The Hurricanes: One High School Team's Homecoming After Katrina (Hardcover)

by Jere Longman (Author)
Key Phrases: state quarterfinals, stage right there, slant pass, South Plaquemines, Port Sulphur, Belle Chasse (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A year after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the lower end of New Orleans' Plaquemines Parish, a peninsula housing one of the nation's most isolated and vulnerable counties, students from several demolished area schools set aside their rivalries at newly created South Plaquemines High. Cyril Crutchfield Jr., former coach at Port Sulphur High, took over the new school's football team-called, naturally, the Hurricanes-and led a ragtag group of players, living in FEMA trailers and lifting weights in a crumbling gymnasium, to the 2006 state playoffs. In 2007, the Hurricanes made another bid for the state championship, and New York Times sports writer Longman (Among the Heroes: United Flight 93 and the Passengers and Crew Who Fought Back) was granted exclusive access to every down. The result is an unflinching and often unflattering chronicle that reads like the series of newspaper articles it began as. It's clear that Longman, a native Louisianan, immersed himself in the local culture, and his insistence on providing political and social context makes this much more than a sports book. Unfortunately, Logman gets bogged down in that context ( as in nearly 20 pages on oyster farming), trying to make a big story-full of heart, sacrifice and the kind of American stories for which "inspired by" movies are made-even bigger.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School—Longman follows high school football coach Cyril Crutchfield, Jr., in his dogged determination to rebuild Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish through the sport. Teen rivals from three different schools joined together at the new South Plaquemines High. Overcoming many obstacles—including lifting weights in a makeshift training room in a ruined gym while watching highlights of opposing teams on a VCR run by a generator—this team made it to the 2006 state playoffs. Their goal for the next season was the state championship at the Dome in New Orleans. In addition to being a story about football, the book showcases the rebuilding of a community rich in tradition and commitment to family. It also highlights struggles with insurance companies, the poorly built FEMA trailers, and government subsidies. Share this title with fans of Friday Night Lights or those who want to learn about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on a small community.—Gregory Lum, Jesuit High School, Portland, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; Illustrated edition (August 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158648673X
• ISBN-13: 978-1586486730
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #408,498 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A true story, but one that misses the sad point, January 4, 2009

By	M. Fischer (Fort Collins, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'll start out by saying that this is a good story. This book focuses on football, and the story of a team and teams coming together to rebuild their lives. It's a "rags-to-riches" tale that will surely one-day make a good movie, but it ignores the real tragedy that I was thinking about the entire time. What it doesn't focus on is the real tragedy of why rural Louisiana is dirt poor and uneducated. A year after Katrina, officials are proud to announce that the new sod is on the field, yet there is no school cafeteria. The scoreboard works, but there are not enough books to go around at school. More examples abound like this abound, but it is clear to me why communities like this will continue to decline as they focus more on their fleeting football success than on graduating educated kids from their high schools. A few of these kids will end up in college, and maybe one every few years will play pro ball, but 200 others will be poorly served by their lack of a decent education.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, Great story., October 21, 2008

By	Samuel Clements "Rad" (Metairie, Louisiana) - See all my reviews

A well written, vibrant story about life after Katrina in a unique community. The story, based in a rural community surrounded by the Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mexico, accurately describes real personalities who make the community special in many ways.

If you are a fan of athletics, community life and the struggles of rebuilding life, then you will enjoy this book. One of the best books I have read in a long time.

5.0 out of 5 stars True story of Louisana , October 1, 2008

By	Big Daddy Al (Maryland) - See all my reviews

Jere Longman has written an excellent book chronicling one parish's reaction to Hurricane Katrina, focusing on the high school football team but weaving in incredibly useful information about the people and history of Plaquemines Parish and all of Southeast Louisiana. It's a story of the importance of football in the fabric of a community in southern Louisiana.

Having played high school football in Louisiana myself "back in the day", I recognized so much in the story of coach Cyril Crutchfield and the Plaquemines Parish residents. The loud, profane and physical football coach. The sheriff's deputies who were former players themselves and still long to ride the bus with the team to away games. The players whose entire lives revolve around the sport. The anachronism of the wealth of resources and the grinding poverty of that part of the world. It really hit home.

The book is well-written and balanced - as an example, Longman strives to present the Belle Chasse side of the Plaquemines Parish feud, rather than simply showing the South Plaquemines/Port Sulphur side. And by tracking Randall Mackey, Jamal Recasner and the Bastrop Rams, he shows the intertwining of relationships in that part of the world.

As this review is written, Coach Crutchfield, Ridge Turner, Lyle Fitte and the rest of the Hurricanes are on their way to another state championship. One Times-Picayune reporter recently noted that they only way the Hurricanes don't win state is if they give up the sport of football between now and December. I recommend you read this book, and follow the Hurricanes through the rest of their season.