Louisiana Books

After searching for a cookbook to produce fish entrees at home that are in the style of Pappadeaux in Houston or Mulate's in Louisiana or even Galatoire's in New Orleans, I will assert that THIS IS THE ONE. The Brennan books made my head swim with baking beef bones to produce broth ingredients and boiling shrimp tails to make fish stock, and on and on. Frank Davis explains clearly and simply, without condescending, how to make seafood dishes that taste really good. He even lists possible variations on the recipes, and which fish to buy. This is a wonderful cookbook.

I have borrowed afriend's book long enough - time to have my own. I enjoy using it - others will also.

This is my kind of cooking book. It's not just a cookbook, but a textbook on seafood also. The first several chapters are just on purchacing, handling, and cooking techniques for many types of seafood. Then, the cookbook section is loaded with great recipes. Frank has a great personality. He's great to watch on tv here in New Orleans, and his humor and knowledge really come through. If you like books such as this that take you "to school", try "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart.

Written as a textbook of sorts, entirely in narrative script, this book actually teaches you how to cook seafood as opposed to how to follow just one singular recipe. It is chock full of valuable information dealing with culinary procedures, use and application of spices, techniques for preparing everything from boiled blue crabs to beer-battered alligator, and the only complete listing of every single fish that swims the waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico and how to cook them! But the recipes themselves are special--not only unique to the famed cuisine of the Crescent City but so simple to follow and easy to prepare, both for the novice cook as well as the professional chef. It is truly one of those books a serious cook interested in preparing seafood the proper way needs to have on his or her bookshelves, and it is certainly one of those books you'll feel compelled to read from cover to cover for pure entertainment and enrichment.

Dyer's book is one of the best I've seen regarding Joseph Wheeler.

Born in GA, raised in CT, obtaining his West Point commission from a NY senator, Wheeler was a product of both North and South. Robert E. Lee proclaimed that Wheeler was one of the two best cavalry commanders in the War Between the States (the other was J.E.B. Stuart) -- he was also one of the youngest, reaching the rank of Maj. Gen. at 26 years of age. While many of the old confederate commanders wasted away following the war, Wheeler became a prominent Congressman from Alabama, espousing reconciliation and industrialization within his section of North Alabama, this in order to overcome the ravages wrought by the war.

Wheeler had the distinction of being one of only two former Confederate general officers that LATER served at that rank for the US Army, this time during the Spanish-American War [Fitzhugh Lee (Robert E. Lee's nephew) was the other, although the war ended before Lee's troops could see action]. During the Cuban campaign, Wheeler had under his command such officers and men as Leonard Wood, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (and the Rough Riders), "Black Jack" Pershing, and others that would gain prominence in later years.

Wheeler is one of the few (if not the only) high ranking former Confederate officers to have been granted the honor of being buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

His story deserves a unique place in the history of this nation.

"God I'd hate to see the look on Old Stonewall's face when he sees Joe arriving at Heaven's gate in that Blue Uniform" - one Confederate veteran alledgedly told another, or words to that effect when General Wheeler passed on.

By that time this Fighting Gamecock of the Confederacy had proudly worn once again the Blue of the United States Army, leading Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders through a number of vicious, swirling fire-fights right up to that grand assault on San Juan Hill.

This was something that came natural to Joseph Wheeler. Georgia-born, Ct. raised, and finally a son of Alabama. A West Pointer, several years ahead of George Custer (they knew each other)Wheeler, despite ties to the North, chose to resign his commission and go south at the outbreak of the Civil War. While he might not have been a brilliant Cavalry Commander, and he did have his run-ins with Nathan Bedford Forrest, who after one operation that failed (against Fort Donelson) vowed never to serve under Wheeler again, he was still outstanding at best, extremely competent at least - and bedevilled Sherman and the hapless fool and suspected coward who commanded the Union cavalry facing him in the Georgia campaign, H. Judson Kilpatrick (his West Point classmate).

Despite a rough time imprisoned after Appomattox, Wheeler turned the other check, and became a U.S. Senator who openly urged reconciliation between North and South. He could be faulted for prejudices towards Blacks, he was a product of the times and considerably less prejudiced than the bigots of his time like fellow Alabama Senator George Tyler Morgan, Pitchfork Ben Tillman, and Tom Watson - and Wheeler did respect, if not like, the "Buffalo Soldiers" who fought alongside him in the 9th and 10th Cavalry in Cuba.

