This book should be required reading for every student of Louisiana history.
582862
This is the definitive work on the historic battle of New Orleans. Anyone researching the War of 1812 must read this book. Not only for its clear and easy presentation of facts but for the voluminous collection of references to original documents. The prose is direct. Historical documents and references are expertly worked into the text, making of an easy read. As with most historians, Mr. Chapman presents several entertaining "what if" scenarios, and he presents the "what happened" flawlessly.
4704229
Julie Fenster has a gift for making history come alive. In Jefferson's America, she looks at the way in which Jefferson used the exploration of America as a tool for establishing an American presence in the territory of the Louisiana Purchase and reminds the reader of what an important role this played in the creation of the nation. She follows Lewis and Clark's journey to the Pacific, Dunbar and Hunter's mapping of the Ouichita River, Freeman's trip up the Red River, and Zebulon Pike's mapping of the Missouri. She describes the physical demands, the native populations and the many colorful characters living in the area. She moves back and forth from one expedition to another and then to Washington to describe the political reaction there as well as the reactions of the Spanish who were determined to hold their territory. This technique gives the story more immediacy and excitement. I highly recommend this book.
Disclaimer:
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review through the Advanced Reader program on Librarything.
676718
In my opinion, this is a MUST read for any student of Eastern North Carolina American Civil War history. Heidi Crabtrees hard work has allowed her to publish a well written and superbly researched historical work that finally sheds an important light on one of the states most notorious charactersGeorge W. Graham.

Crabtrees discovery of primary source documentation is evident throughout "Not a Soldier, but a Scoundrel: The Lives and Deaths of George W. Graham."  She does a masterful job of piecing the information together, combining both the military and human interest side of Graham. It is a readable, and worthwhile experience for anyone interested in Civil War history, as well as the post-war period in the American West.

Well written, it is a welcome addition to your library. I can't recommend it highly enough.
1192003
For those who love Louisiana and remember how beautiful the landscape and
Architecture in New Orleans and La Fayette was before Katrina; this book is certainly
an historical but yet contemporary treasure trove.  The book through black & white photography captures Louisiana in all of its pristine beauty.

