Every time I teach my class on emergency-management communications, I lament the absence of a text that applies historical research to the study of past catastrophes and disasters with an eye toward minimizing the effects of future ones. In this outstanding new study, Tevi Troy has solved my problem and those of many people tasked with managing the response to disasters. It should be required reading for the next president and his or her transition team.
Troy brings to his task the detachment of a presidential scholar and the hands-on experience of a practitioner. He held positions of responsibility under President George W. Bush, whose administration was defined by three of the worst disasters in American history: the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; the devastation Hurricane Katrina left in its wake in September 2005; and the financial meltdown of the fall of 2008. Looking back over these events as well as those that took place during the administrations of Bush’s predecessors, Troy draws up a list of useful do’s and don’ts for future presidents and those in whose name they govern. He succeeds at his tasks very impressively.
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