The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast

This was a very powerful, compelling and important book. I just watched "Five Days at Memorial Hospital" when I came across this book, so the scenes and emotions were very fresh in my mind. I am filled with anger at the politicians who simply let people die, and filled with admiration at the people who had no choice but to help themselves and their neighbors. Many people rose to the occasion, just not the people in power. The people who had the responsibility (mayor, governor, FEMA, police, military) were missing in action for 5 days while people huddled on their roofs trying not to be blown away or starve or drown. Mayor Nagin comes off the worst, completely detached, self-centered, terrified and incompetent. And now in real life, a few days after I read this book (Sept 29, 2022), the west coast of Florida has just suffered Hurricane Ira, with devastating damage, and the governor (then a senator) who voted to deny aid when NJ suffered Hurricane Sandy in 2013, had a sudden change of heart and was now an advocate for government aid, hands open and expecting the country to take care of his state. He called this "socialism" when NJ needed help. What a sickening bunch of hypocrites!It is clear that climate change is bringing more violent and more frequent hurricanes. What amount of money will be required to clear away all the debris, rebuild destroyed bridges, restore all the services we take for granted, and provide housing for the displaced? Does it make any sense to keep building in hurricane prone areas, time and time again? Not to mention Puerto RIco's recent hurricane that federal officials have ignored. This is unsustainable and unforgivable.

This is an almost excellent book about Katrina by acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley. He's a prof at Tulane who (foolishly, as he admits) underestimated the hurricane and stayed in Katrina, and used the experience to write an *exhaustive* account of what transpired in just the first seven days of the disaster. It appears from the multitude of footnotes that he talked to anyone who would talk to him, and it feels as if even a Michael Brown's side is presented, who actually did do some good despite his much-publicized gaffes.The litany of heart-breaking stories and official ineptitude at almost every level is compelling amd fascinating. I devoured news coverage at the time via the internet and television and still I learned many new things - for example - Red Cross was absent because NOLA is under sea level and/or on a flood plain and its policy forbids establishment of shelters in such areas. For a long time Red Cross had offered to work with the city to find safe shelters and was pushed aside, to be dealt with later.Also helpful is Brinkley's background as a local, providing great insight into the politics and personalities of the area.Re: the feds, he blames Chertoff and other top DC officials the most for the relief debacle - Chertoff was a strictly political appointee who completely ignored FEMA during his stewardship, focussing on terrorist concerns and allowing FEMA to founder even as Katrina swung through. He gives Bush credit for personally feeling great compassion but being unable to initiate and insist upon action given his management style.Brinkley also brings out in great but interesting detail the tale of the hundreds -- if not thousands -- "first responders" - the people who, with the US Coast Guard and the LA Wildlife and Fisheries Dept., just waded in (pun intended) and used whatever water-going vehicles they had to help their neighbors. NOLA Mayor Ray Nagin is castigated in even greater detail than he was at the time, for sins far greater than we ever knew (he hid out in a deluxe Hyatt Hotel suite for almost three days before taking any sort of action, until the mother of actress Patricia Clarkson, who also is a powerful NOLA Councilmember, shamed and prodded him into action).Meanwhile, we learn, the governers of the affected states -- and even some as far away as CA -- were probably the most effective leaders and helpers in the early days of the crisis, even the beleagured LA Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who chose to act mostly behind the scenes.I say it's an almost excellent book because in describing a crisis that was defined by geography he fails to include even one map of any area! So I've been grappling with atlases and every map I can find to better understand what was happening. I'd knock off half a star if I could for this inexplicable lapse.I have seven more Katrina books to go (three brief, mostly photographic read already). I was obsessed with the subject last fall, as I worked for Red Cross' National Disaster Relief team in the late 1970s and early '80s and I've selected books to give emphasis on different aspects of the disaster, including one more overview book. My background, I think, has allowed me to get a sense of what is the truth and what is false and Brinkley's book tells the story of a major natural disaster in a most compelling and accurate way. Most disasters are alike; what's different is the number of people affected and the resources available to help them. I know from personal experience that FEMA was a PITA as far back as the early 1980s (it was established by President Carter).

This is an impressive and even astounding book. Impressive are the book's comprehensive coverage, its first-hand reporting, and its capacity to present the big picture while vividly painting the little stories of heroism and heartbreak. The book is astounding in that the author was able to compose a work of such scope and depth in well less than a year. The level of research - based on an exhaustive mining of the local and national press accompanied by wide-ranging and incisive interviews (including Mayor Ray Nagin, Gov. Kathleen Blanco, FEMA's Michael Brown, and even Jimmy Buffett!) - is that of a book that would take a typical writer two or three years to write. By its nature, focusing on the immediate events - the hurricane and the subsequent flooding - this book will not be the last word on Katrina. The ripple effects - of dispersed populations, ruined infrastructure, reconstruction efforts, and political impacts - will continue for some time, and future historians will add to our understanding. But it is hard to imagine a better "you are there" account of the bravery, treachery, and sheer incompetence exhibited in the week following Katrina's coming ashore on the morning of Monday, August 29. Although balanced and comprehensive in his coverage of events, Brinkley is not afraid to name the names of heroes and scoundrels. Of the latter, those who stand out in infamy include the Army Corps of Engineers, Mayor Nagin, the New Orleans Police Department, and the obtuse federal triumvirate of Brown, Chertoff, and Bush. With more than enough official fecklessness to go around, greater disaster was staved off by the story's heroes: the U.S. Coast Guard, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries rescuers, the city of Houston (which took in tens of thousands of flood victims), legions of volunteers and medical personnel, and average people who responded, often at great personal risk, to their fellow citizens in need. There is plenty of evidence in this book to make one chagrined at the gross ineptitude of certain public officials and of institutions designed to respond to natural disasters. But there is also enough human empathy and fighting spirit displayed in these events to make one proud of the American people themselves. Brinkley's great achievement is to have provided a full and graphic portrait of both sides of the Katrina tragedy.

Excellent description of the events linked to the unfolding catastrophe of hurricane katrina. The research and detail is very good, but the story is a frightening one of ineptitude of the Bush administration and the fact that the people of New Orleans were treated in such a despicable way is horrendous.Nevertheless Brinkley does a good job of keeping your attention all the way through as the drama unfolds.Must be worth a follow-up book on where the town stands now and what happened to all those poor people who had to suffer through no fault of their own.A must read, and lets hope lessons have been learnt to prevent it happening again with the next natural disaster.

A detailed, engrossing, harrowing account of a momentous week in American history, which pulls no punches assigning blame for the moumental balls-up which followed the hurricane and the inevitable, preventable, catastrophic flooding. Highly recommended.

The images of the horror caused by hurricane Katrina will always haunt me and so will this brilliant book anyone who wants to feel the survivors pain and know the reasons why should read this book

A fascinating, spellbinding horrendous reality. Brilliantly written. Hurricane Katrina and its devastation looked at from every human angle. WOW!

The most terrifying book I have ever read.