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In comparison to Don Brown's Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, Barb Palser's Hurricane Katrina: Aftermath of Disaster scored much higher for accuracy and impartiality. Palser's text may lack in excitement and entertainment factor, the informative nature of the book made it worthwhile for me. I also enjoyed the extensive use of color photos portraying images of New Orleans immediately following the storm, as these images exude a sense of authenticity and are relatively nonpartisan.

I also appreciate Palser's optimistic slant, ending with genuine hope in the revival of New Orleans. The book itself as a whole may be dry and, honestly, a little dull for such a dramatic, charged disaster, but I would be more comfortable recommending this book to young readers simply as a source of information, as I feel it tries to present Katrina without the criticism or propaganda that permeate Drowned City. It's still a report-styled book that fails to capture the emotion of Katrina, so I don't exactly laud Aftermath of Disaster as the definitive Katrina text. For what it is though, Palser's book does a decent job. ( )

"Hurricane Katrina" provides a good overall overview of that disaster, including both scientific and human aspects to the story, and a number of interesting photographs. The photographs were so heart-wrenching that I couldn't look at most of them. The hurricane alone did not cause all the devastation to New Orleans. The major devastation and loss of lives was due to 4 levees that broke and allowed deadly amounts of water to flow into the city at a rapid pace with nowhere to go. The people that didn't evacuate had to take shelter at the Superdome. The Superdome was about to run out of supplies for the 10,000 people that took shelter there, as they were not prepared. Thanks to open hearts in the Dallas Area, they opened up their own stadium for the Katrina victims. When the people in the Superdome were finally able to leave, they found themselves surrounded by a scene of terrible destruction. During this book, readers will come to understand why chaos reigned for a long time after the hurricane had passed. Young people will see the help of volunteers and charity workers was essential for the recovery of the New Orleans region, and how they will come to appreciate volunteers. This book will help readers get a true sense of what happened to New Orleans in the summer of 2005 and what it must have felt like to be there for the months to follow. ( )