Hurricanes have been a constant in the history of New Orleans. Since
before its settlement as a French colony in the eighteenth century, the
land entwined between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River has
been lashed by powerful Gulf storms. Time and again, these hurricanes
have wrought immeasurable loss and devastation, spurring reinvention and
ingenuity on the part of inhabitants. Changes in the Air offers a rich
and thoroughly researched history of how hurricanes have shaped and
reshaped New Orleans from the colonial era to the present day, focusing
on how its residents have adapted to a uniquely unpredictable and
destructive environment across more than three centuries.