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Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans
Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans
Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans
Audiobook14 hours

Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans

Written by Dan Baum

Narrated by Jonathan Yen

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

Nines Lives is a multivoiced biography of a dazzling, surreal, and imperiled city, told through the lives of nine unforgettable characters and bracketed by two epic storms: Hurricane Betsy, which transformed New Orleans in the 1960s, and Hurricane Katrina, which nearly destroyed it. Dan Baum brings this kaleidoscopic portrait to life, showing us what was lost in the storm and what remains to be saved.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 9, 2016
ISBN9781515979777
Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death, and Life in New Orleans

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Rating: 4.156779673728813 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Few books have touched me like this book. It is masterfully written and the reader for the audiobook is hands-down one of the best I’ve ever heard. I couldn’t recommend this book enough..
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This nonfiction book about New Orleans and Katrina explores the subject through the view points of nine New Orleanians. It depicts their lives from Hurricane Betsy in 1965 through Katrina. Among the individuals with whom we become intimate: a streetcar track repairman, the transvestite owner of a bar and his ex-wife, a former Rex, King of Carnival, the wife of the most well-known Mardi Gras Indian, a cop, the New Orleans coronor, the bandmaster of one of New Orleans public schools famous marching bands, a criminal, a 9th ward woman seeking to better herself. Nine Lives does what City of Refuge did not do: it conveys what life was like in New Orleans pre-Katrina--how unique and varied it was, and why so many people would not live anywhere else in the world. For this it is well-worth the read.I was particularly taken with some of the events disclosed by Frank Minyard the New Orleans coronor. He details the days of waiting in the makeshift morgue for the bodies of victims to be delivered. First the 82nd airborne volunteered to retrieve the bodies, but was denied authorization to do so by higher-ups. Then the National Guard volunteered. Same thing. Then the Louisiana State Patrol. Same story. When a representative of SCI, the largest funeral home operation in America, showed up, Minyard finally got it: 'Let me see if I've got this straight. Dead people rot on the streets of New Orleans for a week and a half so the feds can sign a private contract?' Minyard also refused to let officials take the easy way out and list the cause of death as 'drowning,' as the deaths were initially classified. 'A lot of these people died from heat exhaustion, dehydration, stress, from being without their medications--from neglect basically. They were abandoned out there.'Nine Lives is skillfully written--no long lists here. While, as in the case of Minyard, each of the individuals discusses their Katrina experiences, Katrina and its aftermath is not the focus of this book. It is a deft exploration of why New Orleans matters.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This oral history of of nine New Orleans residents, bracketed by hurricanes Betsy, in 1965, and Katrina, in 2005 is a solidly entertaining, (Big) easy read. Baum was reporting on Katrina for the New Yorker when he met and interviewed these folks, so it's a fairly eclectic bunch, from a rich white uptown guy to the city coroner to the wife of Mardi Gras Indian royalty to a transgender bar owner, and a few more. But he seems faithful to the voices, and patches together enough from other sources to keep it hopping. A good slice of time and place.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This nonfiction book was slow going at first, but after a while I was completely pulled in. It tells the story of nine different people in New Orleans over the course of many decades and it culminates with Hurricane Katrina. Their stories are wildly different, a cop, young black girl, and Indian, a transgender person, a local politician, but all of them are part of the city in one way or another. It reminds me so much of Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil. I loved the detailed descriptions of their worlds and the writing brought the city of New Orleans alive for me. Each of them sees their city in a different way. Those points of view painted a fuller picture of the iconic location. It's a perfect book to read before visiting!The Nine: Ronald Lewis, Billy Grace, Belinda Jenkins, Wilbert Rawlins Jr., Frank Minyard, Joyce Montana, John / Joann Guidos, Anthony Wells , and Tim Bruneau
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked this a lot. It reminded me, oddly, of George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones series, in the way that the author uses various shifting perspectives to describe the culture and mores of modern-day New Orleans. As with Martin's books, the technique can be confusing at first, and I was probably halfway through the book before I felt totally comfortable with who everyone was. The book was riveting, and the many short chapters made it hard to put down; you always think there is time to read just one more.