When William McKinley, himself a Union vet who served at Antietam and in Sheridan's Shenandoah campaigns urged Wheeler to once again serve his country in the Spanish-American War, he hesitated only briefly, then went on to don the Union Blue and lead the Cavalry forces to glory in Cuba - marred only slightly by his own rashness at Las Guisamas. Even then Wheeler, momentarily forgetting that he was in Cuba, not at Chickamauga, uttered one of that war's most memorable lines - "We've got the damn Yankees on the run!"

Wheeler, old and grey bearded, was still full of vigor and served America one more time in the Philippines before retiring and finally dying in that well-known Southern town called New York City. He was finally laid to rest in his U.S. Army uniform at Arlington cemetery.

Dyer gave us the only solid biography of this American hero. I only wish he had provided the reader with more illustrations than just the couple showing Wheeler as a West Pointer, A Confederate General, a U.S. Senator, and finally a Major General of Volunteers in the Spanish-American War.

This book is details the life of one extra ordinary man, General "Fightin" Joe Wheeler.It details his life as few bigraphies do. It details the the trumiphs and the failures. But in all of this you will see the chracter of the man ride high.He had the distinction of being both a Confederate General and also leading the US Voulunteers in Cuba and the Philippines. I would STRONGLY suggest buying this book for any history buff. He may not be as well known as Grant, Sherman, Lee or Longstreet, But his contribution to the History United States deserves to be known!

John Dyer has written the fundamental biography of Joseph Wheeler. The work is a colorful, enjoyable read, which should be enjoyed by most -- it is most definitely NOT a dry, cardboard biography. All readers would enjoy the style in which Dyer writes.

Joseph Wheeler was a great American, perhaps overlooked somewhat in modern times due to his rather modest approach to life and duty. This approach seems to basically have been, 'put your head down, drive on, and perform one's Duty to the best of one's abilities, regardless of obstacles or consequences.' Wheeler upheld these principles throughout his life, having served in an astonishing number of military and political positions. He served as a Confederate Major General of Cavalry for much of the Civil War in the West. He became a planter, lawyer, and Congressman from North Alabama for much of the remainder of the 19th Century. Furthermore, he sought and gained a commission in the U.S. Army at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. Indeed, he would command the 5th Corps, 1st Cavalry Division during combat operations in Cuba. Famous figures that served under his command there included, Colonel Leonard Wood, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt of Rough Rider fame, as well as the 9th and 10th US Regular Cavalry Regiments (The Buffalo Soldiers), also including Jack Pershing, later to command the AEF during WWI. After his death, Wheeler was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and was one of only two former Confederate generals to have been granted that honor.

This book is highly recommended. Read it, and learn some more about a person that was truly representative of the great American Spirit, and whose life reflected an admirable and staunch observance of (and devotion to) Duty, Honor, and Country.

Meredith Mason Brown's new biography of Daniel Boone demonstrates worthy research and is written in an engaging, absorbing and even witty style. There are some subjects that deserve repeated attention. Daniel Boone is one. Mr. Brown places Boone in historical context and brings him to us in real flesh and blood.

Meredith Brown demythologizes Daniel Boone without diminishing him. This is a first-rate biography - thoughtful, persuasive, and, above all, a great pleasure to read.

Meredith Brown has written a carefully researched, beautifully written biography of Daniel Boone. Separating fact from myth, he explores in depth the person, his significant role in opening the west, and his extraordinary relationship with the Indians. I loved this book and recommend it highly.

While not quite through with the book, I have read enough to say that it is excellent.

This book was a fantastic beginning to research on a man largely ignored by American history. I hope this study sparks more work on White. He was a great man, flawed, but with superb strengths of character, facing the final consolidation of Jim Crow in the south, as a member of the demographic community the evil Jim Crow regime targeted. Thanks to the author for removing my ignorance on such a great American.

George Henry White represented North Carolina in Congress from 1897 until 1901. When he left, he became the last man of his race to be elected to Congress during the post-Reconstruction era, leaving a void which would not be filled for nearly 30 years (North Carolina didn't elect another African-American to Congress until 1992). White became, sadly, an historical footnote.

Benjamin Justesen has performed an intense labor of love in resurrecting White's story. Armed with prodigious amounts of careful research - reflected in the copious footnotes sprinkled throughout the text - and his own personal determination to bring this biography to public attention, Justesen has realized his dream of writing George Henry White's life story after becoming acquainted with his subject while working as a reporter in the 1970s.

