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dwhite1174's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
birdieebirdiee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
5.0
This is potentially the most brutal book I’ve ever read. But it’s a must read.
reasie's review against another edition
3.0
It was a hard book to get through. Not only is it very thick, but I kept having to stop to cry. I had to read another book at the same time, so I could switch off.
There are parts that are confusing, toward the middle, where you almost need a map or a timeline or a gallery of photos to keep track of all the people he talked about. The bulk of the book is made up of personal interviews, and he interweaves them chronologically, jumping from person to person so we get a barrage of evacuation stories, battening down stories, preparations, then the stories of the actual storm, shocking tales of walls of water straight out of a hollywood blockbuster, and then the horrible, horrible aftermath.
Not a fun book to read, but I think an important one.
There are parts that are confusing, toward the middle, where you almost need a map or a timeline or a gallery of photos to keep track of all the people he talked about. The bulk of the book is made up of personal interviews, and he interweaves them chronologically, jumping from person to person so we get a barrage of evacuation stories, battening down stories, preparations, then the stories of the actual storm, shocking tales of walls of water straight out of a hollywood blockbuster, and then the horrible, horrible aftermath.
Not a fun book to read, but I think an important one.
njmatt04's review against another edition
4.0
Solid overview of what happened during Katrina beyond the obvious. This filled in a number of gaps in knowledge I had from the storm and especially the response. Damning but fair and honest. Mostly tragic.
bookfarmer's review against another edition
5.0
Brinkley takes on the monumental task of explaining one of the greatest tragedies of our time, and does it well by telling the human stories. Few government officials come out of the disaster looking anything but bad.
ava_catherine's review against another edition
5.0
In August 2005, Katrina destroyed the Gulf Coast. Not only did the hurricane cause tidal water devastation, but the floods in New Orleans were deadly. This is the story of the hurricane, the survivors, the mis-management of the government, the communities and governments that pulled together and worked it out, and lessons learned from Katrina. In the media, the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast line was virtually ignored, so I was glad to see that the author gave credit to the people of these states for their ability to come together in response to the hurricane. The entire Mississippi coast line was wiped away, but the people of Mississippi did not sit around and whine. They worked together to rebuild and help each other.
I appreciate the author's extensive research and the author's unbiased story.
I appreciate the author's extensive research and the author's unbiased story.
kerryann's review against another edition
5.0
Coming off a the tearing good non fiction read of Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell, I picked up "The Great Deluge" which has been on my to-read list for some time.
This book is another gripping page turner. I missed all of the Katrina coverage while it happened since I was in the grips of post partum depression at the time. I am sorry I did not take an interest at the time.
This book twines survivor versus tragedy as the horror of Katrina offers both in full measure. I have sympathy for the mayor, because I too often get too caught up in myself and do not make rational choices or view the big picture accurately. He is very human and a good object lesson that you have to take your responsibilities seriously and have correct priorities.
A great book and I'm only a quarter way in. Have your read it?
This book is another gripping page turner. I missed all of the Katrina coverage while it happened since I was in the grips of post partum depression at the time. I am sorry I did not take an interest at the time.
This book twines survivor versus tragedy as the horror of Katrina offers both in full measure. I have sympathy for the mayor, because I too often get too caught up in myself and do not make rational choices or view the big picture accurately. He is very human and a good object lesson that you have to take your responsibilities seriously and have correct priorities.
A great book and I'm only a quarter way in. Have your read it?