Chapter 18 Summary

James Thompson is a newspaper publisher in New Orleans during the 1927 floods. Thompson, always seeking acceptance from the establishment, wants to be a member of society and the New Orleans clubs, but he is not able to penetrate the inner circles. Thompson, with a few others, controls access to news by selectively withholding information from print. Flood information and other unfavorable news items are routinely withheld, as Thompson and others fear it will damage the New Orleans economy.

St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, lies on the Mississippi River below New Orleans. Continuous armed patrols begin of the levees in St. Bernard Parish. Locals are worried that New Orleans saboteurs will attempt to dynamite the levee downstream to relieve pressure on the New Orleans levee system.

Eventually panic spreads among New Orleans citizens, who can simply inspect the levees to see that the waters are...