This book was a very pleasant (OK, not really) surprise. I doubt that the teller of this harrowing tale was the same as the one who wrote the self-indulgent crap of Staggering Genius. 
 The trials of an immigrant man imprisoned for no reason after the disaster of Katrina - even after he distributed supplies to his neighbors in a canoe (hence the cover picture). It's hard to believe how far America fell - but how it is also rising up by letting this story be told. An astonishing bit of journalism. 
 The only real criticism that can be found is that the New Orleaners don't speak real New Orleans English. I suppose my friends from there have spoiled me. But that is only a minor dent in a necessary and gripping book.