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And yet, even as the city has regained some of its lost footing, other regions around the country continue to be battered by hurricanes, snow and ice storms, and massive weather events like Superstorm Sandy, which devastated the mid-Atlantic coast seven years later. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublished just months after the storm, Why New Orleans Matters was immediately hailed as a passionate and eloquent celebration of the city as both a cultural center and a home to millions of residents from varied--and sometimes precarious--walks of life. Award-winning author Tom Piazza, a longtime New Orleans resident, evoked the sensuous rapture of the city that gave us jazz music and Creole cooking, but also examined its deep undercurrents of corruption, racism, and injustice, and explored how its people endure and transcend those conditions. Perhaps most important, he asked that we all, as Americans consider our shared responsibility to this great and neglected metropolis and all the things it has shared with the world: its grace and beauty, resilience and soul.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the years since its first publication, Piazza has continued to explore the story of New Orleans and its people in many ways--most notably in his novel City of Refuge and as a writer for the acclaimed HBO series Treme, created by David Simon. 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Bursting with narrative tension and unforgettable characters, shot through with unexpected turns and insight, A Free State is a thrilling reimagining of the American story by a novelist at the height of his powers.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50999002038545,"sku":"NIN9780062284136","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51334375178513,"sku":"CIN0062284134VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52613902041361,"sku":"NLS9780062284136","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0062284134.jpg?v=1751289701"},{"product_id":"devil-sent-the-rain-music-and-writing-in-desperate-america-book-tom-piazza-9780062008220","title":"Devil Sent the Rain: Music and Writing in Desperate America","description":"\"WhateverTom Piazza writes is touched with magic.\" --Douglas Brinkley \u003cp\u003eAcclaimed author Tom Piazza follows hisprize-winning novel City of Refuge and the post-Katrinaclassic Why New Orleans Matters with a dynamic collection ofessays and journalism about American music and American character, in DevilSent the Rain.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"TomPiazza's writing is filled with energy, and with tender, insightful words forthe brilliant and irascible, from Jimmy Martin to Norman Mailer. Time and timeagain, Piazza identifies the unlikely, precious connections between recentevents, art, letters, and music; through his words, these byways of popularculture provide an unexpected measure of the times.\" --Elvis Costello\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50999024091409,"sku":"NIN9780062008220","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51415413129489,"sku":"CIN0062008226VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52613933498641,"sku":"NLS9780062008220","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0062008226.jpg?v=1751003999"},{"product_id":"living-in-the-present-with-john-prine-book-tom-piazza-9781324050858","title":"Living in the Present with John Prine","description":"NATIONAL BESTSELLER    A vivid, joyful, moving window onto the life and heart of an American icon.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51392227705105,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51392228524305,"sku":"NGR9781324050858","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52495317926161,"sku":"NIN9781324050858","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52635885764881,"sku":"CIN1324050853VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52883228295441,"sku":"CIN1324050853G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1324050853.jpg?v=1751418815"},{"product_id":"living-in-the-present-with-john-prine-book-tom-piazza-9781915841230","title":"Living in the Present with John Prine","description":"In the spring of 2018, Tom Piazza climbed  into a cherry-red Cadillac Coupe-Deville with the great singer-songwriter John Prine. 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Piazza offers fans an unforgettable portrait of the beloved musician in the twilight of his life; as a boyish cut-up, an epic raconteur, a great American poet and most importantly, the good friend his fans have always imagined.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51621957239057,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51621957304593,"sku":"NGR9781915841230","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53135671165201,"sku":"GOR014766325","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1915841232.jpg?v=1766658836"},{"product_id":"living-in-the-present-with-john-prine-book-tom-piazza-9781324134305","title":"Living in the Present with John Prine","description":"In the spring of 2018, Tom Piazza climbed into a 1977 Coupe de Ville with the great singer-songwriter John Prine to write an article for the Oxford American. 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