Zeitoun
Dave Eggers
From Goodreads: The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun run a house-painting business in New Orleans. In August of 2005, as Hurricane Katrina approaches, Kathy evacuates with their four young children, leaving Zeitoun to watch over the business. In the days following the storm he travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. Then, on September 6th, police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his home. Told with eloquence and compassion, **Zeitoun** is a riveting account of one family’s unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water.
Award History
3 wins · 3 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current InterestMajor | 2009 | Winner | Secondary source |
| Dayton Literary Peace Prize: Nonfiction | 2010 | Winner | Secondary source |
| Robert F. Kennedy Book Award | 2010 | Co-winner | Official source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.
- Zeitoun62%
02 Central places
- New Orleans78%
03 Suggested argument
No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.
04 Reading orientation
30 / 100 academicSerious trade
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 72%.