'Unacceptable': The Federal Government's Response to Hurricane Katrina (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: levee system, New Orleans, President Bush, Bush-Cheney Administration (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The emergency management response to Hurricane Katrina revealed more than just a failure of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but systemic problems in all levels of government. In 'Unacceptable,' award-winning journalist Walter M. Brasch explores not only the facts of the disaster, but WHY the federal response was inefficient.

Product Details

• Paperback: 100 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (December 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419618393
• ISBN-13: 978-1419618390
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #157,110 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, concise and engrossing, July 24, 2006

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (7/06)

" `Unacceptable': The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina" gives a detailed and concise account of what went wrong in the planning for and response to what many people are calling the nation's worst natural disaster ever.

Dr. Brasch, an award-winning professor of journalism, a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and author of 16 books is more than qualified to analyze the governmental policies that led to the horribly botched response to Hurricane Katrina. This engrossing and well-researched book begins with an excerpt from Dr. Brasch and Rosemary R. Brasch's 2003 article "An Ill Wind and American Policy". The article accurately outlined the problems that would happen if a natural disaster occurred at home while so many of our experienced National Guard forces are deployed in Iraq. The article included a chillingly accurate prediction by the Brasch's: "Our nation's disaster preparedness doesn't meet the needs that any sizeable disaster might bring."

I have to admit that the event details were hard to stomach at times as the full realization set in that with proper planning and repairs prior to the storm the massive extent of the damage did not have to happen. And once the storm hit and the levies broke the lack of federal response due to incompetence and lack of experience by FEMA and Homeland Security caused unimaginable death and devastation to the victims. "Unacceptable" gives a vivid portrayal of the short sighted political policies that led up to this tragedy such as: not taking environmental reports seriously, allowing businesses to destroy wetlands that provide natural protection to the Gulf Coast, leaving the nation vulnerable by slashing budgets that fund natural disaster preparation to fund the war in Iraq and hiring inexperienced political friends in favor of experts at agencies this country looks to during a natural disaster. The poor governmental response to this crisis was also attributed to the deeper issues of race and class relations in this country.

"Unacceptable" was not all a negative account of Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Brasch also recounted the many unsung heroes, corporations and countries that responded and were sometimes turned away (some justifiably) from helping with disaster relief. Firemen, policemen and so many others took vacation time from their jobs to pitch in with rescue efforts before the delayed response by Federal Government of asking for help. The Red Cross, Salvation Army and so many others proved to be invaluable, but were quickly at their maximum capacity. The American Humane Society, Noah's Wish, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and so many more took on the task of rescuing animals and trying to reunite them with their pets.

This well-written book offers great insight into the Federal Response to Katrina. I would not however recommend it to right wing Republicans, as they would probably find it very offensive.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hurricane Season: Time to Revisit the Past, July 28, 2006

By	L. Glasner (NY NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Unacceptable: The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina, is an excellent reminder of the tragedy that was Katrina, not just in terms of the physical severity of the storm itself but also of the government's severely limited, too-little-too-late response. The book takes us through the events from the early storm warnings announced by the National Weather Service through the receding flood waters in New Orleans after much of the population had been displaced. As Brasch marches us through the eye of the storm, he documents the abysmal response of local, state, and federal officials. Although the public was bombarded with images and news as the storm raged and is certainly aware of the tragic events that were Katrina, Brasch provides some important context. Failure to heed warnings was merely the climax of many failures that formed the perfect storm. Documenting these failures in one place exposes the scope and breadth of the Bush Administration failures and indeed it is breathtaking. Eventually, the flood waters receded, and so did the outrage - though it is surely still seething under the surface in the Louisiana lowlands, buried under the muck. Brasch's book is an important reminder of what tragedy can befall us in the merger of a void in leadership and widespread incompetence we are vulnerable to not only the disaster wrought by nature but the disaster wrought by the inept officials who blame one another rather than accept responsibility and learn from their errors.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strongly recommended reading for anyone interested in contemporary politics and current events , May 8, 2006

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Unacceptable: The Federal Response To Hurricane Katrina by journalism professor Walter M. Brasch is an informative and critical analysis of the inefficiency and ineptitude of the American government's response to the natural disaster and consequent widespread tragedy of hurricane Katrina. Providing an accessible and "reader friendly" in-depth study of predictive and retrospective texts, quotes, and conceptual understandings, Unacceptable guides readers through the many contributing factors which resulted in the Bush administration's dysfunctional political policies, such as downgrading FEMA while pushing new resources into the anti-terrorism campaigns and the war in Iraq. To be given high praise for its candor, Unacceptable is very strongly recommended reading for anyone interested in contemporary politics and current events for its outstanding and precise study of the federal government poorly performance and indecisive action for one of the worst natural disaster in American history.