Deadly Indifference: The Perfect (Political) Storm: Hurricane Katrina, The Bush White House and Beyond / by Michael D. Brown

Anyone involved in the Hurricane Katrina mess likely won't have to remember too hard to recognize the author of this book. Michael "Brownie" Brown is someone a lot of people are still angry at. And while it may not be anytime soon that their opinions change, at least he gets to tell his side of the story. The former undersecretary of Homeland Security and FEMA chief who made a hollow mockery out of press conferences during the Hurricane Katrina disaster and who seemingly had the backing of former President Bush tries to counter the opinion most people have of him and the administration's handling of the disaster. But what could have been at least a semi-sincere, apologetic appeal to the masses is instead an account which places blame a little too often by a man more concerned about his own reputation than any apparent "indifference" shown during the disaster. Though he tries to be objective in some parts, Brown's narrative tends to implicate and and indict more than inform. Everyone from his boss Michael Chertoff (who must at least hold some of the blame) to his boss's bosses (President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld) to the state-level chain of command (Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin) to the media (an especially akward section of the book is dedicated to his on-air interview with Soledad O'Brien) and the American public who stand ready to condemn are included in Brown's rant. Though disappointing, his account is informative and most will want to at least take a look at it. It's also a book which still reflects on the local, cultural environment. (976.044 BROWN)

Natural Disaster Fiction

City of Refuge: A Novel / by Tom Piazza

In the steamy heat of late summer, two New Orleans families, each from different backgrounds make preparations as Hurricane Katrina approaches. SJ Williams, a self-employed carpenter and widower, lives in the city's Lower Ninth Ward with his sister and nephew while across town Craig Donaldson, a midwestern transplant lured by the city's music and culture, faces deepening cracks in his own family who want to move back to Minnesota. But the hurricane’s arrival is only the beginning as each family struggles to come to terms with the reality of lives uprooted. (FIC PIAZZA)

Blown Away / by Sharon Sala

When Cari North stumbles across her ex-fiance Lance Morgan digging a grave in the swampy Louisiana woods, she knows something’s not quite right. Now suspecting the truth, that Lance may have murdered someone, Cari flees the scene only to encounter a tornado spawned by a hurricane right in her path. Just when she thinks she's home free, Cari finds that the storm has swept in another twist of fate, one that will change her fate--forever. This is the first book in Sala’s “Storm Front” series. (FIC SALA)

Deep Freeze / by Thom Racina
Only the most unusual of natural disasters could disrupt the normally unremitting course of daily activity in Southern California, a place which is, after all, used to routine floods, mudslides, earthquakes, brush fires, even swarms of Africanized Honeybees. But a winter storm of mass proportions does that, making roads impassable, freezing swimming pools into blocks of ice and generally creating a frenzied atmosphere bordering on mayhem for all sectors of society. (FIC RACINA)

Avalanche: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery / by Patrick F. McManus
When luxury ski lodge owner Mike Wilson goes missing, Blight County (ID) Sheriff Bo Tully suspects that Wilson is probably just off on another fling. But, doing his duty, Tully drives up to the lodge anticipating an easy missing persons case only to meet an oncoming avalanche head-on. Now stuck at the lodge, after having just barely made it safe inside, Tully finds there may be more to Mike’s disappearance than he originally thought. (MYS MCMANUS)

One Amazing Thing / by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Nine strangers are caught together in a passport and visa office one afternoon when a violent earthquake rips through area, trapping all of them inside. As the office begins to flood and the struggle for survival becomes intensified, all begin to share pieces of themselves, emotionally uplifting tidbits from their own lives to life morale. As their surprising stories of love, loss and self-revelation unfold against the urgency of their life-or-death circumstances, the transcendent power of stories and the meaningfulness of human expression helps them cope with time running out. (FIC DIVAKARU)

Acts of Nature / by Jonathon King
Private Eye Max Freeman and his girlfriend, Detective Sherry Richards have relocated to the Florida Everglades to be much needed R&R. It's the kind of life they've looked forward to for a while with no TV, no phones, no neighbors. But with the arrival of a devastating hurricane, more than just their little piece of paradise is uprooted as Sherry is severely injured and with no means of calling for help, the couple begins a treacherous trip back to civilization only to run in to some thoroughly undesirable characters who've been uprooted as well. (MYS KING)

