We’re Still Here Ya Bastards: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City

Gratz’s love for New Orleans, her home since 2007, is evident in the pages of this challenging but rewarding exploration of the city, 10 years post-Katrina. Gratz (The Battle for Gotham) clearly did her homework, judging by the book’s seven-page bibliography. Early on, a quote from a resident perfectly sets the tone for the book, for New Orleans in the days following the levees’ collapse, and for the 10 years of rebuilding: “There is no other cavalry coming... We are the cavalry.” Gratz covers a wide range of topics: the city’s still ongoing recovery; the new, sustainable “Brad Pitt Houses”; and gentrification, “the biggest fear in some New Orleans neighborhoods.” She also strives to give context to the city’s current struggles by explaining historical elements such as the role often played by women in urban renewal projects. Readers will wish she had expanded and deepened the stories from residents that she uses to make transitions to new topics. Though Gratz is at pains to characterize New Orleans as “resilient” and “irrepressible,” the book’s mood—like the success of the city’s rebuilding efforts—comes across as mixed at best, leaving readers with the impression that a “lost generation” continues to struggle. (June)