    My only quibble is that I wish more women had been included: only three women (one of them transgendered) among the nine perspectives. That was a little disappointing to me, and I wish Baum had found a way to incorporate more female voices.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    3.5 starsThe author is a journalist who was in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where he met some interesting people... people he later decided to write about. This tells the stories of nine different residents of New Orleans, starting in the 1960s and continues through and past Katrina to 2007. Some of the people include: a police officer, a doctor/coroner, a high school band teacher, a pregnant teenage girl who really wanted to go to college, a man who grew up in and stayed in the poor Lower Ninth Ward, a transgender woman, and more.Like with short stories, I found some of the people's stories more interesting than others. It was a bit tricky to follow at first, as it went in chronological order, so it switched back and forth between all the people, plus it moved forward, sometimes years at a time, when it came back to someone we'd previously read about. Probably no surprise that I found it picked up with the hurricane about half way through the book – in some cases, I found myself more interested in some of the characters whom I hadn't been as interested in previously. Overall, though, I'm rating this “good”.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I CANNOT BEGIN TO EXPRESS JUST HOW GREAT THIS BOOK ACTUALLY IS!!! I JUST FINISHED. Next time I visit and walk the beautiful streets of New Orleans, I will do so with much more understanding of what this city REALLY SUFFERED through during those long hours, days, and weeks after Katrina. I will smile at each stranger I see, knowing a little bit more about their heritage and why those that remained in New Orleans remained so when they were asked to evacuate. When I walk along the magnificent Riverwalk on the Mississippi River, I will forever hear the written words of Dan Baum and the stories told to him by nine lives that loved New Orleans more than I can ever understand. I will see what it is that they wanted me to see from the stories that they wanted to tell.

    Amazing!!

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans tracks the stories of nine people living in different parts of New Orleans and experiencing the different lives that the city has to offer between two major hurricanes that swept through the city, each devastating the city but ultimately having results vastly different results. Just a few of the colorful people whom we meet are Frank Minyard a gynecologist who after achieving the heights of riches and a comfortable life wants do do more meaningful work so and so decides to become the county coroner; young Belinda dreams of being able to escape the predestined road of motherhood to be the first in her family to attend college; John Guidos the former store owner who was born to be a person his body hasn’t allowed him to be; and Wilbert Rawlins, a band teacher so dedicated to the poverty stricken teens who don’t have families of their own that he almost loses some of the important things in life.

    I was drawn in by the wonderful slices of life right away. Baum alternates the stories over the years , and I loved getting to know the people and learning their about their hopes and dreams and see the progress that they made and the setbacks and challenges that they faced. I have been to New Orleans a couple of times and it has so much culture and rich scenery and beauty, but it was so fascinating to learn more and see some of the hidden dimensions of the city that may not be readily apparent to visitors. I learned of the krewes (restrictive social clubs) formed by the different groups in New Orleans, often with all white membership and their battles with the city over participation in Mardi Gras and the Black-Indian celebration which brought communities together and instilled pride in heritage. Some of the lives that Baum follows belong to the different krewes and it is interesting to see their approach to membership in the clubs and how some members feel that they should change to be more accomodating to the times and to outsiders. I read about the New Orleans Police Department and the awesome amount of corruption and scandal that plagued the department for years. I could go on and on about the interesting parts of New Orleans culture that I discovered in this book.