I received this book as a gift for my coffee table and absolutely love it.  This will make a great gift for anyone who is from Louisiana, New Orleans, or La Fayette area, as well as those who love the art of photography.
3653687
If you're interested in the definitive book on sugar plantation life & culture before & after the Civi War, this is it. Eric Platt has written the definitive study on the subject from the perspective of the educational dreams & aspirations of the pre-war, French, Creole, Catholic planter society. There's joy, success & happiness here, also pain, grief, misery, destruction, death & ruin.  Margaret Mitchell & Victor Hugo would be proud.  Jefferson College, Manresa Retreat House today, in St James Parish, on the east bank of the Mississippi River, between New Orleans & Baton Rouge, has stood almost 200 years, and if you've never stood in front of it, especially at Christmas time, it is truly a sight to behold, even moreso if you can arrange to visit the grounds. And, while the Creole planter society was fleeting, its story isn't, neither is the story of Jefferson College & Manresa.
Congratulations to Eric Platt.  Good work!  Well done!  A fitting addition to any home library, and truly a great gift.
1109604
I disturbing look at the realities of plantation life.  While Louisiana has much culture and history to be celebrated there was also this dark side.  A must read especially if you like history involving the South.
1555130
This book should be in every American's Library.  It uses actual historical events to illustrate the way our economy works.
676020
This book should be part of the required reading list for every HS or College.  It goes a long way toward explaining the genesis of the Civil Rights Movement, and the backlash we are seeing in white society today.  Too many of us still do not recognize the role our white brothers and sisters must actively take to stop the continued cruelty and debasement visited on American's of color.  This is an important book.
1358592
Good story as well as history lesson of the earlier settlers of Louisiana.
1037136
Professor Donald provides insight into how the collective decisions of the past have led to so many of the problematic circumstances we face as a nation today.  Professors Donald, Baker and Holt take the reader back to over twenty years before the beginning of the Civil War and continue through Reconstruction to examine the various factors and angles from which the entire history of the Civil War and Reconstruction is derived.  The student of American History has everything needed in one concise volume to gain a working knowledge of the Civil war and Reconstruction era. This work is a well-documented, factual and detailed account of the most trying period of history our nation has seen to date.  The work is accurate, comprehensive and concise.  No doubt The Civil War and Reconstruction by David H. Donald will maintain a prominent place in any serious historical library for years to come.
566275
It's a shame that the middle east was left out of classes on world history when my generation was in school.  Except for a brief mention of the crusades, that area of the world was ignored.  BERNARD Lewis' books should be required reading for every student of history or politics.  They are superbly written.  This one explains the history of middle eastern/European interaction and the influences of religion and technical development.  There is, of course, a fair amount of repetition from other of his books, but the presentation here is logical and complete.  All-in-all, it was hard to put this book down.
2685237
Excellent description of slavery in pre-civil war Louisiana, supported by detailed descriptions of the operations of both sugar and cotton plantations.  The prose is matter of fact, adding to its believability.  Life from the perspective of a slave, who had been a freeman in New York, and was kidnapped and then sold into slavery, is gut wrenching.
4441404
I'm a south Louisianian living in exile it seems (relocated the midwest for work) and well let me just say this book had me in tears. I miss home and "Second Line Home" captures the very essence and soul of south Louisiana. I can hear the Jazz bands playing... There is so much to love about this book of poems -- "My Creole Daddy" is just one that comes to mind among many others. I'm so happy she wrote this book and I am equally happy that I purchased it and read every poem. Beautiful, beautifully written. -- Ca c'est tres bien; C'est magnifique!!! Merci Ma Chere, Merci.
729568
This was so compelling I could not put it down. I have recommended it to all my students. After reading this I have further insight into the US democratization and colonialization of the Phillippines. The modern day parallels between the Phillippines and our current wars are striking and McCoys book helps contextualize this.
3883959
This is a passionate review of the events leading up, during, and after the Katrina disaster in New Orleans.  van Heerden was involved at all stages and tells the story from an insider's point of view.  He give reasons why the disaster was exacerbated by human failures with the physical reasons for the levee failures that are backed backed by careful scientific observations confirmed by many other groups investigating the disaster. Everyone should read this book and then take steps to assure that such failures do not result in another preventable disaster - in New Orleans or any other American city.
3781412
Janet Allured has made an important contribution to Louisiana historiography and to historical literature of twentieth-century America.  In tracing the development of the struggle for women's rights in the middle years of the century, she has documented through extensive interviews with participants a movement that often left few written records yet opened doors for women in cities and towns throughout Louisiana.  Allured has challenged the notion that the south had little influence on modern feminism, instead showing how individual women and groups effectively assumed leadership roles in creating agencies providing protections and opportunities for women in a climate of powerful southern patriarchy.  Her book not only offers new understanding of the feminist struggle for equal rights and equal opportunity but its clear, graceful prose makes the story readable and memorable.  I give her book my strongest recommendation.  As a participant in many of the activities she has traced, I underscore the reliability of her account.  This is accurate, soundly-written and soundly-documented history of the best kind.
2893195
The book "Holding Back the Sea" is an ecological and economic history of the marshlands of Louisiana, from its first exploitation by French explorers in the 1600s to its uses as seafood farm, tourist trap, oil and gas source and port in the 1990s.  The book describes the various uses for this area of America, how it all depends on and effects the ecology and geography of the marshlands, and how human influences have changed the area.

The book is divided into twelve chapters, each of them examines the human-marshland interplay from a different point of view.  These views include that of alligator hunter, flood control expert, local elected official, lifelong shrimper, and conservationist.  Thru reading each chapter, one gets to see the complexity of the human-human, nature-human, and nature-nature relationships, and how over the last century, the first two have worked together to destroy the latter.  Specifically, alterations to the natural environment have made the land more susceptible to erosion, hurricanes, and flooding.  The result is that dozens of square miles of marshland sink into the Gulf of Mexico each year.  Efforts to stop this loss eventually require various parties to sacrifice, and this always dooms any effort.

The book describes in clear detail how the people of Louisiana now realize the importance of holding back the sea, or keeping the land elevated, depending on the point of view.  The actions and inactions described in this book reveal a tragi - comedy of truly grand proportions, something truly worthy of the grandness of America.  Though written before Hurrican Katrina of the 2005 summer, the facts and stories it contains are very important for all Americans to know.  I highly recommend this book.