Well, after I read it, I definitely would have. But I have since read that the main character was arrested for beating his wife, and I wonder if the whole story was a sham.

Regardless of whether the main character was accurately portrayed, the story made me realize how vital our legal intrastructure is, and how we have to have emergency preparedness to make sure people's rights are respected during disasters.

The audio edition is performed by a man who has excellent pronunciation of the Arabic names and words, and has a musical voice. Wonderfully story-telling voice.

Zeitoun and his wife are the main characters, and they are noble and good and stout-of-heart. You follow Zeitoun from the bliss of his freedom to the frustratingly illogical imprisonment; he is always a sympathetic character. The story made this listener angry at the injustice and ignorance on display in the aftermath of Katrina's destruction of New Orleans.

His clear well-accented pronunciation and his musical voice. He is excellent at portraying all the different men's voices, and very good with the women's voices. Firdous Bamji has story-telling magic in his voice - I could listen (and did) for hours.

The is a true story of a man named Abdulrahman Zeitoun and his experiences when he stayed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Eggers wants to outrage us, and he succeeds by telling it straight, piling detail upon detail, and treating his protagonists--Zeitoun, his wife Kathy, their friends and family, and the people they encountered during this period--with respect and caring.

The story is simple. Zeitoun, a Syrian Muslim who has immigrated to the US, settled in New Orleans, and built a successful and well-respected contracting business, chooses to stay in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina floods the city to watch over his property and do what he can to help other residents. His wife, Kathy, chooses to flee the city with their 4 children, but the 2 are able to keep in touch regularly until he suddenly disappears. The circumstances of his disappearance, the efforts of Kathy and Zeitoun's farflung but loving Syrian relatives to find out what happened to him, and the ultimate resolution are described in simple, unpretentious, but elegant prose -- and yes -- things like this are not supposed to happen in the USA.

I just finished Zeitoun and I highly recommend it. I thought I had an idea of what their Katrina-related story was about -- I listened to an NPR program where he and his wife were the guest speakers and I listened to the NPR This American Life episode on the Katrina. aftermath...however prepared I thought I was -- and sort of dreaded listening, I did not know the extent of the Zeitoun's story. It is something else -- you can only say, "in America, this happened?" Out of context, one would think that the location was in a third world country...incredible, sad, but the Zeitoun’s have a story to tell and in the end, they are sanguine, still, about their future, about the United States. It is a family story, actually, and not that difficult to read -- it does pick up into the meatier more exciting material midway, but one needs to know about the family history to become connected -- sort of a must read, I think. I thought the narration was excellent, too.

I love Dave Eggers' stuff, but this was flat out boring. Chapter upon chapter of hand wringing and describing how Kathy waits for the phone to ring... Arghhh... I'm only finishing this listen out of apathy. Not recommended.

Excellent historic with very little fiction. Full of surprises and a unique view of a well publicised disaster.

Hurricanes and other natural disasters are often designated 'Acts of God" by insurance and other authorities... but how those authorities and victims react is very much driven by people. Zeitoun is a victim of Hurricane Katrina, and he decides do what he can to alleviate the suffering of other victims since he is strong and has some resources. So he sends his family away to safety and proceeds to paddle around in his canoe to check up on things. He finds that not all of those who are helping, including first responders, are doing much helping. He becomes victimized a 2nd time at the hands of "Authority" as he is accused of looting.

It's a fascinating story, told from the vantage point of someone who was there, lived through it, and suffered the consequences. Did the experience change him and those around him? How could it not? Read it and find out how. And maybe you will be motivated to voluntary community services.

Nicely written, well read. It was a spellbinding story, the story of Hurricane Katrina that the media missed.

Inspiring. Shocking. Moving.

I'm not sure that I have read a book that would be a good comparison. I'll have to think about that...

I haven't, but would be interested.

Not so much a moment, but the pure determination of Zeitoun's wife throughout the entire ordeal.

I was shocked to learn that this happened in our country in the very recent past. I have also read about what has since happened to Zeitoun and it is very upsetting. You have to wonder how much his situation after Katrina played into the broken life he finds himself in now.

This was one of my favorite books. I have given it to many people. We all have heard so much about Katrina, this story puts a face to the events and adds the additional element of telling a us more about being Muslim in America. A must read.

The story starts out as a simple recounting of the the life of Zeitoun and his family/ I thought it was like reading a history book, not that interesting. But then it grabs you and doesn't let go.

This book gives a damning account of how civil rights can be COMPLETELY ignored in this country when ignorant, thoughtless people who don't care about their fellow human beings and can make their life total hell and don't care at all. It's incomprensible.

The performance was good