Louisiana Books

I picked up Larry's Book, "Show me the way to go home", quite by chanceat a local book store. I was interested in Alzheimer's disease because my mother died from it a few years ago. I could not put the book down until I had read the last page. I read it again the next day and then again and again. Then I sat down and cried for a week. I found that I had fallen in Love with this handsome, dashing, man. If you have a friend or relative that is afflicted with this disease, you must read Larry's Book. He has achieved the impossible. He has given us an insight into the mind of person afflicted with this terrible disease. After reading his book and looking at his picture on the back cover, I feel that I know him well enough to call him Larry. Thank You, Larry, for your book and God Bless!Kathleen

This is a fascinating story actually written by an Alzheimer's patient in the early stages of the disease. Larry was diagnosed at age 54. This came after his getting lost on a trip, driving more than a hundred miles out of the way of the route to his destination before realizing it. Larry tries to see the good in this, writing that he has "more compassion for people, birds, deer, and the like" and he says "If when you read this book you feel a certain sadness...let yourself be sad, but not for me...I have had a good and prosperous life...Most of all, I have had the love of some beautiful people...and I have loved them, too."

My mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease at fifty years. I found Larry Rose's account of what was happening to be a wonderful way to relate to her in a way that she was unable to describe to me. This book will be a "hard to put down" account of daily life for those facing similar experiences along the way through this dibilitating illness that robs so much. Larry finds a positive light to shine on purpose in life and to keep on living. He is truly a courageous story that should not be missed. A big five star read with a human approach.

I bought this book shortly after my husband had been diagnosed with Alzheimers. At that time he was 54 - the same age as Larry Rose. I found the book to be helpful & giving us both a positive outlook after being told of this dreadful diagnosis. Larry Rose allowed us to see into his life, showing us so many things that we could recognise from dealing with our own day to day problems, and always writing with a sense of humour & dignity. This book has now been passed on to my family, enabling them to better understand my husbands emotions & feelings. It will be highly recommended to the people in my support group.

Rose poignantly describes his painful experiences of living midlife with Alzheimer's disease. He recalls the early warning signs and symptoms; the process of medical diagnosis and treatment; telling friends and family; coping with the confusion, fear and anger; and family involvement in decisions of property, caregiving and support. Personal quality of life issues are addressed as the author's awareness of the beauty in the ordinariness of life is increased through this experience. A highly individual, personal experience with universal appeal. Recommended for general public library collections.

I searched for hours for a coffee table book for a Christmas gift for a close friend who lives in TN but is from New Orleans. She told me she stayed up all night looking at it. When I gave it to her, she pointed out everything from local businesses to personal landmarks. More importantly, the pictures reflected a pre-Katrina city. They captured sites that she remembered but that don't look that way anymore. I would recommend this book for anyone whose heart is in New Orleans.

This is a gorgeous book full of information and amazing photos of some of the most prominent plantations that are on River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Some of the most amazing photos were from plantations that have all but been destroyed. I'd be really interested to see an updated version as some of these homes have been completely transformed since these photos were taken. Most noteably would be Houmas House and Laura which both in this book are nothing like their now restored selves. Regardless, this book is an excellent addition to anyone's plantation library or coffee table!

I was born and raised on the River Road. I have grown up and almost all of the wonders in this book. Nothing comes close to the accuracy and beauty captured in these photos. I would HIGHLY reccomend this book to anyone that would want to know or learn about the grand homes along the Mississippi and South Louisiana. This book is second to none in my rating. A MUST HAVE and a MUST OWN for EVERYONE!

This is a fantastic coffe table book. This book is all about the pictures, with interesting text to accompany each image. Pictures are loveley, colour and large. If you are considering buying a copy without the dustjacket- go for it, as the cover image is on the underneath as well.
A great addition to any bookshelf or coffee table, my family have all had a look!

I am fascinated with New Orleans and the River Road area and it's history .This has to be one of the best publications about this subject. Sexton seems to capture so much of it's history in the pages of this book, more so than any other author has. The photography is also wonderful and straight forward. I recommend it to any one who wants to learn more about southern Louisiana plantations.

A friend handed me a tattered copy yesterday. I finished this afternoon. It was superb. Rarely have a read a collection this compelling. Buy it, read it, and pass it on.

I read this book upon the recommendation of a clerk at Books Along the Teche in New Iberia, LA. J.L. Burke may be New Iberia's favorite son, but Tim Gautreaux offers much more to the reader. His dialogue and characters ring authentic. Each story is one you are glad to read, and "Easy Pickings" is a story you will remember with a smile and a chuckle for the rest of your life.

