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Voice of Witness
Voices from the Storm: The People of New Orleans on Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath
Toen Orkaan Katrina op 29 augustus 2005 de stad New Orleans bereikte, was het reeds te laat voor hen die zich niet in veiligheid konden brengen: hulp van de overheid bleef uit en zou pas na weken - nadat (inter)nationale druk werd uitgeoefend - op gang komen: het regime van George W. Bush had andere prioriteiten dan de veelal arme, zwarte inwoners van New Orleans te hulp te schieten bij deze ramp van ongekende omvang. Het resultaat van deze tragedie betekende duizenden doden,hele gemeenschappen werden weggevaagd, grote delen van New Orleans werden vernietigd.
De slachtoffers van New Orleans leven tegenwoordig verspreid over Amerika, ver weg van de huizen die ze moesten verlaten, en moeten in een vreemde omgeving een nieuw leven opbouwen. In dit boek zijn hartverscheurende verhalen verzameld van mannen en vrouwen die Katrina overleefden, en die de veerkracht tonen van mensen die aan de onderkant van de samenleving leven, maar het zijn ook verhalen die een land laten zien dat nog altijd verscheurd wordt door economische en raciale spanningen en belangen.
De slachtoffers van New Orleans leven tegenwoordig verspreid over Amerika, ver weg van de huizen die ze moesten verlaten, en moeten in een vreemde omgeving een nieuw leven opbouwen. In dit boek zijn hartverscheurende verhalen verzameld van mannen en vrouwen die Katrina overleefden, en die de veerkracht tonen van mensen die aan de onderkant van de samenleving leven, maar het zijn ook verhalen die een land laten zien dat nog altijd verscheurd wordt door economische en raciale spanningen en belangen.
287 pages, Paperback
First published October 18, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 14, 2008
From the McSweeney Voice of Witness series, contains interviews of 13 New Orleans residents and their experiences with Katrina. The interviews are split up and organized chronologically, so you can follow the events of the storm as they unfold through the 13 perspectives.
I'm a fan of oral history, i thought this was well-done and the topic is riveting. The different stories are interesting in different ways, but there is some amazing stuff. An account of the breakdown of a city, one of the oldest in the US, from the inside, as it happens.
Two of the most interesting stories involve the legal and penal systems.
Dan Bright, wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder in 1996, exonerated in 2004, finds himself in the city jail again on misdemeanor charges as the storm hits. His story of experiencing Katrina as a prisoner is incredible. Imagine being trapped in a city jail that has been abandoned by the police as the waters are rising in the building.
Adbulrahman Zeitoun, born in Syria, has lived in Louisiana since the 1970s. He also ended up experiencing most of the immediate aftermath incarcerated--arrested as he was visiting his own property, suspected of being a terrorist.
The book is rich and complex--kindness, compassion, incompetence, indifference etc. are all mixed in throughout the stories and play out in different ways. A few folks seem to benefit from the storm; however, most experienced it as a devastating tragedy. Besides the storm itself, the book is a window into class, race, and politics in the US.
There is interesting supplementary material in the indexes, such as the storm warnings. The storm warnings include one of my all-time favorite documents, the warning from Sunday, April 28th at 4:13 pm--the apocalypse as described by the National Weather Service.
My only complaint, a minor one, is that the interviews are not cross-referenced in an index so you can go back and easily read each individual's account separately.
I'm a fan of oral history, i thought this was well-done and the topic is riveting. The different stories are interesting in different ways, but there is some amazing stuff. An account of the breakdown of a city, one of the oldest in the US, from the inside, as it happens.
Two of the most interesting stories involve the legal and penal systems.
Dan Bright, wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder in 1996, exonerated in 2004, finds himself in the city jail again on misdemeanor charges as the storm hits. His story of experiencing Katrina as a prisoner is incredible. Imagine being trapped in a city jail that has been abandoned by the police as the waters are rising in the building.
Adbulrahman Zeitoun, born in Syria, has lived in Louisiana since the 1970s. He also ended up experiencing most of the immediate aftermath incarcerated--arrested as he was visiting his own property, suspected of being a terrorist.
