Description:
This is the first comprehensive book on the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. It covers race and class, housing and redevelopment, the past history of urban disasters and the future of economic development in the region.
Review Quotes:
"Chester Hartman and Greg Squires should be commended for editing such a comprehensive,
elegant collection of Hurricane Katrina related essays showcasing a top-flight cast of distinguished
scholars. There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster is a giant leap forward in our collective
understanding of what went wrong in the Gulf South on August 29, 2005."
--Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans,
and the Mississippi Gulf Coast
"There is No Such Thing As a Natural Disaster: The title tells you where this book is going, and
then the book takes you there. Of all the work on Katrina and on the suffering and courage of the
people of New Orleans, this collection is by far the most informative, the most analytical, the most
radical, and the most useful. Combining detailed information from New Orleans with thoughtful and
practical analysis, Hartman and Squires have produced a casebook on structural racism and a
manifesto for radical change. A must for classroom adoption!"
--Howard Winant, author of The World is a Ghetto: Race and Democracy since World War II
"Hurricane Katrina was a social disaster, and its catastrophic impact owes as much to entrenched
inequality and political neglect as to nature's wrath. This fine collection documents the racial,
economic, and gender divisions that make extreme weather so much more dangerous than it should
be, and shows what's wrong with the current plans for rebuilding New Orleans and other devastated
cities nearby. It's a timely, engaging, and immediately useful book."
--Eric Klinenberg, author of Heatwave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago
"Taken together, these well-written essays highlight the immensity and complexity of the disaster and the challenges that lie ahead for the region. Highly recommended." -- M. Mulcahy, Loyola College in Maryland, Choice