In this historical nonfiction book about small towns--and the big government that all-too-often lets them down--NPR affiliate broadcaster Sid Shroyer investigates the man-made flood that took his family's farm.
As a local host of WVPE's All Things Considered, Sid Shroyer is no stranger to local events that tell a larger story. In this historical memoir, he explores a story in his own family's archive: the destruction of his father's boyhood home in Somerset, Indiana . . . and how it was caused by people who were supposed to protect the community.
Through investigative reporting and research into government records, Shroyer discovered a dark secret. This tragedy was an avoidable result of biased social policies and ambition.
In this powerful expos� of the politics behind a devastating disaster, discover how government representatives:
sold residents a flood-control reservoir project behind the scenes and off the books, twisted the concepts of community recreation and economic development for political gain, andignored the community and left those most affected without a voice . . . which ended in disaster.
With the continual uncovering of government involvement in environmental disasters like the water crisis in Flint, Michigan; Hurricane Katrina on the US Gulf Coast; and the Hinkley, California, groundwater contamination of Erin Brockovich notoriety, this government corruption book affirms that environmental activism in rural communities continues to be as important now as ever.
In this searing commentary on what the powerful can do to the powerless, discover what is lost in the name of profitability--and why telling these stories is the first step to lasting change.
Shroyer, Sid: -
Sid Shroyer is an NPR broadcaster, writer, and essayist. He was the local host of NPR affiliate WVPE's All Things Considered, cocreated the monthly entertainment program Wild Rose Moon Radio Hour, and contributes regular essays to the WVPE segment Michiana Chronicles.
Shroyer is a graduate of Indiana University South Bend and Indiana University Bloomington, where he met his wife, Judy, at the student radio station. He spent twenty-seven years as an English teacher at New Prairie High School, where he taught writing classes for college credit, created classes on the Holocaust and the Vietnam War, advised media classes, and briefly coached softball. He grew up in rural Indiana and currently lives in South Bend.
For more of Sid Shroyer's writing and to subscribe to his newsletter, visit sidshroyer.com.