Clear as Mud

I really enjoyed this text.

I read it for pleasure and yes, I realize it is a text book. Yes, it is one you might read for a college course.

But still...I really enjoyed this text.

Olshansky and Johnson write in an authentic way and they tell the story not as academics, but as parties to the process they were. I imagine a dinner where we talk about some of the biggest events we've experienced, and this is the story Olshansky and Johnson tell.

The authors do an excellent job of working through the preconceived notions an outsider has after only seeing the media coverage of Katrina. I had the benefit of knowing others who responded personally, and perhaps that helped my understanding of the subject matter. I don't think that is entirely the case, though. Olshansky and Johnson present what happened, but not in a “told you so” way. There is reflection, but not in a critical way. They celebrate the victories and they report on the defeats. I appreciated that tone.

The message that effective planning is both top-down and bottom-up is abundantly clear. I also was surprised at how the books recognized the contributions of the multiple simultaneous planning efforts. Where many would see these efforts as competitive, the language in the text points out the unique contributions of each along with the similarities. I engage communities in emergency preparedness planning through my work where we often compete with concurrent planning efforts. These efforts need not hinder our progress; rather, we should seek to compliment them to the overall benefit of the community for which the plans are being written. The lessons presented in this book will inform future consulting to my clients.

After reading the text, I am not left with only roses and candy. The lack of leadership in the immediate aftermath of the storm was frustrating. The overt political wrangling through the early attempts to coordinate a planning process for New Orleans bordered on embarrassing (my opinion, of course). I am convinced now, more than ever, that a concerted effort to share the leadership of an impending response and recovery is critical to the success of that response and recovery.

Clear as Mud: Planning for the Rebuilding of New Orleans certainly exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend it.