Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm

""An important and prescient book, presenting a clear-eyed view of the inevitable track of sea level rise and how it intersects with the historic and present issues of race in Charleston. The precarious situation in which this low-lying city finds itself is a microcosm of many other cities by a rising sea. But this is a story of people and not just policy. Crawford gives due attention to Black voices and the neighborhoods that are receiving the brunt of climate-driven flooding. The case for a retreat from land in jeopardy and the need to plan for future dense, affordable development on high, dry ground are eloquently expressed. A powerful portrait of the cost of climate denial coming due."--David Goodrich, former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Observations and Monitoring Program, former Director of the UN Global Climate Observing System, and author of On Freedom Road
"Crawford persuasively links the precarious position of the city's Black neighborhoods to other 'legacies of slavery and racism, ' including segregated schools and a lack of affordable housing for low- and middle-income families. By turns heartbreaking and hopeful, this is an eye-opening look behind Charleston's genteel facade."--Publishers Weekly
"Crawford's book about Charleston's imminent coastal climate crisis, intertwined with the city's racial issues, is truly an eye-opener. Crawford's writing style is clear and engaging, and she deftly involves the reader in the problems she addresses. An engaging book on the important national intersection of racism and the natural environment. Ideal for book discussion groups or citywide reading."--Library Journal, starred review
"Days after reading Susan Crawford's masterful Charleston: Race, Water and the Coming Storm, I found myself telling strangers impromptu anecdotes about the South Carolina coastal city. This is a fascinating, in-depth, soul-searching look at a beautiful city with a dark past and an uncertain future. It's a book that I wish every community could have for facing economic inequality, racial injustice and climate change. In a blend of history, policy, science and journalism, Crawford brings Charleston to life and reveals why the city is a harbinger for the United States and the world.'--Laura Trethewey, author of Imperiled Ocean
One of the nation's finest public interest technologists, Susan Crawford has used her pen and position to shed light on the rural, low-income communities left out of the story of America's digital future. In Charleston, Crawford once again asks us not to look away, detailing the inner life of a city's legacy of racism, and calling into question whether that history will drown Black and low-income residents in the present tense, as waters rise and levees break across Charleston and America's coastal cities. This is a book that will stay with you long after you've turned its final page."--Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, author of From Generosity to Justice
"Charleston is a ghost story for the climate age, a sweeping and unflinching analysis of how a history of racism, greed, and political cowardice is creating a wet dystopian future for an iconic American city. Read this book and you'll understand the enormity of the challenges that coastal cities face in a rapidly warming world, and why people are fighting for change before it's too late."--Jeff Goodell, bestselling author of The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World
"All true climate-change stories are about the abuse of power. Knowing this, Susan Crawford makes a plea for climate justice in Charleston, her sweeping case study of the South Carolina city. Crawford's book stands apart from its predecessors because of its sustained focus on one threatened city. Charleston is a fascinating and haunted locale, and Crawford is gifted at sketching its grossness and grace."

--The New York Times Book Review, Editor's Choice