    By the time they got to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina I was fully involved in each of the lives presented in Nine Lives, and it made it that much more poignant to truly have an idea of what the stakes were for each person and what the loss meant to their individual dreams and to the lives of their families. Dan Baum conducted extensive research and interviews in writing this book, but that doesn’t detract from the wonderful human element, and none of this story feels dry or inaccessible. He has a way of writing that let’s each person’s character and personality come through. Their individual voices are respected and heard and the book is in their own words as much as possible. I was delighted to get to know the people introduced to me in this book and I celebrated their triumphs at cried at their tragedies. There is a much richer experience here than just learning about the effects of Hurricanes Katrina & Betty . If you love reading about different communities and enjoy getting a glimpse into people’s lives then you will truly enjoy this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, I was riveted to the television. I'd always been a storm lover. The drama and intensity of a thunderstorm held my attention in a way no TV show ever could. Of course I wanted to see this storm. A hurricane was totally out of the realm of my experience. To me, it was simply a massive thunderstorm. In August of 2005, I learned what devastation meant when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.Just as with most historic news events, certain memories are forever engraved in my brain. Images of people laying on roofs, surrounded by impossibly high water, are my immediate recollection. The Superdome, home to the New Orleans Saints, was filled with displaced residents, and the roof was peeled off with horrifying ease. Hearing that the levee had broken was honestly impossible to comprehend to someone who didn't live there. Even now, five years later, I see pictures and it isn't real to me. The devastation, the rot and death and heart-breaking permanence does not translate over the media.This is where Dan Baum's book, Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans, comes in. Going back to Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Baum introduces us to New Orleans and the ability of her people to bounce back and thrive.Look at these two hurricane 'after' pictures. The first one is from Betsy, the second one from Katrina. Even after this kind of mind-numbing devastation, New Orleans has continued to bounce back. Baum introduces us to nine unique individuals who are tied, in most cases, by nothing more than their love of New Orleans as their home and heritage.There is no way for me to do justice to these rich characters. Each is unique in their own way, full of desires, dreams, fears, and loves. Let me introduce each of them, but please excuse my brevity. Dan Baum will take you into their lives. I simply want to give you a taste of the wonderful backbone to his story.There's Ronald Lewis, a man full of integrity and strength, who fights to hold on to New Orleans history. He reminds us that there is more to New Orleans than just the French Quarter. He takes you into the history of the Mardi Gras Indians and the Lower Ninth Ward. You can visit his museum called The House of Dance and Feathers.Anthony Wells brings character and life, as well as respect and love, to the people who stayed with their houses longer than most thought was safe. He brings to light the grittier side of New Orleans culture, with humor and a light-hearted honesty.Billy Grace comes to us from a different perspective. His hard-working background is intertwined with wealth and privilege. His ability to access some of the most exclusive groups of rich, white men in New Orleans, introduces us to the house of Rex and the social responsibility that goes along with it.Frank Minyard has a love/hate relationship with his wealth, and works hard to avoid becoming one of the snobbish 'uptown swells' his mother so hated. Living a life of excess, he still manages to earn the respect of anyone reading, as he dedicates his life to helping those less fortunate than he had become.Wilbert Rawlins and Belinda Carr work against their environment and history to reach success and happiness. With Wilbert's love of the band, and the children he teaches, we get a real glimpse into how very important music is to New Orleans and its residents. Belinda's ambition rivals that of most people you'll meet, and her ability to overcome adversity in her life is inspiring.Timothy Bruneau gives us a rare glimpse into the New Orleans police department. Rather than the corrupt impression often given in the media, we see determination and love of the job in Tim. Even a horribly life-altering accident isn't enough to stop Tim's need to work for justice.My favorite two characters I've saved for last.Joyce Montana was married to one of the most remarkable men in New Orleans history. Allison "Tootie" Montana was a history-maker, full of life, and one of the most hard-working, creative minds that ever lived. Enjoy this glimpse into his life in Nine Lives, and check out some of the following sites to get an even greater in-depth view:He's the PrettiestTootie's Last SuitAllison "Tootie" MontanaAnd last, but not least by any stretch, is JoAnn Guidos. Formerly John Guidos, JoAnn worked to overcome adversity and self-doubt by being her true self. Her love and commitment to New Orleans and the misfits who live there led her to open Kajun's Pub. It was one of the few businesses that remained open during and after Hurricane Katrina. JoAnn let anyone and everyone in to find shelter, company, and a much-needed drink. Her contribution to New Orleans life makes me want to thank her, hug her, and support her in whatever way I can. The best way I can think of doing that is to ask you to visit her restaurant. Enjoy the bar, patronize the businesses down there, and get to know the people. Love them for who they are and know they will do the same for you. That's just part of New Orleans, and to me, JoAnn personifies that spirit of acceptance and joie de vivre.Nine Lives will make you feel a full range of emotions, from start to finish. Dan Baum treats us to an inside look at the politics, culture, and racial tensions that make up New Orleans life and history. Most importantly, you will see that the people of New Orleans do not need our pity. They do not need part-time do-gooders, building a house and then leaving. They need our business. They need their culture and their people. They need music, food, and life. But never our pity.Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans is a book well worth your time. It was well thought out, well written, and it interweaves the lives of nine unique individuals. The delicate web of lives touch each other in some ways and never intersect in others.If I had to find any fault in this book it would be in the ending. I was disappointed not to have some loose ends tied up. But in the end, isn't that what life is?4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Cats are said to have nine lives because they're popularly purported to be more tenacious of life than most animals. Dan Baum titled his excellent book "Nine Lives" both because it details the pre- and post-Katrina true stories of nine very disparate New Orleanians, and as a tribute to a city that clings to life with feline tenacity despite powerful forces continually arrayed against its survival. In the face of impending if not inevitable disasters repeatedly flung at the city by nature or man, the people of New Orleans refuse to let their city die. This is a very good thing, as New Orleans is the only major American city where the philosophy of "laissez faire" refers not merely to economic liberalism, but to a way of life riveted to joys other than those that can be measured most readily in minutes and money.Baum writes well and clearly, in a succinct and fairly journalistic style. The nine people he chooses to follow before and after Katrina are interesting, and in recounting their stories they reveal as much about the kaleidoscopic city they love as they do their tragedies and triumphs in it. Baum's storytelling technique can get a bit choppy as he intersperses the nine stories together over 40 years, switching from one to another. After the first few chapters I chose to read the book by character, rather than in order of pagination.Baum's book Nine Lives is enlightening, entertaining, and moving. It's a stirring epistle to and from a great American city and its people. I recommend it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Nine Lives is a moving biography of nine residents of New Orleans preceding, during and after Hurricane Katrina. Compiled from transcripts of days of interviews, these first person accounts detail the passion that the residents of New Orleans had for their city, the oppressive poverty and coexisting wealth , and the cultural indiosyncrasies that made New Orleans like no other place in the United States. At some points the first person accounts intersect enriching the impact of the storyline as two well-developed characters would share important moments. Though slower in some parts, this novel-like biography richly describes the uniqueness of New Orleans, weakened by the storm, but ultimately survived by those who couldn't leave it behind.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is the best overview of New Orleans’s culture I’ve read. Following the lives of nine people makes it accessible without feeling forced. While I didn’t always like the subjects (in fact, two I downright hated), they were all extremely interesting. Starting with Hurricane Betsy is a key element that most New Orleans stories have been missing.“What tripped me out, man, was every place we’d go, no matter how far, everybody knew me…I was connected, you feel me?” “Always been fucked-up here, man, but it’s home. Till you been someplace else, you don’t know.” – Anthony Wells
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Dan Baum follows the lives of nine disparate New Orleanians -- from a bedraggled ex-convict to a high society white lawyer -- over four decades and bracketed by two spectacular hurricanes to demonstrate how life was fundamentally changed, if not completely destroyed, by Hurricane Katrina. While many books have covered the storm and its effects on the Big Easy, none have focused as sharply on the individuals injured, killed and left homeless by the hurricane that leveled the Gulf Coast -- and how they rose again, no matter how hopeless it may have seemed, to resurrect the only city they could ever call home.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Recommended by friends here on LT who share my quest and thirst for knowledge regarding New Orleans in general, and Hurricane Katrina in specific, I started this book a few weeks ago and finished it this evening.Baum wrote an incredible work and I highly recommend this book. Weaving the stories of nine people from vastly socioeconomic strata, different backgrounds and perceptions, yet all with the love for New Orleans, the book is a love song to the grand city of culture, lawlessness, drunkenness, crime and long-lasting traditions.It is superbly written and researched and after reading the book, I have a better understanding of the culture that was shaped and formed ever so long ago and why it cries to rise like a phoenix from the ashes.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I learnt a lot about New Orleans that I had no idea about. The difficulties of those in the Lower Ninth Ward, the way that discrimination and segregation continued for longer than I thought, and the krewes and Mardi Gras parade. A bit of an eye opener for me here in Sydney!The thing I really admire about this book, is the amount of work that has clearly gone into weaving the stories. These are real people, and the author has interviewed them and others, and followed their stories back for years. I spent some time after reading the book, looking at Google maps. It was quite depressing to see all the work still to be done, and think of the people that have struggled, the families that have scattered to the winds. But there is also a hope for the community, in that the characters in the book are back in New Orleans, and striving to rebuild their lives and their communities.