As Louisiana goes, so goes the nation

I have recently completed reading two remarkable books. Mike Tidwell is the author of both. The first, Bayou Farewell, has dual themes. On the one hand, it is a beautiful portrait of life in the Louisiana bayou country, with an especially detailed account of Cajun life and culture. On the other hand, it is a detailed description and analysis of the ongoing destruction of the vast Louisiana wetlands. This was written before Katrina and is a remarkably clear account of why Katrina ended up being as devastating as it was. The second, The Raging Tide, was written post-Katrina, and is the hands-down best account I've read of one of the likely consequences of global warming, namely, the rise in ocean level. New Orleans (and Louisiana in general) emerges as the model for understanding the consequences of ocean level rise.

If you read only one of these, make it The Raging Tide. If you are inclined to read both, then I suggest you read them in chronological order, with Bayou Farewell first. (I read them in reverse order, which certainly works, but it is not as dramatic.)