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| Plot Summary of The Great Deluge |
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"Appearing on the market a scant eight months after the disastrous hurricane dubbed Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the US, THe GREAT DELUGE was written by a history professor at Tulane who himself is a resident of New Orleans. The book features nearly 50 pages of footnotes detailing dozens and dozens of interviews. While research assistants combed TV and radio transcripts and studied newspaper accounts, Brinkley himself conducted all the interviews. When the reader stops to consider that he and his family lived as evacuees for much of the research and writing time, the incredible accomplishment of this book becomes apparent.
Tellingly, Brinkley begins his account with the story of the Louisiana SPCA, which four days before the storm hit the city safely evacuated all abandoned animals in its care to a refuge in Texas. He moves on to interviews with governmental officials and law enforcement personnel of several small parishes near New Orleans which accomplished the same for their residents.
These short summaries at the beginning of the book stand in stark and terrible contrast to what follows for the residents of New Orleans. The number of New Orleans and Louisiana authority figures who survive his scrutiny to appear worthy of respect is very small indeed. Federal agencies don't fare well either, with the exception of the US Coast Guard which was on the scene within hours assisting in evacuations city wide.
The showdown near the end of that terrible week between Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco and President George W Bush is in the classic tradition of a Frank Capra movie. Eventually Bush gives way to Blanco's determination to retain her authority.
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A R Pickett, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Great Deluge |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Kind Of History
Time of history:
- 20th century
History of disaster/tragedy?
Yes
Kind of disaster:
- Hurricane/Storm
Nationality?
- American--South
Subjects of this Historical Account
Is the portrayal sympathetic?
- Sympathetic
Main Adversary
From a certain profession/group?
- politician/elected ruler
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
Nationality?
- American
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Deep South
Big City?
Yes
City:
- New Orleans
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Book makes you feel...
- frustrated
How much focus on stories of individuals?
- Focuses on brief history of a lot of players
How much romance?
- 1 (None)
Pictures/Illustrations?
- A handful
Maps necessary?
- Not enough maps
Length of book
- 350-400 pages
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Click here for more information about this book
Douglas Brinkley Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 A R Pickett
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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