Mike Tidwell knew nothing of the disappearing bayou country when he first visited the Cajun coast of Louisiana, but the evidence was all around him: the skeletons of oak trees killed by the salinity of the groundwater, whole cemeteries sinking into swampland and out of sight, telephone poles in deep, standing water. Thanks to human hands, the storied Louisiana coast was eroding, subsiding, and joining the Gulf of Mexico—-making it the fastest disappearing landmass on Earth. Yet no one seemed to know how to talk about the problem. Tidwell, a celebrated travel and environmental writer, decided to begin the much-needed conversation, and this vivid, elegiac book is the result. Tidwell introduces us to the surprisingly varied population of the area: the Cajun men and women who work the seasonal shrimp harvest, the Vietnamese fishermen, the Houma Indians driven to the farthest ends of the bayou by the first European settlers. He describes the food, the music, the culture, and the life of all those who live along the bayous. And under his keenly observant eye, the bayou itself becomes a compelling character—-reminding us of how much we stand to lose if we fail to address the problems facing this most vibrant of places. Part travelogue, part environmental exposé, Bayou Farewell is the richly evocative chronicle of the author's travels through a place and a way of life that are vanishing virtually before our eyes.

Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast

History

Tidwell, Mike

Americas

Pantheon

The Cajun coast of Louisiana is home to a way of life as unique, complex, and beautiful as the terrain itself. As award-winning travel writer Mike Tidwell journeys through the bayou, he introduces us to the food and the language, the shrimp fisherman, the Houma Indians, and the rich cultural history that makes it unlike any other place in the world. But seeing the skeletons of oak trees killed by the salinity of the groundwater, and whole cemeteries sinking into swampland and out of sight, Tidwell also explains why each introduction may be a farewell—as the storied Louisiana coast steadily erodes into the Gulf of Mexico. Part travelogue, part environmental exposé, Bayou Farewell is the richly evocative chronicle of the author's travels through a world that is vanishing before our eyes.

Vintage

Predicts a rise in ocean levels throughout the next few decades and more catastrophic weather patterns that are threatening some of the nation's largest cities, identifying the consequences of the past century's consumption of fossil fuels.

The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America's Coastal Cities

Science & Math

Earth Sciences

Free Press

The hilarious and heart-wrenching memoir from a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire—with a new introduction

Ponds of Kalambayi: A Peace Corps Memoir

Business & Money

Job Hunting & Careers

LYONS PRESS+

How to Produce Effective Operations and Maintenance Manuals: Mike Tidwell

Engineering & Transportation

Engineering

Amer Society of Civil Engineers

Recounts the author's two-year experience with the Peace Corps in Central Zaire

The Ponds of Kalambayi: An African Sojourn

Africa

Lyons Pr

Amazon Stranger: A Rainforest Chief Battles Big Oil

One man obsessed with the Ecuadorian jungle and desperate to save it and its people chronicles the struggle of the Cofan people against Big Oil.

Amazon Stranger

Economics

A hilarious and wrenching memoir from a peace Corps volunteer in Zaire.

Sports & Outdoors

Hunting & Fishing

A look at life on the streets of Washington, D.C., describes the conditions of poverty, drug violence, and despair under which many of its citizens live and reveals what little the President is doing

In the Shadow of the White House

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Prima Lifestyles

In the Mountains of Heaven: True Tales of Adventure on Six Continents

Vivid, often poignant depictions of far-flung cultures by a Washington, D.C., travel writer transports readers to the vast Congo or the Amazon rain forest.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tidwell, Mike. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Tidwell, Mike

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tidwell, Mike. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast

Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast

The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America's Coastal Cities

Ponds of Kalambayi: A Peace Corps Memoir

How to Produce Effective Operations and Maintenance Manuals: Mike Tidwell

The Ponds of Kalambayi: An African Sojourn

Amazon Stranger

The Ponds of Kalambayi: An African Sojourn

In the Shadow of the White House

In the Mountains of Heaven: True Tales of Adventure on Six Continents