Words Whispered in Water: Why the Levees Broke in Hurricane Katrina
About this audiobook
In 2005, the world watched in horror as a major American city—New Orleans—was nearly wiped off the map by an epic flood. Newscasters attributed the flooding to a “natural disaster.”
But one New Orleanian had her doubts.
Words Whispered in Water is the story of how—against all odds—one woman exposed the culprit in the catastrophic flooding and compelled the news media, and the government, to tell the truth.
Words Whispered in Water highlights the importance of exposing the bad behavior of giant corporations and bureaucracies whose unsavory activities affect millions of people, because once bad behavior is exposed, there is noticeably less fraud and better behavior on the part of an organization. Rosenthal’s story is crucial listening for potential citizen activists looking to make a difference. Additionally, Words Whispered in Water provides lessons for politicians and bureaucrats from City Hall, to Congress, to the almost faceless Army Corps.
Finally, Words Whispered in Water offers a valuable warning as to what is likely to happen in this time of eroding coastlines, coupled with America’s history of trying to control—instead of coexist—with water.
About the author
The catastrophic flood-wall failure of 2005 and cover up by the Army Corps of Engineers inspired Sandy Rosenthal to civic activism and a prolific speaking career. She left her full-time job in marketing/copywriting to found the grassroots group Levees.org and focus all of her time and energy on investigations and creating reforms. She serves on the New Orleans Tricentennial Commission. Her service also includes being an invited guest of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Women in Public Service Project, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Transition Team Task Force, and the Transition Team for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
Bernadette Dunne has been honored to narrate the work of some of the finest fiction and nonfiction writers of our time, including Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, and Sandra Day O'Connor. The winner of more than a dozen Earphones Awards and a three-time Audie Award nominee, she has voiced countless bestsellers, including Memoirs of a Geisha, The Devil Wears Prada, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. She studied at The Royal National Theater and lives in New York.
