Why New Orleans Matters - Softcover

Piazza, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061131504 ISBN 13: 9780061131509

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2008

Synopsis

In the aftermath of Katrina and the disaster that followed, promises were made, forgotten, and renewed. Now what will become of New Orleans in the years ahead? What do this proud, battered city and its people mean to America and the world?

Award-winning author and longtime New Orleans resident Tom Piazza illuminates the storied culture and uncertain future of this great and neglected American metropolis by evoking the sensuous rapture of the city that gave us jazz music and Creole cooking; examining its deep undercurrents of corruption, racism, and injustice; and explaining how its people endure and transcend those conditions. And, perhaps most important, he asks us all to consider the spirit of this place and all the things it has shared with the world: its grace and beauty, resilience and soul.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Tom Piazza's award-winning portrait of a city in crisis, with a new preface from the author, ten years after.

Ten years ago, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the disaster that followed, promises were made, forgotten, and renewed. What would become of New Orleans in the years ahead? How would this city and its people recover—and what meaning would its story have, for America and the world?

In Why New Orleans Matters, first published only months after the disaster, award-winning author and longtime New Orleans resident Tom Piazza illuminates the storied culture and still-evolving future of this great and vital American metropolis. Piazza evokes the sensuous textures of the city that gave us jazz music, Creole cooking, and a unique style of living; he examines the city's undercurrents of corruption and racism, and explains how its people endure and transcend them. And, perhaps most important, he bears witness to the city's spirit: its grace and beauty, resilience and soul.

In the preface to this new edition, Piazza considers how far the city has come in the decade since Katrina, as well as the challenges it still faces—and reminds us that people in threatened communities across America have much to learn from New Orleans' disaster and astonishing recovery.

About the Author:

Tom Piazza is the author of eleven books of fiction and nonfiction, including the novels A Free State and City of Refuge, the Michener Award-winning story collection Blues and Trouble, and the essay collection Devil Sent the Rain: Music and Writing in Desperate America. He was a principal writer for the HBO series Treme. He lives in New Orleans.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0061131504
• ISBN 13: 9780061131509
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224