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Not Just the Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina | 
 enlarge | Author: Phyllis Montana-leblanc
Creator: Spike Lee
Publisher: Atria
Category: Book
List Price: $20.00
Buy New: $7.95
You Save: $12.05 (60%)
New (40) Used (16) from $7.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 164215
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Atria Books Hardcover Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 1416563466
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.349220976090511
EAN: 9781416563464
ASIN: 1416563466
Publication Date: August 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Called "one of the rawest specimens of classic Nawlins spitfire you'll ever find" by Newsweek, and featured in Spike Lee's HBO documentary When the Levees Broke, Phyllis Montana-Leblanc gives an astounding and poignant account of how she and her husband lived through one of our nation's worst disasters, and continue to put their lives back together.New Orleans Hurricane Katrina survivor Phyllis Leblanc reveals moment by moment the impending doom she and her family experienced during one of the greatest disasters in contemporary American history. The initial weather forecast, the public warnings from officials, and then the increasingly devastating developments -- the winds and rain, the rising waters -- Not Just the Levees Broke begs the question, What would you do in a life-and-death situation with your family and neighbors facing the ultimate test of character? Not Just the Levees Broke is a portrayal of the human spirit at its best -- the generosity of family, neighbors, and strangers; the depth of love that one can hold for another; the power to help and heal others.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Her story November 30, 2008
I really liked Spike Lee's movie, When the Levee Broke,
and feel that the Montanna sisters really made that film.
I know anyone who also appreciated this film will be
interested in reading the book Phyllis wrote
about her family's experience and struggle with Hurricane
Katrina and the aftermath. It is another perspective of
what it was like to be in the middle of it and not observed
from the outside as an academic and is a welcome addition to
the library of Hurricane Katrina books that are now out.
I was troubled when Phyllis said in her presentation at the
Louisiana Book Festival that she had not read her own book
but she assured me she meant that she did not want to review it
after it was completed because it was such a painful experience
reliving the ordeal over again as she recounted it.
I understand she is now out of the fema trailor and has purchased
a new home and will be continuing university studies and possibly
playing herself in a television series about New Orleans.
I knew she would prevail in the end! I expect this is not the
last effort from her and that she has a bright future ahead in the literary world.
We need to hear more from "regular" Americans like Phyllis Montana-Leblanc October 17, 2008
I have to be honest with you. I really struggled to figure out just what to make of "Not Just The Levees Broke". After all, Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is not a writer by trade and as she predicted a number of times in the book her salty language was indeed a bit of a turn-off for me. Nevertheless, after much thought and soul searching I have come to the conclusion that the country really does need to hear from more average folk like Phyllis if we are ever to begin to solve the myriad problems that we are facing in this nation. "Not Just The Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina" is a riveting first person account of one person's monumental struggle for survival in the aftermath of one of the greatest natural disasters in American history. It is compelling reading.
Although she alway enjoyed writing a little poetry I doubt that Phyllis Montana-Leblanc ever imagined that one day she would write and publish a book. This incredible opportunity came along after Phyllis was interviewed for Spike Lee's documentary film "When The Levees Broke". Spike Lee was extremely impressed with what Phyllis had to say and the way she was able to say it. It was apparent to Lee that Phyllis was "the dominent voice in the piece". Well one thing led to another and before long the chance to do a book came along. And Phyllis made the most of her once in a lifetime opportunity. Now I will have to admit that some of Phyllis' choicest language was entirely justified. Her graphic descriptions of her immediate surroundings in the aftermath of the storm seem entirely justified. There is simply no polite way to describe a scene where water polluted with oil, garbage, debris and human excrement is flooding your home. I could not have imagined how bad things really were in the City of New Orleans during those dark days but Phyllis Montana-Leblanc succeeds in making it all abundantly clear. Phyllis also decries what she considers to be the woefully inadequate response of government at all levels to this dreadful situation.
After finishing "Not Just The Levees Broke" I came to this conclusion. Author Phyllis Montana-Leblanc is a person who loves her city, loves her country, loves her family and loves her God. She is definitely a person who has something to say and without Hurricane Katrina we would have never heard from her. All of this makes me wonder if it would be not be great idea to offer more so-called "average" Americans the opportunity to write a book. I suspect there are lots of talented writers out there who do something else for a living that would just love to do this. There is obviously no shortage of books out there by the cultural elite. Perhaps some publisher would consider an "Ordinary Americans" series. At the end of the day I found "Not Just The Levees Broke: My Story During and After Hurricane Katrina" to be well worth my time. It is unlike any book that I have ever read before. Kudos to Phyllis Montana-Leblanc for a job well done! Recommended.
Put's You Right There With Them September 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
NOLA has a special place in my heart and I swear to this day I won't go back because of how Katrina all went down. When I saw Phyllis Montana Leblanc on Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke" I knew there was something about this woman. She spoke with power and the pain of someone who survived a great ordeal. And she didn't mind expressing herself with a curse word or two, which reinforces the BS the survivors went through.
I heard about the book when she was being interviewed on the Tom Joyner show. I rushed out and got it. Let me tell you, this book takes you where the TV did not. I can't imagine how they did made it. Sticking around vs. leaving town. Taking the chance to go out beyond their "safe haven" through murky waters. Going from place to place until they ended up in San Antonio. Going for a week in the clothes on their backs and no baths.
Phyllis Montana Leblanc is no seasoned writer, nor did the editor correct every pargraph or sentence. I don't think that is what this book is about or meant to be presented as. Keep in mind this is her personal account, just as if you were reading her journal or sitting out on the porch listening to her tell it to you - minute by minute. I finished the book on a lazy afternoon, it's only a couple hundred pages but makes you feel like you endured the entire week.
 Phyllis Montana-LeBlanc: American Hero August 30, 2008
Here is a true American hero. She survived one of the biggest tragedies of the modern age and carried herself forward through the aftermath to dazzle us all with her wit, her charm, her intelligence - and the beautiful, selfless example of her spirit of forgiveness.
The example Montana-LeBlanc sets is gift to all of us. Would that I could live up to her example in the face of adversity... She is a model of positive and constructive energy that every parent can hold up to their children as a lesson in resilience and good.
"See you in the Gumbo, just don't be the shrimp." August 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is how author closes the last chapter of her story. It made me laugh. It is one of the few things to laugh about in this book.
If you have ever wanted to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with a survivor of the Katrina disaster, then this is the book for you. The author and her husband did what they felt they needed to do in order to prepare for the storm. They had their cell phones fully charged; filled their tubs with water; cooked plenty of food which they sealed in ziplock bags; set aside water, and secured the windows. But when the roof started to fall in, and they had to make an emergency evacuation, they were forced to leave these things behind and become what the television pundits called "refugees". What happened next makes for a gripping first hand account of their struggle to survive not just during the storm but during the aftermath.
Something she says in her book sums it up: "To say that Hurricane Katrina traumatized me would be a flat-out lie. I was traumatized by being left behind for so long without my family. We were left to die."
This was a hard book to rate. While the author's story is worthy of 5 stars, the presentation, as the Newsweek reviewer noted, is raw. It is unpolished, tends to ramble and could have used better editing. I'd rate it 3 stars. So I averaged the two out and gave it 4 stars.
At times a painful story to read, I learned a lot by doing so. I wish the author and her family the best, as I wish the best for others who also suffered through Katrina.
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