In the book, "Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America, " shows many different aspects of engineers and their lives. The stories that are told help the reader to better understand the practice of civil engineering. During the time period of the story, there are two engineers who contribute to a main part in controlling the Mississippi River, Eads and Humphreys. As the two race and compete to see who can better the Mississippi River, many important details about civil engineering come about. The author explains how a river flows and floods in way that most can understand. He helps show ways to help prevent flooding on the Mississippi. Eads and Humphreys are always striving to out do one another and in doing so comes many ideas to better the river. A levee is one in particular that is spoken of quite often. The "levees only" policy was debated between these two engineers. This policy discussed how a system of levees would control floodwaters not only by damming the banks but also by increasing the velocity of the river's flow and its tendency to scour the bottom. The theory provided that when the river is flooded, it could be made to dig its own channel out. This was not the only idea expressed by the engineers. Another was the idea of producing outlets and reservoirs. With outlets and reservoirs, the water level of the river would stay below a flood range. Another idea discussed is a system of jetties. The jetties would help increase the speed of the current even at low water. These ideas all help to teach the reader what civil engineers may attempt to better a river with potential to flood. .
With all of these ideas being pursued, not all would have the chance to use them. Those who were more powerful got the chance to actually take a stab at their proposals while others were left behind. Humphreys had power because he went to a U.S. Military Academy, which was made possible by his family's connections.