Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster
A forceful social critique that examines race, poverty, and political responsibility after Hurricane Katrina.
Work Information
It exposes the structural inequality beneath the disaster.
The book reframes Hurricane Katrina not as a weather event but as a politics of race and class. Moving between survivor testimony and policy critique, it makes America’s fault lines visible.
Review Summaries
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Readers see it as a sharp frontal critique of the Black poor that mainstream disaster coverage often leaves out.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Civitas Books
- Published
- 2006-01-23
- Pages
- 272 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.97 x 2.54 x 20.96 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780465017614
- ISBN-10
- 0465017614
- Price
- 400 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/History/Americas/United States/21st Century
When Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, hundreds of thousands were left behind to suffer the ravages of destruction, disease, and even death. The majority of these people were black; nearly all were poor. The Federal government's slow response to local appeals for help is by now notorious. Yet despite the cries of outrage that have mounted since the levees broke, we have failed to confront the disaster's true lesson: to be poor, or black, in today's ownership society, is to be left behind. Displaying the intellectual rigor, political passion, and personal empathy that have won him acclaim and fans all across the color line, Michael Eric Dyson offers a searing assessment of the meaning of Hurricane Katrina. Combining interviews with survivors of the disaster with his deep knowledge of black migrations and government policy over decades, Dyson provides the historical context that has been sorely missing from public conversation. He explores the legacy of black suffering in America since slavery and ties its psychic scars to today's crisis. And, finally, his critique of the way black people are framed in the national consciousness will shock and surprise even the most politically savvy reader. With this clarion call Dyson warns us that we can only find redemption as a society if we acknowledge that Katrina was more than an engineering or emergency response failure. From the TV newsroom to the Capitol Building to the backyard, we must change the way we relate to the black and the poor among us. What's at stake is no less than the future of democracy.
Michael Eric Dyson , named by Ebony as one of the hundred most influential black Americans, is the author of sixteen books, including Holler if You Hear Me , Is Bill Cosby Right? and I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King Jr. He is currently University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Reviews
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If you are anti Bush Administration, this will make your blood boil Couldn't put it down - and to think the Americans gave him TWO cracks of the whip!
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A great book. Worthy of a read I just wish it wasn't used. Maybe it wasn't. I don't recall if used or not If it was supposed to be new Shame on the seller
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Having lived in New Orleans and dealing with the threat of hurricanes it is interesting to read of the other views of the reactions to hurricanes. As long as I've lived in New Orleans, I was always aware of the vulnerability of the city. To hear that the Office of the President of The United States and those in charge of FEMA were not aware is disingenuous. It appears that they knowingly ignored the plight of the citizens of New Orleans. Thanks for a well written story.
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I developed a course around the HBO show Treme and will be utilizing this book at the collegiate level. It is an excellent view with information that can be fact checked easily. Well thought out and easy to skip around when reading chapters if needed.
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Wow. a powerful read. Mr. Dyson puts you front and center of everything that went down. Gives the TRUTH of what really happened. Gives the reader a sense of the rich culture and community that makes New Orleans so special and reminds us we have a long way to go in equality.