Her lingering recovery after Hurricane Katrina ensures that New Orleans is never far from the nation’s collective mind. But as Boulder journalist and author Dan Baum notes on his website, “Hurricane Katrina is hardly the most interesting thing about New Orleans.” A city with deep roots, a lazy but enduring culture and a melting pot of fascinating people you couldn’t possibly find anywhere else in the world, it grabs our imagination because it’s so unique. And when Baum was sent by The New Yorker to cover Katrina’s aftermath, the syncopated drumbeat of NOLA and its citizens had him mesmerized from day one.
In his new book, Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans, Baum moves beyond the limits of his magazine coverage of current events into the personal and more historical view of New Orleans, delving into the city’s mysteries through the eyes of nine NOLA denizens, some of whom he met in Katrina’s aftermath and some later on. Baum will introduce local readers to the deeper story of New Orleans when he discusses and signs copies of the book tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder. Admission is free; for details, visit www.boulderbookstore.com or call 303-447-2074.
Wed., March 4, 7:30 p.m., 2009
