Here's another tidbit from the Publishers Lunch deal roundup which answers Elizabeth's "not entirely rhetorical question" as to who'd get a Katrina book out first:

"Tulane University professor and historian Douglas Brinkley's untitled book on New Orleans, juxtaposing the human drama wrought by Hurricane Katrina through personal and eyewitness accounts with a rich historical perspective of his city, to Claire Wachtel at Morrow, in a major deal, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM (world)."

Brinkley told his tale of riding out the storm at the Hyatt to Bill O'Reilly last week, but the story this book had better include is his boat ride with Sean Penn.