Customer Reviews

Katrina: The Ruin and Recovery of New Orleans

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I rode out Hurricane Katrina in Metairie, LA. If you don't live in the Gulf South, the scope of the amazing photographs in this book will leave you breathless and thanking God you live elsewhere.

We all are aware that Hurricane Katrina was the worst natural disaster in U.S. history (actually the "disaster" wasn't entirely natural at all but this isn't the forum for discussing the criminal ineptitude of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). These photos put a human face on the true nature of this disaster. This isn't a book for the faint of heart.

Culled from the hundreds of photos from New Orleans' Times-Picayune newspaper, these are images which will forever document how a major metropolitan city can be destroyed in a few hours. I have to believe there are some Pulitzers lurking in the future for some of these photographers.

It will be quite obvious to even the casual reader that the men and women who took these photos were definitely in harm's way. Were they brave or were they crazy? Who knows. The fact of the matter is that they have captured some of the most compelling images in American history since the days of Bob Capa at the Normandy beachhead.

The book is a large "coffee table" sized edition and features maps and other graphics showing flooding levels, locations of the breaches and other related data to give the reader a better sense of perspective.

I lived in New Orleans in the 1970's and have visited friends and family there every year for over 25 years, going back, and relishing the laidback, intemporal feeling of the city and its culture rich in European and African roots. Seeing the devastation, kin to war-time destruction, in December of 2006, I had to bring back to my current residence a reminder of the havoc that a bad storm and poor prevention and poor crisis management wrecked upon the city that Time and Care forgot.

An excellent document with a few visual reminders that there is perhaps hope to prevent another flood situation so severe.

Hats off to The Times Picayune for showing human suffering and loss without stripping people of their dignity, not abusing and becoming sensationalist for the sole sake of selling, but to remind those who are listening that to lose forever New Orleans eccentric mix of aesthetics and personality due to a mix of indigenous peoples and cultures would be tantamount to Europe losing Venice.

We were recently in New Orleans to help in the restoration of the area. During our "free" time we frequented a wonderful bookstore in the city. The owner of the store highly recommended this book. She said it was the most comprehensive of all the books written on Katrina. We thoroughly agree!

While many want to forget Katrina and its devastation, the nation should remember her in true factual details. This book is by far the most comprehensive and balanced presentation of the physics, geography, topography, socioeconomics, and psychology of the tragedy. I was most impressed with the graphics and photos documenting the timing and effects of the levee failures.

I recently went "home" to visit family in New Orleans and to show my guy around New Orleans as I know it. Went visiting one of my friends, she told us about this book and, well, we just had to have it, because it really shows the city and its struggles. Until you've been there, you can't really understand, but this can go a long way towards helping you to understand what happened.

Thanks very much to the seller. I received the book in the time promised, in good condition, and the book was as advertised. A good transaction. 5 stars.

The book itself, from the publishers of the New Orleans newspaper, was a good overview of the tragedy that was Katrina and its aftermath. The timeline that was required in putting the book out did leave much of the after-event analysis to others, but if one wants to get the sense of the disaster, then the words and pictures are more than enough to "see" what nature wrought. 4 stars

A fabulous find for the price. perfect condition , just no dust jacket! Whether you are in the north, south , east or west the images captured here will truly imprint your heart!

This is the most excellent book about Katrina and New Orleans,picture-wise and text-wise. No better way to do it

This a great look into what happened before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. Awesome photos!

The book brought back very haunting memories of Katrina. I went thru Betsy and was out of town for Katrina and was not sorry. I am glad to have this memory in pictures.