Mara Miller

This book is six chapters of clichés and retold stories. The author doesn’t go in to any depth of the struggle of the people stranded in Gulf Coast communities during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. There are a few quotes scattered throughout the text from survivors about their experience. “the water kept getting higher. You should have seen the cars floating around us,” said one survivor. While very tragic, these are all things we have heard before and Miller doesn’t seem to go any deeper. She does, however, make a valiant effort to show how the people of New Orleans were “forgotten” by the government, the sentiment of many people following the disaster. The problem with this viewpoint is that it seems a little bias. And although Miller interviews professionals about hurricanes and strategy and protocol, she didn’t confront them with her opinion about their lack of care for the city’s poverty-stricken. It would have added to her credibility to present both sides to readers.

The photos used throughout the book are chilling—the usual with people on rooftops, makeshift graves and rescue missions; trees leaning over so far they seem like they’ll snap any moment after giving in to the Category 5 winds. There are maps of the country, of the states along the Gulf coast, diagrams of Katrina’s path, satellite images of the storm and the Saffir-Simpson scale for hurricanes. The glossary provides very simplistic definitions of hurricane terms, but could have included more words because the ones listed, like much of her writing, are elementary.

There is a list of further reading that may catch the interest of students who want to know more, which could prove helpful because again, Miller’s book falls short of important details for some riveting stories. Readers may be interested to know if the author has any bias or connection to the coast, but the “About the Author” section doesn't really offer much incite.… (plus d'informations)