Katrina's Secrets: Storms After The Storm [Paperback]

C. Ray Nagin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 22, 2011

REVISED EDITION: Gaining a firm grasp on the highly complex, famously fraught aftermath of Hurricane Katrina can seem as tenuous as its victims’ shaky grasp on survival. Mayor C. Ray Nagin was there during the city of New Orleans' darkest hours. Charged with assessing the forces that swirled around him, the city’s leader strove to maintain formidable calm in the face of the biggest natural and man-made disaster in America’s history. That is, until he simply could not. Nagin’s first-hand account, Katrina’s Secrets: Storms after the Storm lays out the days leading up to and immediately following the storm. At once stirringly elegiac and disarmingly candid, this spellbinding reckoning delivers exacting detail, while boldly exposing secrets that, until now, have been glossed over or spun out. Nagin’s team confronted thousands of calls pleading for rescue; politicos more keen to pose for photos than to pose solutions; broken promises from FEMA; the violent Superdome; and the controversial acts of some police. When he at last broke down in a radio interview, the world cried with him. Clear and compassionate, the author illuminates the magnitude of the efforts undertaken in response to the lives that hung in the balance and the actions taken to restore New Orleans to its rightful luster. Katrina’s Secrets also provides crucial context of race and class to shed new and unnerving light on how the events played out. Throughout the searing narrative, Nagin’s deep love of his native city shines through like a beacon in the treacherous, storm-tossed night. Any reader dumbfounded by the fallout of Katrina will cling to every graceful, gutsy page of this heartbreaking ode to a place like no other, and its breathtaking comeback. Katrina’s Secrets is certain to give ample pause for thought—and cause to act.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

C. Ray Nagin was born in New Orleans' Charity Hospital. He grew up in the inner city, graduating from the public school system. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Tuskegee Institute and a Masters of Business Administration from Tulane University. After a very successful career in corporate America, he entered the New Orleans mayoral race in 2002 and was elected the sixtieth Mayor of New Orleans. His administration initiated progressive policies that focused on transparency, fiscal accountability, and technological enhancement. They eliminated back-to-back budget deficits, significantly reduced poverty levels, facilitated billions in infrastructure projects, and launched a highly acclaimed city website. In August 2005, Nagin ordered the first-ever mandatory evacuation before Hurricane Katrina directly hit New Orleans. Prior to holding public office, he worked with a great team to transform Cox Communications' local operations into one of its most profitable assets. He is married to Seletha Smith Nagin, and they have three children, Jeremy, Jarin and Tianna.

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 146095971X
• ISBN-13: 978-1460959718
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #842,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Self-published for a reason June 29, 2011

By B Diddy

Format:Paperback

This book is self-published for a reason and it's certainly not for a lack of interest from publishing companies. After all, if Bristol Palin can get a book deal, surely the mayor who presided over the largest disaster in our country's history could. Publishers, however, are held accountable for the "nonfiction" label that they place on books. They perform at least a basic level of fact checking and require sources to substantiate the author's claims. Nagin's self-published book is free from such encumbrances. In the introduction, he claims that the book "is based on my recollections, observations, and records." In other words, this book is unashamedly one-sided, based not on facts, but on the events as Nagin (conveniently) remembers them.

If you're seeking a window into Nagin's twisted mind, read this book. But if it's the facts you're interested in, I suggest looking elsewhere.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Mayor Ray should pay readers for the next one. January 29, 2012

By FireInst12

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Mayor Ray:

Your book is not a good read. You claim to have emergency management experience but you have demonstrated through the written word that you didn't learn a thing. The outcome may have been different had you let the emergency managers do thier jobs.

I'm guessing that you decided against proofreading based on the number of errors. I found them annoying.

The inference was made that everyone outside of the mayor's officer is racist. Ray did you promote that? You refer to a character in the story as a real brother. Sorry but what respect I had for the author has tanked.

All summed, the book is terrible and the message is even worse.

21 of 29 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars This is one of the worst books I have ever read. Ray Nagin should be ashamed of himself. What a load! June 30, 2011

By imgreenlantern2

Format:Paperback

I was fortunate to get a copy of the book for free, because after reading it I would absolutely hate myself as a human being if I had paid money for this filth.

I was very curious to see what approach Ray Nagin was going to take on "his" version of Katrina. Let me just say I had a difficult time getting to the end of the book, because it was clear Ray Nagin was trying harder to repair his image than to tell the truth about what happened. After everything that I have read over the last half decade about Katrina, after everything that I have seen about Katrina, and after reading multiple points of view from the leaders involved; it is clear Ray Nagin is attempting with this book to paint himself as a victim and not a man who is partially responsible for the misery that was brought to New Orleans.

He does his very best to paint George W. Bush as the villain in the Katrina situation which is far from the truth. The federal government has admitted that there were things they could have done better, but Nagin forgets to mention that Gov. Kathleen Blanco denied Pres. Bush authorization to bring the National Guard into the state (which is required by law). He also fails to mention that Pres. Bush went on national television and national radio two days prior to the hurricane, and pleaded with the people to get out of the city since Nagin and Blanco refused to do it themselves. He does acknowledge that the busing system they used failed, but that is a small detail in the scheme of things.

I want to also add that he does not apologize for the multiple races remarks he has made against the Hispanic and White communities over the years, or the fact that he wants New Orleans to be a "brown town only" (his words not mine).

Bottom line I can not recommend this book to anyone.