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I LOVE this book. Baum uses the stories of nine everyday New Orleans citizens to explain what's so fascinating about the city. He follows these people from the mid-1960s (right after Hurricane Betsy plowed thru New Orleans) to 2007 and Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Each person comes from a different strata of New Orleans culture. The parish coroner, a high school band director, the drifter who came in from California are just some who get the chance to tell their story of New Orleans. I find it interesting that by bookending the story between major hurricanes, Baum has put his finger on a problem with our society in general. After Betsy, folks started cleaning up immediately, they didn't wait for someone to come do it for them. After Katrina, even those who wanted to help were hampered by those who expected someone else to do things for them.A highly recommended book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was tough for me to get into. I'm not much of a history buff, so the older stories in the beginning did not hold my attention well. However, I found that I was really getting more and more attached to a couple of the characters whose lives were being portrayed. As these people aged, grew, changed jobs and then suffered through Hurricane Katrina, I became even more interested in who they became and the horror that they had to witness. I would love to meet Wil and Belinda. The hardships that their relationship endured and the absolute sincerity Wil devoted to his students is extraordinary. I think that John/JoAnn would be a great person to get to know. I think that she would be a fun person to party with. And Tim, what he had to deal with medically as well as professionally during the NOPD's corruption must have been frustrating.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    First Line: Ronald Lewis walked past one ruined cottage after another.Dan Baum moved to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to write about the city's response to the disaster for The New Yorker. What he discovered was that Katrina wasn't the most interesting thing about the city. The question that he felt compelled to answer was this: Why are New Orleanians so devoted to a place that was, even before the hurricane, the most corrupt, impoverished, and violent corner of America?His answer is Nine Lives, a truly fascinating book that is not only informative, but is also an emotionally and artistically satisfying gourmet meal for readers.Baum tells us about the lives of nine New Orleanians whose lives are bracketed by two hurricanes: Betsy, which transformed the city in the 1960s, and Katrina. These people cross the lines of age, race, class and gender. They are Mardi Gras Kings, jazz-playing coroners, ex-cons, transsexual barkeeps, women with dreams of white picket fences, and more. As each one spoke to me, I found myself hearing that person's voice. I was transported to the Lower Ninth, to a mansion on St. Charles, to a makeshift mortuary. "'I'm a lawyer,' Billy said. 'Neither my firm nor the companies I own possess the kinds of resources the city needs.' He sat forward, rubbing his palms together.'But this is my idea. The collective wealth around this table must be in the billions. Why doesn't each of us, personally, pledge a million dollars cash to the recovery. We can go out of this room and announce that we have sixty million dollars cash on hand: the business community's stake in recovery. Today.' He leaned on his forearms and looked around the room expectantly. No one spoke...."Each of these nine people transcended print and became very real to me, and made New Orleans real to me in a way it had never been before. I cared about these people, I laughed and cried and became angry with these people. I was involved.There's not much more you can say about a reading experience. Nine Lives is available today. Get yourself a copy.[Quotes are from an advanced reader's copy and may be modified in the published work.]
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    New Orleans is a city full of contradictions, a place out of context with the rest of America. It defies understanding, explanation, and most especially, classification. It’s a quality the residents hold onto, this testament of uniqueness, even as the city has teetered time and again on the brink of destruction. I’ve lived near New Orleans for most of my life. I’m a frequent visitor there, and, like everyone else who comes, I’ve fallen in love with its decadent grandness, its welcoming, leisurely way of life. All manner of man calls New Orleans home, and every one of them is right. It is unique, out of step with the rest of America. And this is exactly why it is so important to save, even now, even as the great lady teeters on her knees trying desperately to rise from the devastation of Katrina.Dan Baum, on assignment from The New Yorker after the storm, quickly learned this. He, along with his wife Margaret, eventually moved to New Orleans in order to write a book, one in which, using the bookends of Betsy in 1965 and Katrina in 2005, captures perfectly what it means to love this city. Baum chose nine people he had gotten to know after the storm, conducting hundreds of hours of interviews, writing the story of the city through their eyes. They are from vastly different ends of the socio-political spectrum, ranging from the widow of a revered Mardi Gras Indian chief to the long-time coroner of Orleans parish, from a transsexual bar owner to a former king of Rex and pillar of the Uptown community. Their stories are unique, yet a common thread runs through them all – the deep, abiding love of this place, of the home New Orleans offers to each. The author captures that love without being preachy or overly sentimental. New Orleans is far from a fairy-tale land of mutual respect, understanding, and tolerance. Poverty, desperation, and crime are huge, unending problems, and Baum acknowledges this. The stories he tells are candid, real, and fraught with generations of loss and disappointment. They are, however, also stories of hope, people who have risen, time and again, despite adversity after adversity. Many people in the rest of the United States have questioned why we should rebuild such a place, crippled as it is by poverty and corruption. It takes spending time in New Orleans to learn its value, I suppose, to experience the unique magic that makes this city special. If you can’t visit, however, read this book. Dan Baum has clearly seen and understands. Five Stars.