The book is rich and complex--kindness, compassion, incompetence, indifference etc. are all mixed in throughout the stories and play out in different ways. A few folks seem to benefit from the storm; however, most experienced it as a devastating tragedy. Besides the storm itself, the book is a window into class, race, and politics in the US.
There is interesting supplementary material in the indexes, such as the storm warnings. The storm warnings include one of my all-time favorite documents, the warning from Sunday, April 28th at 4:13 pm--the apocalypse as described by the National Weather Service.
My only complaint, a minor one, is that the interviews are not cross-referenced in an index so you can go back and easily read each individual's account separately.
Currently reading
April 5, 2007i found this book, someone left it behind and i even tried to get it back to the owner with no luck...it's first person stories about katrina. i just went to new orleans for the first time and fell in love...this book is moving me. and really fucking sad and scary.
December 25, 2025
“The media, well, they only reported on the looting, they didn’t mention that people looted because their government failed them miserably. And they called it a nation, the USA, when it’s obviously more like a scam. People were looting bottles of whiskey to sell in exchange for dry underwear, and they called us criminals for it. What’s criminal is the lack of care given to the poor. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, 67 percent of the population was African-American and 22 percent was living below the poverty line. Besides the systemic and logistical failure, that’s why nobody cared.
So instead of sending rescue teams, the Mayor ordered the 1,500 members of the New Orleans police force to abandon any search and rescue operations in order to focus on stopping widespread looting. Basically, instead of rescuing citizens who were stuck at home, they focused on those who chose to risk their lives to stay alive. They focused on those who ventured out to loot to stay warm or fed, neglecting the fact that the state failed to do just that, and doubled down on fighting crime, crime they invited, while poor citizens died in their homes. The disaster created conditions where police violence against Black civilians occurred with impunity and was initially covered up.
City officials in Gretna - a small city across the Mississippi River - ordered armed police to block any evacuees from crossing over the bridge.
“We attempted to cross the bridge but guns were pointed at us. We were told to turn around or risk being shot. The police! We just had our homes destroyed, and they were still afraid of us! Still acting like it was our own fault! Poor white kids.”
“Besides the racism and the lack of humanity, we also have to point out the general mediocrity and incompetence. Of course we are a silly nation, it’s not just an evil thing. The stupidity was really crazy. You also had white kids left on a highway, granted they were invalid, so maybe their whiteness didn’t really count for much, but still.”
When the city flooded, the lie that everyone is equally protected flooded with it.
So instead of sending rescue teams, the Mayor ordered the 1,500 members of the New Orleans police force to abandon any search and rescue operations in order to focus on stopping widespread looting. Basically, instead of rescuing citizens who were stuck at home, they focused on those who chose to risk their lives to stay alive. They focused on those who ventured out to loot to stay warm or fed, neglecting the fact that the state failed to do just that, and doubled down on fighting crime, crime they invited, while poor citizens died in their homes. The disaster created conditions where police violence against Black civilians occurred with impunity and was initially covered up.
City officials in Gretna - a small city across the Mississippi River - ordered armed police to block any evacuees from crossing over the bridge.
“We attempted to cross the bridge but guns were pointed at us. We were told to turn around or risk being shot. The police! We just had our homes destroyed, and they were still afraid of us! Still acting like it was our own fault! Poor white kids.”
“Besides the racism and the lack of humanity, we also have to point out the general mediocrity and incompetence. Of course we are a silly nation, it’s not just an evil thing. The stupidity was really crazy. You also had white kids left on a highway, granted they were invalid, so maybe their whiteness didn’t really count for much, but still.”
When the city flooded, the lie that everyone is equally protected flooded with it.
July 4, 2018
13 personen vertellen wat ze mee maakten maar het verhaal van elk is dusdanig verknipt dat het enkel per dag wordt weergegeven. Door de grote hoeveelheid vertellers en de verknipping is er geen vlotte continuïteit van het verhaal. Het was volgens mij een beter boek geweest indien men van elke persoon het hele verhaal in zijn geheel had afgedrukt ipv op te splitsen in chronologische stukjes.
November 23, 2025
Such detailed accounts of what happened to real folks during Hurricane Katrina. I think words from those folks matter the most. It’s deplorable how the city, state, and federal government responded to Katrina.
I wish we could have heard more from the other characters introduced in this book.
I wish we could have heard more from the other characters introduced in this book.
