Mississippi River: Headwaters and Heartland to Delta and Gulf

These images are from my most recent book – Mississippi River: Headwaters and Heartland to Delta and Gulf. Together with West Coast(2012) and East Coast (2016), this book completes a trilogy on North American waters at a time of rapid, dire climate change. George F. Thompson has published all three books, which are beautifully designed by David Skolkin. Simon Winchester is the eloquent, literary voice throughout the trilogy. Here, he provides us with possibly the best commentary and short history of the river yet written. Sarah Kennel, Curator of Photography at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, has penned a wonderful foreword that places the images on the historical continuum of important photographic work.

These photographs—from the ground and from the air—open our eyes to encompass the river's diversity and complexity as seen from its cities, towns, and hamlets, its industrial sites and farmland, its historic buildings and sanctuaries for wildlife, all the while revealing the constant flow of goods, grain, and fuel up and down the nation's major shipping artery.

The photographs also illustrate the ongoing dangers posed by increased flooding and the protective measures historically taken by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in trying to fulfill an impossible task: of keeping a restless and often swollen and unruly river in check. There is great pressure on America's biggest river in the way we manage and treat it, and we can be thankful for the establishment of wildlife sanctuaries and the passage of environmental legislation that enhances the quality of our waters, air, and soils. But that progress is now under attack.

And, too often, there are negative environmental consequences to our way of life, ranging from the ongoing loss of habitat affecting millions of birds and other wildlife to poisonous runoff from pesticides and herbicides on agricultural fields. As one encounters the river, one must also remember that, throughout its vast watershed, the Mississippi was initially the great river for native peoples who were systematically removed from their homelands; and one is also reminded of the dark legacy of slavery, especially in the South. The Mississippi River reveals America's complicated past and present and hints at its future like no other river. American history truly bends and turns in its waters.

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