City Adrift: New Orleans Before and After Katrina

by Frank Koughan, Jenni Bergal, Sara Shipley Hiles, et al.

Hurricane Katrina was a stunning example of complete civic breakdown. Beginning on August 29, 2005, the world watched in horror as--despite all the warnings and studies--every system that might have protected New Orleans failed. Levees and canals buckled, pouring more than 100 billion gallons of floodwater into the city. Botched communications crippled rescue operations. Buses that might have evacuated thousands never came. Hospitals lost power,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807132845
• ISBN13: 9780807132845
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: LSU Press
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Everything Went Wrong

Many books about the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe are starting to appear, with many different views of who is to blame for the despicable government response to the disaster. This short book from the Center for Public Integrity consists of a series of in-depth investigative reports conforming to the organization's philosophies of nonpartisanship and government transparency. Therefore, some readers may be disappointed by this book's lack of muckraking or calls for accountability from certain politicians. But on the other hand, this series of reports does benefit greatly from its wide-ranging focus and its spirit of investigating the systematic failures that caused *everything* to go wrong in New Orleans. There is certainly coverage of the various levels of ineptitude within the federal government, though the reader is also rewarded with highly illuminating looks at the failures within state and local government, the health care establishment, the insurance industry, charitable organizations, and the regional housing market. We also learn about the unique and longstanding cultural and political trends in New Orleans that made the city likely to collapse in the face of disaster and which are unlikely to improve the lives of victims in the foreseeable future. This book shows that there is plenty of blame to go around for the Katrina catastrophe, and that official denials and buck-passing are likely to continue amongst many different levels and branches of government. Track down this volume for in-depth investigations in which the facts speak for themselves - disturbingly. [~doomsdayer520~]