A review by blevins
Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum

4.0

Steely-eyed journalism by Dan Baum as he gives kind of an informal history of New Orleans through the lives of nine of its residents balanced through a couple of famous hurricanes--Betsy and Katrina. The people's stories are from the poor, wealthy and middle class; white and black; and cover the gamut of the New Orleans experience from music to Mardi Gras. Baum's style is straightforward and its a perfect match between his style and the subject matter in this intriguing book that intertwines personal history to tell a larger story of the city itself. Good stuff.