakes when you'll never use that information in real life. Then we learnt about deltas, bringing me back to school again when I was 12 years old there was a poor unfortunate soul named Charles (who sat directly in front of me!) who was quite flatulent and after one particular episode we all scooted our desks in a fan shape, causing our teacher Mr. Parsons to delightfully exclaim, 'Oh, you've formed a delta with your desks!' But I digress. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC/audiobook which was both interesting and informative and had a smooth narrator to boot.