This was one of the most intense, infuriating, disturbing and thought-provoking books I've read in a long time. I suppose that's probably the reason most people read certain types of non-fiction, but this has taken me a long time to process and I still can't get it out of my head.
Basically it is an account of the experiences at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. The disturbing and thought-provoking part comes from the fact that around the fifth day of remaining trapped inside the hospital, there were patients who were euthanized. Whatever your feelings about euthanasia, for me the infuriating aspect was synthesized by the remark made by a daughter whose elderly mother had been injected with the lethal dose (I can't quote it exactly because I don't have the book here, but essentially) - My mother had Do Not Resuscitate orders - we never meant DNR to stand for Do Not Rescue.
Why why why did it take five days to get everyone out of that hospital. Memorial is not an island in the middle of the Pacific. To me the crime here was the fact that it took so long to completely evacuate the place. There were many heroic efforts, no doubt, both inside and outside of the hospital, but I would have given the medal to the guys from the bayous who arrived with airboats - one desperate couple hooked up with one of these boat owners and directed him to the hospital where they not only rescued the husband's elderly mother, but other patients and staff as well.
It's a frustrating story, but the current horrors in the Philippines reminded me that I wanted to (I guess) recommend this book. --cds
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