Ark / by Stephen Baxter
In the not-so-distant future, life on planet earth lies on the brink of extinction after a massive flood submerged nearly everything. In a last ditch attempt to secure the survival of mankind, two specially designed space crafts, Ark One and Ark Two, have been designed to transport survivors to another life-sustaining planet many light years away. Holle Groundwater is one of the chosen few who've been trained since childhood for destiny and is finally ready to embark on her destiny when she uncovers a secret revealing that escaping earth may be a more dangerous task than remaining behing on a drowning planet. (SF BAXTER)

When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) DVD / A Spike Lee Film; an HBO Original Documentary Films Event

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♫ If it keeps on raining levee's going to break
. .When the levee breaks have no place to stay ♪
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The title "When The Levees Broke" references a song popularized by Led Zeppelin but first recorded by Delta Blues tandem Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy. The original dates back to the depression and is an ode to the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 in which thousands of Mississippi Delta residents lost their homes and livelihoods, many having to permanently relocate to places like Chicago or Kansas City. The ironical ballad, with its haunting melody and chorus is a spot-on title for this revealing documentary, likely among the most important films Spike Lee and HBO have ever made. In addition to erasing many pre-conceived notions pertaining to Lee’s projects, the piece represents a cumulative voice of the Katrina disaster victims. It's an aggressively vocal, emotionally powerful and thoroughly detailed exposition on the devastation that was Hurricane Katrina as told by the survivors.
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It’s also a documentary in the truest sense--over 4 hours in length, with literally hundreds of images, dozens of interviews and a fully comprehensive analysis of exactly what went down. The film was even scored by Terence Blanchard, a Spike Lee collaborator and New Orleans native, who was coincidentally raised in the ninth ward in a house destroyed by the flooding. Nothing is withheld, nothing is censored. Perspectives on the plight of the city are portrayed through eyes of everyone. Testimonies include that of politicians and pedestrians; white, black, rich and poor; from those sheltering in the Superdome to those who escaped before the storm hit. Analysis is presented by structural engineers who assess why the levees broke and civilians who suspect otherwise.
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Among those featured are the multitudes left stranded on rooftops as well as the hundreds of homeless, disabled and displaced others all abruptly relocated against their will away from their families. Celebrities present at ground zero like Wynton Marsalis and Sean Penn offer their stories (Penn literally dropped everything flew to New Orleans from California after seeing a news brief). Journalists like Soledad O’Brien, who conducted a series of baffling interviews with infamous FEMA Director Michael Brown about the absence of federal aid, and WWL radio host Garland Robinette recall the maddening communications disaster and emergency management gaffe which imperiled the lives of thousands and imprinted a legacy of enmity and distrust towards government officials. For anyone with Louisiana ties or for those even remotely connected to New Orleans or the Gulf Region, this is a must see. (DVD 976.335044 WHEN)
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Recently a follow-up documentary mini-series "If God is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise", also by Spike Lee in partnership with HBO, was broadcast. Showing the lasting legacy of Hurricane Katrina, it reconnects with many of the original interviewees and looks back at the disaster while investigating how things have (or haven't) changed in the five years since the tragedy.

Zeitoun / by Dave Eggers

Syrian-born Abdulrahman Zeitoun was an American citizen a New Orleans resident when Hurricane Katrina hit. Like so many others, he'd merely been minding his own business up until the disaster, seeing to his affairs and looking after his loved ones. Electing to send his family out of town to stay with relatives as the storm approached, he himself stayed behind to watch over his private business, a contract construction company. But when the levees broke and as much of the city rapidly became submerged, Zeitoun set out in his small canoe, helping to rescue people as the waters rose. His individual relief efforts met with some strange fortune and ill fate, however, as amid the chaos and confusion of the tragedy, he was abruptly arrested on dubious charges which included accusations that he was a terrorist and a member of Al-Queda. Details about Zeitoun's subsequent harrowing personal experiences are described in vivid detail.

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Dave Eggers has been something of a literary wunderkind since his novel What Is The What (FIC EGGERS) burst on to the scene in 2006. The Pulitzer Prize-nominated Zeitoun reveals why. With brilliant illumination and exceptional candor, Eggers recounts the tragedy that befell Abdulrahman Zeitoun. Retold through an extensive collection of news stories, official documents and personal interviews, the author recreates a tale of an almost inconceivable nature yet a true American story all the same. It's no wonder that both the book and Eggers himself continue to be showered with applause and awards (see here). The work is a true masterpiece with a definitive and lasting impact, one which will no doubt be a longstanding classic with a message resonating throughout the 21st century. The Zeitoun Foundation has even been set up with a goal to help rebuild New Orleans while at the same time promoting further understanding between peoples of different faiths around the world. A movie adaptation is also in the works. (976.335064 EGGERS)