BOOK REVIEWS

[S]hows how an individual has the power to change big government agencies that may seem invincible.... Words Whispered in Water proofs how the voice of concerned individuals can change the status quo, and potentially save many lives by kindling the structural changes that are needed to better protect society.
––Paulina Concha Larrauri, Columbia Water Center, Columbia University

Rosenthal points out, if we move on before actually learning and applying the lessons taught in tragedy’s classroom, then we do ourselves and those who come after us a grave disservice. …. Her path to becoming an influential citizen investigator is an important part of this story since how well and how safely we live is ultimately a matter of how much responsibility we take for making our communities work.
––Mark S. Davis, Director of the Institute on Water Resources Law at Tulane University, Water Alternatives

“ must say that reading Words Whispered in Water was a refreshing experience – reading an almost day-by-day account of a struggle that seemed hopeless at times. I found the style clear and easy to follow, the facts presented were enlightening. The information had been mostly unknown to me and is shockingly convincing about the book’s main theme: powerful players in the drama used every dirty trick to misdirect blame from themselves, even going to the length of blaming the victims.
––Francis Mont for Readers Favorite

“Political activist Rosenthal delivers a blow-by-blow account of her fight to hold the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers accountable for the flooding of New Orleans… [This book] chronicles her growing suspicions that the media and the U.S. Army were misrepresenting the causes of the flooding…[and] reveals what it takes to hold the powerful to account.”
––Publishers Weekly

"A fast-paced documentary about a dedicated person’s journey after the greatest engineering failure in history. It is also a book that every engineer should read because within the pages is a revelation, an indictment of a blundering bureaucracy. It is an indictment of the concept that big organizations are always competent and can be relied upon to provide their own quality assessment and control."
––Stephen Estopinal, Xavier Review

"Sandy’s book tells her courageous story of seeking information and truth why the levees failed [and] who was responsible…. a David versus Goliath since many of the government and professional entities did not like her conclusions and actively worked to keep her from telling it."
––Ricardo Pineda, Water Resources Engineer (ret), California Department of Water Resources

Words Whispered in Water is about how the author “...made the decision to investigate and reveal the bureaucratic system behind the fatal decisions that made the storm such a definitive event. It is also about how she tried to shed light where the media wouldn’t….A truly informative and enlightening book.”
––Literary Titan

“Something I don’t think is discussed enough is the courage of people who not only live through disaster but fight back afterwards. Sandy Rosenthal is exactly this kind of courageous person. Rosenthal’s book is gripping, shocking, and infuriating. It’s an absolute must-read for anyone interested in understanding the role of the Corps in the creation of our national risk.”
––Samantha Montero, Disasterology

“Sandy Rosenthal is a New Orleans citizen investigator turned published author whose debut book Words Whispered in Water exposes the truth behind the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Rosenthal’s journey to activism is rooted in her deep commitment and love for her city… her convictions and steadfast investigative prowess ultimately brings the truth to light.”
―Chelsea-Rae Abbate, The Twisted Library

“For years Sandy Rosenthal has been the go-to source for any reporter seeking to understand the truth about flood protection in New Orleans: what really happened to the levees following Hurricane Katrina and the steps taken (and those that still need to happen) to protect the area and its residents. Read the inside story for yourself in this readable, engaging tale of how Rosenthal began investigating the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shortly after Katrina, and her efforts to hold accountable the Corps and other public officials.”
––Gary Rivlin, author of Katrina; After the Flood (Simon & Schuster, 2010)

“Putting herself in the path of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the local media, academia, and entrenched political interests in order to get to the truth about the New Orleans levee system took guts, as well as masterful community organizing. Anyone who is interested in Hurricane Katrina, and in America’s failing infrastructure, will want to read this book told in a fast-paced narrative.”
―Scott G. Knowles, head of the Department of History at Drexel University and author of The Disaster Experts: Mastering Risk in Modern America

Sandy Rosenthal’s account of the founding of levees.org after the Flood of New Orleans is an invaluable memoir of the making of an activist. In a world crying out for citizen action around increasingly desperate climate issues, her story is timely and instructive— and even hopeful.
––Michael Tisserand, author The Kingdom of Zydeco (Arcade Publishing, 1998)

Everyone alive at the time remembers the live-on-TV horror of Hurricane Katrina and the deadly drowning of a great city, New Orleans. The ‘who, what and why’ of the catastrophe was thereafter carefully PR managed to protect the interests of the powerful, especially the notorious Army Corps of Engineers, shifting the blame to Nature and the city itself.  It took a tireless, driven citizen movement to set the record right, confronting the failures of scientists and journalists as well as the devious smears, attacks and propaganda of the powerful.  Sandy Rosenthal led their fight and tells the story here. The truth of Hurricane Katrina has been terribly incomplete but is now unspun and revealed in this heroic book, Words Whispered in Water.
––John Stauber, author Toxic Sludge Is Good for You! (Common Courage, 1995)

For all the myths and misinformation that circulated after Hurricane Katrina, there are still people across the country who don’t know that it was the collapse of the levees, not the hurricane itself, that drowned New Orleans. Sandy Rosenthal overcame hurricane hardships to establish, with a computer whiz of a son, the Levees.org website to get the story out and arouse the public. The lengths the Army Corps went through to silence her or deflect the truth and the stumbling blocks she experienced along the way are all here in a quick-moving tale. It makes for a gripping read.
–– Roberta Gratz, author We’re Still Hear Ya Bastards, (Nation Books, 2015)