He brings to life the issues and prejudices of the period, which only serve to magnify the high principles to which White held himself. Believing that education and one's own hard work got one where one wanted to go, White proved his beliefs in a time when Southern public sentiment was gradually moving into its shameful Jim Crow era.

A lawyer, politician, banker, real estate developer, family man and man of faith, George Henry White is a model for anyone today - black or white - who thinks, "I cannot." His life is an example to us all, and his biography a fascinating look at both a man and an era in Southern history.

I know the author of this book, and that is what first interested me in reading it. But I quickly learned there was more to George White than the novelty of being the only African American in Congress (1897-1901). He was a talented, accomplished man--ahead of his time in choosing to combine successful public and private careers with an unusual attention to the less fortunate of his own race. He faced a momentous decision at the turn of the century: accept the new segregation oin the United States, and the disfranchisement that came with it, or condemn both and fight them. he chose the latter, and effectively ended his own political career. But he remains a fascinating man, and one well worth reading about. I recommend you read this book!

At the outset: I'm the author, and of course, I'm partial to my own book. But I'm also immersed in the subject, having spent the last four years of my life bringing George White's story to readers. George White was a fascinating man, but one about whom little is known today: the first African American to serve in Congress in the 20th century (retiring in 1901) and the last of 22 to serve from the South after the Civil War until the 1970s. He was a stalwart Republican, and served alone in the Congress for four years. But he was more than a token--an accomplished teacher, lawyer, prosecutor, developer and banker. He deserves to be studied in depth; my attempt is the baseline, a painstakingly drawn outline, based on a careful study of limited evidence. Judge for yourself--and then place him in his rightful position in our history, as the intriguing, honest, flawed but eminently admirable individual he was. I recommend him--and this book--highly!

. . . than this. The previous reviewers are much more eloquent than I, so I'll just say that having discovered this author through his newer works, I read this series start-to-finish, and am dumfounded that I never heard of these books. This guy is the real deal, folks. This is WRITING!!!

I finished this book with tears running down my face. Often, when an author ends a series, one is frustrated, annoyed at the author, even feeling sold short. Not so here. Completing this book, I had the feeling that the story could have wrapped up in no other way -- despite the fact that I had not guessed where it was going. Deeply satisfying, Ghost of a Flea leaves us feeling fortunate to have come to know a group of characters who are real, believable, and somehow terribly important to us. This series is over, but one is left hungry for more of Sallis' distinctive writing.

New Orleans street corner philosopher Lew Griffin knows first hand that life stinks. However, though he expects the worst and life is hell, Lew surprisingly believes that to be human, at least in his mind, means to keep on fighting regardless of what destiny tosses at you.

A neighborhood lunatic is poisoning the local pigeons so Lew appoints himself as the savior of the park denizen. He begins to investigate his style, resulting in a cerebral evaluation of the murders so fowl. He also feels strongly that he must protect his friend's daughter, an apparent victim of a stalker, and re-find his son who has pulled another Houdini vanishing act. While being the self-proclaimed neighborhood amateur sleuth and recovering from a stroke, Lew ultimately, in his meandering style, investigates Lew. This is all in a days work for one who firmly concludes that Murphy is an optimistic idiot.

The sixth and last Griffin tale, GHOST OF A FLEA, is a fabulous ending to one of the weirdest but delightful series of the past decade. The wild but entertaining story line is all over the place, especially when it wanders through Lew's mind leaving those readers who enjoy a classic amateur sleuth needing to go elsewhere. Anyone who has kept up with James Sallis' books will want to read this novel to gain closure. Those who have not read the previous books, will enjoy this strange tale, but will probably be better off perusing the previous novels first. Mr. Sallis' pulls off quite a heptagon with the grand finale answering many questions left from the previous five.

Harriet Klausner

I'm a long-time fan of the Lew Griffin series--some of the books are positively radiant, some get rather bogged down in sentimentality. But Sallis always writes exquisitely; his use of language is never less than beautiful. In order to make any sense at all of Ghost of a Flea, it's important to have read the previous books. Without those frames of reference, this book maunders along. It's a bit like reading in a roomful of candles that flicker if there's even the hint of a breeze. Yet every so often the air is still and the candle flames grow bright and what has been written springs to life, conjuring scenes and characters that are fully three-dimensional. Other times, it's difficult to follow the narrative thread. Past and present intermingle; characters are presented almost in the assumption that the reader is already aware of their context and therefore none is presented--which is why I think it's so important to have read the preceding books before approaching this one. Things happen seemingly at random; there are small mysteries to be solved, but they are secondary to the anthologies, the footnotes of Griffin's thoughts. This book is worth reading for the complex beauty of its language, but does not stand alone without the five companion books to assist in identifying the characters, their histories, and their ultimate impact on the central character. This is not a traditional mystery in any way. But it is very much worth reading for those moments when the light is full and everything suddenly springs to life.