December 10, 2018
So interesting to read, a decade later & in the context of rapidly spiralling natural disasters. May assign portions for a class on crisis intervention this spring.
July 28, 2021
Excellent format. Thirteen residents followed through each day of Hurricane Katrina. Easy to follow, compelling stories, well-written.
December 14, 2010
I have done alot of reading about Hurricane Katrina and seen lots of documentaries. I thought this book was a GREAT follow up to Zeitoun also published by San Francisco's McSweeney's. I have been a huge fan of oral history since reading Studs Terkel over thirty years ago and his many proteges this carries on that glorious tradition.
My dear engineer friend has has done lots of post-storm work in New Orleans and just can't get his head around the culture there. This book provides insight into the unique culture of this melting pot.
Amid all the personal stories, peppered with facts true and false, McSweeney's provides documentation about things I hadn't read anywhere else such as the staggeringly high unemployment rate before the storm 13.2% locally vs 6.9% nationally and the fact that so many households had no transportation 27.3% locally vs. 10.3% nationally. More than 50% of the city residents were renters vs. 34% nationally.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the mishandling of the poorest in the city but this books gives you a sense of the thinking of some of the people who were there and how they square it against what others have said since. Where is the real story? That is for you to decide. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series and applaud McSweeney's for their work publishing where others fear to tread. I made it a point of buying directly from them to support their important work speaking for the downtrodden.
I still love Phyllis Montana-LaBlanc from Spike Lee's movie and her book, she is full of fire and speaks her mind. That is a worthwhile movie to watch. I also highly recommend Zeitoun that focuses on one of the speakers in this book and his horrific story of what Katrina did to his family and business.
My dear engineer friend has has done lots of post-storm work in New Orleans and just can't get his head around the culture there. This book provides insight into the unique culture of this melting pot.
Amid all the personal stories, peppered with facts true and false, McSweeney's provides documentation about things I hadn't read anywhere else such as the staggeringly high unemployment rate before the storm 13.2% locally vs 6.9% nationally and the fact that so many households had no transportation 27.3% locally vs. 10.3% nationally. More than 50% of the city residents were renters vs. 34% nationally.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the mishandling of the poorest in the city but this books gives you a sense of the thinking of some of the people who were there and how they square it against what others have said since. Where is the real story? That is for you to decide. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series and applaud McSweeney's for their work publishing where others fear to tread. I made it a point of buying directly from them to support their important work speaking for the downtrodden.
I still love Phyllis Montana-LaBlanc from Spike Lee's movie and her book, she is full of fire and speaks her mind. That is a worthwhile movie to watch. I also highly recommend Zeitoun that focuses on one of the speakers in this book and his horrific story of what Katrina did to his family and business.
July 25, 2011
The People of New Orleans on Hurricane Katrina and Its Aftermath (Voice of Witness)","","1932416684","review","This is my second book dealing with Hurricane Katrina. This book is a collection of life stories of thirteen men and women who were victims of Hurricane Katrina. One of the life stories comes from an individual, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, whose book, Zeitoun, I have previously read and was astonished by his recount of the mistreatment and hardships following Hurricane Katrina. This book documents these victims lives before the storm, during the storm (August 27-September 4), the week after the storm, weeks after the storm, and the victims looking back. However, there was another part of this book, the Appendices. It contained factual information about Hurricane Katrina and an interview with former President Bush, among other things. It's always devastating to read life stories during a natural disaster. I was one of the many people who viewed the disaster of Hurricane Katrina from afar and through the eyes of the media. And I now feel more educated about the suffering and conditions of the storm after hearing these life stories.
Read
April 16, 2007this book is full of wrong facts embedded in personal narrative. it seems to be a part of this maddening trend to embrace people's experiences at the expense of actual fact, which makes everybody (and especially the argument) look dumb. and wrong.
sure, it's interesting that people in new orleans think that 80% of the people had no cars and that the city government intended to strand residents as an act of genocide to rid the city of blacks. it's not TRUE (take for example, the actual fact that the city was 30% carless), but once you know that it's not factual there's something to be learned about how bad that person's life experience must have been with the white establishment to believe such an untruth.
that said, if you can weed out the really wrong parts, it's not a bad way to spend a couple (depressing) hours of your life.
sure, it's interesting that people in new orleans think that 80% of the people had no cars and that the city government intended to strand residents as an act of genocide to rid the city of blacks. it's not TRUE (take for example, the actual fact that the city was 30% carless), but once you know that it's not factual there's something to be learned about how bad that person's life experience must have been with the white establishment to believe such an untruth.
that said, if you can weed out the really wrong parts, it's not a bad way to spend a couple (depressing) hours of your life.
