Zeitoun

From The New Yorker Through the story of one man’s experience after Hurricane Katrina, Eggers draws an indelible picture of Bush-era crisis management. Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a successful Syrian-born painting contractor, decides to stay in New Orleans and protect his property while his family flees. After the levees break, he uses a small canoe to rescue people, before being arrested by an armed squad and swept powerlessly into a vortex of bureaucratic brutality. When a guard accuses him of being a member of Al Qaeda, he sees that race and culture may explain his predicament. Eggers, compiling his account from interviews, sensibly resists rhetorical grandstanding, letting injustices speak for themselves. His skill is most evident in how closely he involves the reader in Zeitoun’s thoughts. Thrown into one of a series of wire cages, Zeitoun speculates, with a contractor’s practicality, that construction of his prison must have begun within a day or so of the hurricane. From Bookmarks Magazine The \*New York Times Book Review \*called \*Zeitoun \*"the stuff of great narrative fiction," and critics agreed that Eggers tells Zeitoun's tragic story without the postmodern trickery and tirades he has exhibited in previous works. Instead, he allows the story to tell itself while imbuing Zeitoun's tragedy with deep sympathy and emotion. Although Eggers didn't witness Hurricane Katrina's devastation firsthand, he captures the experience through Zeitoun's eyes and approaches his subject very intimately. A few critics noted that while this perspective was convincing, it required "faith on the part of the reader that everything in the book happened as it appears here" (\*San Francisco Chronicle\*). But this was a minor complaint in an overall unforgettable story. EDITORIAL REVIEW: **National Bestseller **A *New York Times *Notable Book An *O, The Oprah Magazine *Terrific Read of the YearA *Huffington Post *Best Book of the Year A *New Yorker *Favorite Book of the Year A *Chicago Tribune *Favorite Nonfiction Book of the Year A *Kansas City Star* Best Book of the Year A *San Francisco Chronicle* Best Book of the Year An *Entertainment Weekly* Best Book of the Decade The true story of one family, caught between America鈥檚 two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home. Told with eloquence and compassion, **Zeitoun** is a riveting account of one family鈥檚 unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water. Autobiography,General,Biography & Autobiography,United States,Biography,Cultural Heritage,History,Social Science,Anthropology,Cultural,Nature,History - U.S.,New Orleans (La.),Louisiana,State & Local,Natural Disasters,Social Aspects,21st century,Muslims,South,Islamic Studies,Disaster victims,Syrian Americans,United States - 21st Century,Arab Americans,United States - State & Local - South,Hurricane Katrina; 2005,Disasters & Disaster Relief,New Orleans EDITORIAL REVIEW: **National Bestseller **A *New York Times *Notable Book An *O, The Oprah Magazine *Terrific Read of the YearA *Huffington Post *Best Book of the Year A *New Yorker *Favorite Book of the Year A *Chicago Tribune *Favorite Nonfiction Book of the Year A *Kansas City Star* Best Book of the Year A *San Francisco Chronicle* Best Book of the Year An *Entertainment Weekly* Best Book of the Decade The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home. Told with eloquence and compassion, **Zeitoun** is a riveting account of one family’s unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water. NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of The Circle • The true story of one family, caught between America's two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina.'Eggers'tone is pitch-perfect—suspense blended with just enough information to stoke reader outrage and what is likely to be a typical response: How could this happen in America?... It's the stuff of great narrative nonfiction.” —The New York Times Book ReviewAbdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home. Told with eloquence and compassion, Zeitoun is a riveting account of one family's unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water. From Goodreads: The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home. Told with eloquence and compassion, **Zeitoun** is a riveting account of one family’s unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four, chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared. Eggers's riveting nonfiction book, three years in the making, explores Zeitoun's roots in Syria, his marriage to Kathy -- an American who converted to Islam -- and their children, and the surreal atmosphere (in New Orleans and the United States generally) in which what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun was possible In The Wake Of Hurricane Katrina, Longtime New Orleans Residents Abdulrahman And Kathy Zeitoun Are Cast Into An Unthinkable Struggle With Forces Beyond Wind And Water. In The Days After The Storm, Abdulrahman Traveled The Flooded Streets In A Secondhand Canoe, Passing On Supplies And Helping Those He Could. A Week Later, On September 6, 2005, Zeitoun Abruptly Disappeared-- Arrested And Accused Of Being An Agent Of Al Qaeda. Dave Eggers. Originally Published: San Francisco : Mcsweeney's Books, C2009.