Ok, no one is going to believe me, but I actually worked late one night for an Oil Tools Company that had purchased one of the properties in one of the stories. And, as a Computer Programmer was working there late one night. At about 1:00am? I went into the bathroom and the janitor came in and walked behind me exiting through another door. I thought that was the way out to the kitchen where the coke machine was...Empty toilet room. I searched the entire building thinking we had an intruder. No one around...but all the lights were on. (read the story)

I asked the other engineers the next day, 'Say, you guys ever see anything funny here at night?'. The room went silent, then one engineer asked me what happened. I explained. Then another engineer asked me, 'Mike? Didn't you know that this is one of the most haunted places in Louisiana?'. They told me about this book, and I ordered it, and afterward corresponded with the author. I knew the address which is not mentioned in the book, so maybe she believed me.

I never believed in Ghosts till that night...and I never again stayed there after 9:00pm, when the 'real' janitors went home.

I give this book 5 stars, cause at least one story? I KNOW is true!

MNeese
Houston, Texas

The way that this book it written is kindof hard to follow. It is a good book, though. Some stories are a bit "tall." A good addition to your paranormal library if you collect ghost stories of Louisiana.

These are no ordinary fictional stories that Ms. Word has made up. Each is real as told to her by people she interviewed in getting ready to write the book. Having been lucky enough to not only grow up in southern Louisiana but to have had the chance to see and visit some of the places she spoke of as well I know the stories to be true. It's worth your time to read this book. If you're a skeptic you won't be anymore by the time you're done with it.

Allright. Ghosts right? Not me, no way. There is no reason why any of us should belive in ghosts right? Wrong. In this book by Ms. Word, you do belive. The reason you do is because this book is REAL. There are no made up stories and like Ms. Word said, all stories she has recorded have been told by the good ol' folks of south Louisiana. I had the good fortune for Ms. Word to visit my elementary school when I lived in So. Louisiana and I was one of the few who bought a copy and had her sign it. Almost 8 years later, I still have this book and as I go through college, these stories still have a firm place in my mind. Even though I no longer live in Louisiana, I can still go back with her book.

I saw this book in the bookstore and it's really interesteng. So mesmerizing that I couldn't put it down (thus being late to work). I realized just how much I had missed on my first visit to New Orleans. I plan on going again in Spring and I'm taking this book as a guide of sorts. Full of many great odditites of New Orleans.

If you're going to New Orleans largely because you're a fan of Anne Rice's Vampire and Mayfair Witches novels, then this is an essential.

I used it on my first trip to New Orleans. It includes self-guided tours of the French Quarter and Garden District that include Vampire Chronicle and Mayfair sites respectively without leaving out the must-see unrelated sites and experiences. The only caveat is that zoo fans should be aware that the Audobon is one of the best in the country.

Three types of sites are covered - those related to Anne Rice herself, those used in - or speculated to have inspired locations in - the books, and those where parts of "Interview" were filmed.

With chapters on guided plantation, swamp and cemetary tours, as well as restaurants and hotels (the last including descriptions of ambviance that helped me considerably in my choice of hotel), you'll have everything you need to plan your trip and not miss anything like the Ursuline convent where Louis found Claudia and the Gardiner House that inspired the home that Lestat, Louis and Claudia shared.

Best of all, Ms. Dickinson wants us all to be careful out there in a city that can become ominous if you go too far off the beaten track sans tour group - especially at night. As she wittily reminds us, we're not all as indestructable as Lestat, and if an area - even one that contains an Anne Rice site - is unsafe, she doesn't hesitate to tell us so. Following her advice, you'll see everything you want to see and get home safe and sound.

I gave this to my wife as a gift before our recent trip to New Orleans, and she carried this book everywhere. While any book like this is a bit out-of-date as soon as it is published, it was still very useful for finding all the sites and giving us good background information. One important note though is that Anne Rice is selling off her doll collection and the orphanage, so there is no longer any tour. That was really a disappointment.