May 21, 2016
This book has given me the clearest understanding of what were the issues associated with Hurricane Katrina and what led to them (I've read several books on this topic). This is a collection of oral interviews from 10 different New Orleanians about their experiences during and after the hurricane. I also felt it gave me a good sense of the character and culture of the city. I highly recommend this book as an education regarding the disregard our country shows for the poor and resourceless, especially when they are amassed in an area with a high concentration of African-Americans.
February 1, 2008
this book is based on oral histories from survivors of katrina. the interviews were collected and then edited back and forth between the contributors and the collectors to make sure that everyone's voices and ideas were heard as they intended. so far i am only through the part that describes their lives before katrina, so it is good and interesting. i anticipate that it will become much sadder very soon...
July 27, 2007
powerful stories, and i like that they are written how people talk ("you know what i'm sayin'?" and things like that). it's kind of repetetive, though, and since all of these stories are so sad, i have to take frequent breaks to read something a little less depressing.
good personal history, though, and a good record of what it was actually like to be trapped by katrina.
good personal history, though, and a good record of what it was actually like to be trapped by katrina.
October 11, 2007
One of the most amazing non-fiction books I've read. Well edited, extremely well documented. The speakers are varied and get their voices/points across heartbreakingly clear. Katrina was shameful beyond the wildest imagination. Instead of a rescue we performed a brutal police action. Wal Mart had more heart than the US government.
July 18, 2013
Such an important book. A must read!
The Voice of Witness series allows those most affected by contemporary social injustice to speak for themselves.
See website re: this project: http://www.voiceofwitness.com/ This is edited by Dave Eggers, author of What is the What and Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius.
The Voice of Witness series allows those most affected by contemporary social injustice to speak for themselves.
See website re: this project: http://www.voiceofwitness.com/ This is edited by Dave Eggers, author of What is the What and Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius.
May 24, 2012
As one who lived in New Orleans pre-Katrina, and having gone back to visit post-Katrina, this book pretty much hits the nail on the head with feelings of pessimism, loss, some hope, and ultimately the grim days of the biggest breakdown of government on a local, state, and federal level. Heartwrenching and essential to read.
July 22, 2013
The Voice of Witness group has done a terrific job of compiling some very exciting and interesting stories of peoples' experiences during Hurricane Katrina. They've done a good job of balancing a number of different viewpoints, and it was fascinating to read what they had to say in their own words, with dialects or accents preserved.
September 19, 2008
The stories were interesting and definitely enlightened me as to what was happening on the ground. The editing was not up to snuff though. Portions of the book repeated, and some of the transcribers were a little off.
June 22, 2009
This was a powerful book. And incredibly insightful. It is full of first hand accounts of those inside hurricane katrina. However, each chapter is another person's perspective, it can be hard to keep up with if you dont sit down and read it all at once.
December 29, 2009
If I teach multicultural therapy, I would recommend this book for students who would need to understand different perspectives from individuals who are diverse in cultures, class, gender and religion, especially with all of survivors who was hit alike by the hurricane.
March 20, 2008
the New Orleans' people lives. Their struggles and challenges before and after Katrina
August 8, 2012
Gripping personal accounts of living through Hurricane Katrina, including appendices with hurricane warning alerts, interview of officials and a day-by-day account of what happened.
September 13, 2012
A fantastic concept, with some great individual vignettes - but there are FAR too many character voices (about 12?) and keeping track of who everyone is is nigh on impossible.
August 19, 2014
Very impressive, heartbreaking stories of victims of hurricane Katrina.
If you get the chance read this in English as the translation is terrible.
If you get the chance read this in English as the translation is terrible.
November 19, 2015
Well done, oral histories of 13 people of New Orleans. There was lots of new information for me. The book affirmed my ideas and feelings about Katrina. Strongly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews