Praise for Paris Under Water:

“It’s hard to imagine a more thoroughly researched history of the Paris, France, flood of 1910. With the national debate roaring on whether post-Katrina New Orleans should be rebuilt, Paris Under Water offers the definitive answer of yes. A truly first-rate book.”--Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge

Before New Orleans, there was Paris. The Great Paris Flood of 1910, which paralyzed the world’s most modern city and caused over a billion euros (by today’s standards) worth of damage, provides a fascinating study of physical and social devastation and human survival. Modernization itself contributed to Paris’s destruction. But, as Jackson concludes, in the end Paris survived the flood because it was a functioning human community, not because it was a modern metropolis. Any student of history or lover of Paris will want to read this book.”--Sarah Smith, author of The Knowledge of Water

“Set against the backdrop of the world’s most beautiful city, the Seine itself is at the center of the story ­ from its role in making Paris a modern city to the day in 1910 when Parisians stood on its banks and watched it climb several feet a day, carrying debris from flooded towns in the countryside. Through Jackson’s deft storytelling and first-hand accounts, we see the terror of watching a disaster slowly, methodically drown a city and a community’s fight to survive it.”--Molly Caldwell Crosby, author of An American Plague

“Jeffrey Jackson’s meticulous account of the great Paris flood is harrowing history told in gripping detail but also a stark warning as waters rise everywhere.”--Mort Rosenblum, author of Secret Life of the Seine and Chocolate

“[A] riveting account of a natural catastrophe that struck Paris in 1910. Going far beyond the boundaries of environmental or urban history, it draws on an exceptionally wide array of sources to offer the reader a meticulous, yet rich and personal, reconstruction of what the great flood felt like to contemporaries, what it revealed about social tensions and solidarities, and what it signified on a broader historical scale. Jackson has succeeded masterfully in telling a fascinating story in a way that any reader will find utterly irresistible, while applying insightful and erudite scholarly analysis in a way that sheds light on a great city’s social, economic, and cultural life. A tour de force of scholarship and brilliantly creative craftsmanship.”--Michael D. Bess, author of Choices Under Fire

“Fascinating work, important story, beautifully told. Jackson tells us about a little-known flood of a well-known city, Paris. He weaves seamlessly together the political and cultural significance of the flood, all while engaging the reader with stories about what the flood meant for everyday life. A fine achievement.”--Lee Clarke, author of Worst Cases

[Jackson’s] gripping account of the 1910 flood recounts the highs and the lows of what happened when water “shorted out” the city of light. [It] will open the door to reconsiderations of the interaction of technology and the environment in ways that are vitally relevant today.”--Vanessa R. Schwartz, author of It’s So French