Description

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.

Praise For…

“Insightful… a sensory paradise... Why New Orleans Matters is a celebration of the spirit of New Orleans.”
-BookInfo.net

“An enjoyable meander through what used to be called ‘the city that care forgot.’”
-Houston Chronicle

“Powerful, rich with anger, longing, and barely expressible loss.”
-Providence Phoenix

“Hot and real and from the heart… An emotionally wrenching experience—at times hilarious, at times heartbreaking.”
-New Orleans Times-Picayune

“Pensive and elegiac… sharp [and] steely. …A mournful dirge and a vivacious ode to the city.”
-Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“A minor miracle unto itself… a heartfelt, 180-page manifesto… There’s a little something for everyone.”
-Gambit Weekly

Humanities Book of the Year Award, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
-No Source

Best Book Award, New Orleans Gulf South Booksellers Association
-No Source

PRAISE FOR MY COLD WAR:“Tom Piazza’s writing pulsates with nervous electrical tension--reveals the emotions that we can’t define.”
-Bob Dylan