Last year, for Christmas 97 we had to go to New Orleans to see my father's family, I was having a a horrible time because of the weather. (We went the year before for Mardi Gras, the weather makes my hair go afro-y; it doesn't help to use your normal hair-care products.) We went to the French Quarter the day we were leaving and pow there was this cool book. I had to get it, I've read all of the Mayfair Witches books. I recommend it to anyone that's ever wondered about where their favorite characters lived.

This book is an absolutely astonishing achievement, and is most highly placed among my favorite books of any genre. Most readers will find this to be the finest book on the many historic buildings of the French Quarter, and for many reasons. First, the writing is superbly clear. One need not be an architectural engineer to understand the many fine points covered; believe me, with Mr. Vogt's writing, even we amateurs pick it up easily. One also need not be an historian to comprehend the intricate and detailed timelines involved; these are seamlessly integrated into the writing so that one learns the history naturally, as a matter of course, and a great many historical characters come vividly to life for our reading pleasure. Yes, the buildings described of are built of brick and plaster and colombage and other stuff, but to Mr. Vogt, they are also built from a heady infusion of cultures from many continents converging on a place called New Orleans to create an spicy mix of styles and traditions. In other words, to Mr. Vogt these glorious buildings, some now more than two centuries old, are not inanimate objects, but very, very much alive. Second, the outstanding pen and ink drawings are invitingly warm, showing these appealing buildings in a classic way that blends remarkably well with the written text. I've often found myself pleasantly studying one of the drawings (or perhaps just daydreaming) for several minutes at a time before resuming my reading. When first flipping through the pages of the book, one might be inclined to say that line drawings usually look pretty similar, but I would suggest there is considerable variety in Mr. Vogt's work. Artists should find his approach particularly interesting, with some subjects shown at night rather than in bright daylight, others after a rain, and so on. Take a closer look, and appreciate the artistry unique to each and every drawing.

I have now read this book several times (something I never expected to do when I first bought it), and each time find myself so deeply immersed in pictures and words it's as though I'm living altogether in another time and place. The book is that coherent, that illuminating, that much of a pleasure to enjoy. For anyone who thinks they might even be slightly interested in this subject, this is likely just the volume for you.

Mr. Vogt focused his work on the greatest American city of New Orleans, and that was surely enough to keep him happy for a lifetime. Would that he had had more time to complement this work with another on the early architecture of, for instance, whatever might remain in Biloxi, Martinique, Haiti, Cuba, and other antecedents and contemporaries of New Orleans as it was growing up. In the present volume, he gave us just enough to tease us. Perhaps a bright, enterprising scholar of architecture will be able to follow up some day; that would surely honor Mr. Vogt's lifetime achievements.

"Historic Buildings of the French Quarter" is highly recommended without the slightest hesitation to anyone who enjoys a truly fine book.

This book, as other reviewers have said, is about the architecture of the Quarter and the history that drove its trends and changes. It is an excellent book if you are interested in architectural details and some floor plans in historic buildings of the Quarter as well as typical buildings that would have been built there. If you want to learn about types of buildings in the Quarter, why the Quarter developed as it did and see line drawings of specific historic buildings, then this is your book.

If you want a glitzty photo book showing interior design of said buildings, this is NOT the book for you (thank God, like we need more of that!).

It is my hope that Lloyd Vogt branches out and produces a similar book in other areas with a distinct architectural heritage as it appears to me that most books that address this topic are of the interior design eye-candy type.

The New Orleans' historic French Quarter was founded in 1718 by the French, moved to Spanish control, and was home to generations of occupants who built grand ballrooms, courtyards, and Spanish structures. Historic Buildings Of The French Quarter uses black and white line drawings to blend history with architectural insights, illustrating building types and styles of different eras and profiling some sixty representative buildings. Students of either regional history or architectural history will find it revealing.

