New Orleans Boom & Blackout: One Hundred Days in America's Coolest Hot Spot

by Brian W. Boyles

Overview

As the 2013 Super Bowl approached, New Orleans rushed to present its best face to the world. Politicians, business leaders and tourism officials declared the rise of the "new New Orleans," a thriving city brimming with hope and energy. But as the spotlight neared, old conflicts and fresh controversies complicated the branding. The preparations revealed the strains of the post-Katrina recovery and the contrasts of the heralded renaissance. The watershed moment culminated in darkness when the lights went out in the Superdome. In a stunning portrait of the breathless one hundred days before the game, author Brian W. Boyles unearths the conflicts, ambitions and secret histories that defined the city as it prepared for Super Bowl XLVII.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626198609
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	01/12/2015
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 2.10(d)

About the Author

Brian Boyles is a native of Pittsburgh and graduate of Tulane University. Since 2007 he has directed public programming at the Louisiana Humanities Center, including oral history projects with musicians and politicians. A founding member of East Village Radio, he was named to Gambit Weekly's 40-Under-40 List in 2011. His work has appeared in the Oxford American, Vice.com, The Classical, Offbeat, The Lens, The Brooklyn Rail and SLAM. Boyles lives in New Orleans's 13th Ward with his wife and son.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Introduction: How's New Orleans Doing? 9

1 October 25, 2012: "He Will Shoot You Down" 13

2 November 3, 2012: "Let Them See Me Now" 25

3 November 29, 2012: Parade of Progress 41

4 December 8, 2012: Paths to Progress 55

5 December 17, 2012: The Highway to Baton Rouge 69

6 January 7, 2013: "The Sheriff Has a Gun to the City's Head" 79

7 January 13, 2013: Hack 91

8 January 16, 2013: Music Business 103

9 January 19, 2013: "Be Nice or Leave" 113

10 January 24, 2013: Birds 125

11 January 26, 2013: The Clean Zone of Tombstone 139

12 January 28, 2013: "What It Looks Like to Win" 151

13 January 29, 2013: "We're Not Living in a Commercial" 157

14 January 30, 2013: Residual Effects 163

15 January 31, 2013: "The Green Stuff" 171

16 February 1, 2013: Demand Space 175

17 February 2, 2013: "I Am Your Great Time" 183

18 February 3, 2013: Power 193

Epilogue: February 8, 2013: Relay Misoperation 199

Notes 203

Index 217

About the Author 224