Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans

by Don Brown

Overview

Sibert Honor Medalist ∙ Kirkus’ Best of 2015 list ∙ School Library Journal Best of 2015 ∙ Publishers Weekly’s Best of 2015 list ∙ Horn Book Fanfare Book ∙ Booklist Editor's Choice

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage—and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality.
        Don Brown’s kinetic art and as-it-happens narrative capture both the tragedy and triumph of one of the worst natural disasters in American history. A portion of the proceeds from this book has been donated to Habitat for Humanity New Orleans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544586178
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	08/01/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	34,717
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Don Brown is widely praised for his dramatic storytelling, excellent pacing, and evocative art. His books have earned numerous starred reviews and awards. He lives on Long Island with his wife (and occasional collaborator), Deborah Nadel; daughters, Sheahan and Corey; and mutt, Woody. Visit his website at www.booksbybrown.com.

Editorial Reviews

* "An excellent chronicle of the tragedy for a broad audience; children, teens, and adults will all be moved."
—Kirkus, starred review

*  "Lively, dynamic sketching gives the artwork a sense of urgency and immediacy. It is as important to tell the story of a nation's failures as it is to record its triumphs, and this is a crucial contribution."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "Emotionally resonant, this outstanding title will appeal to graphic novel and nonfiction readers alike."
—Booklist, starred review

* "This astonishingly powerful look at one of America's worst disasters is a masterful blend of story and art."
—School Library Journal, starred review

* "If a book's power were measured like a storm's, this would be category five."
—Horn Book Magazine, starred review

“This book could almost make its point on the powerful illustrations alone, but Brown’s precise language secures the historical details in an unforgettable way...‘Drowned City’ delivers a brave treatment of important and uncomfortable details.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 

From the Publisher

Explaining the complicated series of events that took place during the hurricane and in its aftermath is no easy feat, but Don Brown's graphic nonfiction account…accomplishes the task with strong results…This book could almost make its point on the powerful illustrations alone, but Brown's precise language secures the historical details in an unforgettable way…Drowned City delivers a brave treatment of important and uncomfortable details.

The New York Times Book Review - Kimberly Willis Holt

★ 05/25/2015
Brown follows The Great American Dust Bowl (2013) with the story of the hurricane that destroyed New Orleans. He traces the sequence of events that left the flood levees breached and the city flooded with “a disgusting stew of oil, seawater, feces, rubber tires, foul linen, house paint, shattered lumber, and rot of all kinds.” It’s a grim, heartrending account. Thousands were stranded in venues utterly lacking in supplies or facilities. The crucial question of why the city’s African-American community suffered disproportionately is not dealt with on its face, but Brown’s artwork reflects the city’s diversity, and he recounts the victims’ indignities and outrages with deep sympathy. The author quotes President George W. Bush’s fulsome words for the head of FEMA—“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job”—then observes, “The President’s praise confuses many Americans.” Lively, dynamic sketching gives the artwork a sense of urgency and immediacy. It is as important to tell the story of a nation’s failures as it is to record its triumphs, and this is a crucial contribution. Ages 12–up. Agent: Angela Miller, Miller Agency. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2015-04-15
Following the stellar The Great American Dust Bowl (2013), Brown tells the story of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on New Orleans, beginning with "a swirl of unremarkable wind" in "early August, 2005" and ending with the observation that "By 2012, only 80 percent of New Orleans's residents had returned." Artwork with the high quality of early Disney animation—strongly drawn figures against electrically charged watercolor backgrounds—seamlessly co-tells a dramatic tale with text that ranges from simple, factual sentences to quotations from an extensive collection of books and media. The text and artwork clearly reveal two separate but inextricably connected horrors: devastation caused by a high-category hurricane and the human responsibility that lay behind the nightmarish scenarios. The book is fast-paced and hard to put down, sequential panels used to perfect advantage. A couple is shown in rising water in their home, scratching a hole through their roof to safety. Later, a crowd of 15,000 waits, without supplies, in a fetid convention center, for impossibly slow help to arrive. "Mayor Nagin is never seen there." The final frame of that series depicts a woman on her knees, crying out, "Help us!" In addition to quoting and contextualizing such now-infamous sayings as, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," the book pays homage to the heroism of many, both professionals and volunteers. An excellent chronicle of the tragedy for a broad audience; children, teens, and adults will all be moved. (source notes, bibliography) (Graphic nonfiction. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

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