Founded by the French, developed by the Spanish and the West Indian Creoles, finally acquired by the United States, le Vieux Carre, the French Quarter, is sixty-six square blocks of solid history spread over nearly three centuries. Despite several desvastating fires, a surprising amount of early architectural history remains, and this lush volume of pen-and-ink drawings of buildings and floorplans is notable as both history and art. An introductory section describes the sources and development of vernacular architecture in south Louisiana, the roles of wrought iron, brackets on shotgun houses, and the courtyard plan, and the influence of each succeeding cultural overlay. Then, arranged into chronological chapters, Vogt describes in some detail more than forty structures and locations, both public, like Jackson Square (originally la Place d'Armes) and the U.S. Mint (erected in 1838 on the site of Fort San Carlos), to private dwellings, including the Peyroux House (built c.1780), the Bosque House (1795), and the La Rionda-Correjolles House (c.1810)-- with a full discussion of generic building types and styles for each period. How many visitors to the Quarter are aware that Pat O'Brien?s inhabits what was once the townhouse of planter John Garner, or that Preservation Hall was the home of Madame Fanchon, a free woman of color, from 1817 to 1866, or that the Le Carpentier House on Chartres was not only the home of novelist Frances Parkinson Keyes and the birthplace of Paul Morphy but also the site of a series of murders by the Italian "Black Hand"? A glossary and selected bibliography will also be useful to the student, though an index would have been very handy as well. The author is well known among students of New Orleans architecture; his _New Orleans Houses: A House-Watcher's Guide_, now in its fifth printing, has become the standard reference.

This collection is always startling, intensely amusing, and all-around wonderful. When my husband saw me doubling over with laughter and then heard me say, "Okay, listen to this," he knew I was going to read him a poem from _The House of Blue Light_. David Kirby deserves a wide, WIDE audience. I intend to order additional copies of this book for friends. Do yourself a favor and order a copy for yourself today.

I came to Kirby from the 2001 issue of BAP which included one of the poems from this book. Long lines, similar to whitman, ginsberg, or Campbell McGrath, very anecdotal in nature, funny, and insightful. My favorite poems in this were James Dickey's Dream, Tige Watley's Whoah, and My dead dad, but every poem is amazing. It's a quick read, very accessible, and after each poem you sit back and just think, wow. Kirby's one of my three favorite poets now, with McGrath, and at the opposite end of the spectrum, Kay Ryan.

I realized how much I liked this book when I found myself reading aloud poem after poem to my roomate, a psychology major, and her boyfriend, a physics major. I promised after each poem that it would surely be my last one. Then I'd come across a poem that contained an "Ah Oui Girl" or Roman Polanski and I'd be reading again despite that I had a sore throught and coughed every five lines. I brutally killed each poem, but when I finally put the book down, my roomate remarked that I should "leave the book lying around" so she can "read it sometime." I think what draws the reader into Kirby's poems is an interesting voice and humor, but what keeps the reader lingering is an unexpected twist, an unseen destination that brings the poem together, that makes the reader scratch his head and expel an 'aaaaah hmm.'

Refreshing to the era, David Kirby presents a narrative-reminiscent book of poetry that appeals to even those that are verse-shy. He is wonderful, with vivid descriptions and pertinent symolism that is many layers deep. My poetry teacher says that a good poem usually has at least three things going on in it...Kirby exceeds this and stil gives us an understandable and intellectual piece of work. He is an amazing poet, and this book is a must-have for anyone interested in poetry, life, fun, sex, food, travel, people or themselves. Get your hands on this one, and share it with your friends.

At the beginning of each poem, I wondered the purpose of the prose. It seemed to go nowhere, and it seemed like I was listening to an incoherent senile person. But at the end of each poem, the situations come together beautifully and every time, Kirby proves that instances that seem quite unrelated are actually deeply interconnected as part of the human experience.

Short and sweet this time--this is a gasser. Kirby has long been a literary favorite, but this is the collection that puts him on the map with Dunn, Collins, and Hirschfield. Normally, I try not to judge poetry collections by their awards, but in this case, the National Book Award should be a no-brainer (in fact, it has recently been nominated). If you love literary poetry that isn't short on soul, give this a run. If you hate poetry, this should be the first book you read--it might just come from the top ropes like Jimmy "Super-fly" Snooka, finish with a right cracking aesthetic elbow to the noggin.

This is my favorite book of poetry because it is literate, funny, and most important of all, accessible. In general, I'm not a fan of poetry. But Kirby makes it addicting and enjoyable and even sometimes laugh out loud funny. Worth every penny. Highly recommended.

I am not familiar with David Kirby's other works but I soon will be - nor have I encountered his style of writing that blends narrative story telling with poetic sensibilities. I feel as if I have discovered a new art form and a way of seeing the world that is colored with insight and whimsy - My Dead Dad is a great example: child like imagination with grown-up introspection. Thanks David Kirby!