I just finished reading this book, and could start all over again. Gatreaux has a wonderful way of crafting a story with believable people. No matter where the reader is from, because of his character descriptions, it is easy to identify with these folks from Louisiana. Gatreaux's short stories evoked all kinds of emotions, but there were many places where I simply laughed out loud. The best thing about this book, is the ability of the author to depict flawed characters living flawed lives, who nonetheless experience redemption in various ways. I will be looking for more books by this talented writer.

This second collection of short stories from Tim Gautreaux is, perhaps, even better than the first. Of course, if you look inside the book and see who published the individual stories, it's obvious that they must be good; The New Yorker, Atlantic, and Esquire are not noted for publishing bad fiction.

While these are fiction, the stories ring so true to life and the lives of the characters, that we can all see ourselves in someone in this collection. Most of Gautreaux's stories have a touch of humor, but all show the depth of character that draws readers into the stories.

Anyone who reads these stories and enjoys them, should also read his novels. You'll find that same voice and an author you can trust, who will not betray your empathy for his characters.

Tim Gautreaux's writing is simply amazingly good. His characters are sublimely human, and he has a knack for finding the good in all of them - even those who might be a bit unsavory. He places them in situations that are ordinary and unique at the same time - and in those situations he finds ways to reveal things to us that allow us to learn more about ourselves. The characters learn about themselves as well, and this is a treasure to observe. The stories here deal with joy and sorrow and all of the areas in between. The people here are struggling to come to grips with their own families, with their work, with the people around them - and with the world in which they live.

In the title piece, a man attempts to assert more of a guiding influence on his grandchildren, and in the process winds up changing several aspects of his own life as well. His trials in striving to accomplish a task given him by his wife, while sitting with his grandchildren at the same time, is presented with some of the most genuine humor I've read in a while - but it's a gentle humor, and it never belittles the characters or the situation (and this finely-tuned humor is used to good effect in several of these stories, even the more `serious' ones.

`Misuse of light' is a moving portrait of a man who works in a camera shop learning about the lives of his customers through the small areas where their lives intersect with his. When someone sells a camera to his shop and he finds a roll of film in it, he develops it in order to get a glimpse into other lives. Opening this door can, as he learns, have jarring effects - on him as well as on the lives he enters. When he uncovers information that causes pain to the young woman who has sold him the camera, rather than abandoning his `study', he probes a bit further in order to get to a level in this past wherein she can find a bit of peace. It's something that makes the character endearing - it's a story to restore faith. Another story dealing with faith it `Good for the soul', in which a parish priest with a bit of a drinking problem, attempting to do a good deed (against his better judgment), runs afoul of both the law and his community.

`Easy pickings' details a rather inept thief's attempt to take advantage of a solitary elderly woman - rather than being a cakewalk, he finds that he's definitely bitten off more than he can chew. There's a great deal of the above-mentioned gentle humor in this tale - and Gautreaux delivers it with tender respect, never ridiculing his characters. `The piano tuner' is, like `Misuse of light', a finely-crafted work in which one character sets out to help another cope with the world - and does so with no expectations of any sort of reward. It's a good example of how those among us who are a little `different' can find their niche - and a gentle lesson in showing such folks more tolerance.

`Resistance' is another case of one human helping another - in this instance, an elderly man, a widower, sees a need and fills it. The little girl who lives next door is very obviously the victim of an abusive, drunk father. When the neighbor learns that her parents are unable/unwilling to help her with her science project, he takes on the task himself - and the light he creates shines not only into her dark life, but also into his own.

`Sorry blood' and `Sunset in heaven' both deal with aspects of growing old. In the former, an Alzheimer's patient is victimized by one of the lowest low-lifes you're liable to meet (and hope that you don't). In the latter, the plight of an old man similarly afflicted opens the eyes of a middle-aged man to the possibilities in his own life.

`Rodeo parole' is a frightening, surreal look at a desperate attempt by prisoners to be viewed in a more favorable light by the parole board - by making themselves sitting targets for a bull enraged by repeated electric shocks from prison guards. Its few pages explode with action.

My two favorites in this collection are `Dancing with the one-armed gal' and `The Pine Oil Writers Conference'. In the former, a man on the run from (or is it `to') himself meets a woman hitchhiker as he travels west from Louisiana. They're both looking for something - and neither is sure just what, although they think they know - and the `answers' they find aren't the ones they expect. It makes for a very interesting and revealing encounter - both for the characters and the reader. `The Pine Oil Writers Conference' is, for me, the gem of this book. Gautreaux has created the classic `riddle wrapped in an enigma' with this story - an aspiring writer (a minister) attends the conference, hoping to find out if writing fiction is `the thing he does best'. The short excerpt included in this story produced by the character for a conference workshop is so well written than it made me sorry there wasn't more of it.

I've never read anything by Tim Gautreaux before - but you can bet I'll be looking for his other short story collection (SAME PLACE, SAME THINGS) as well as his novel (THE NEXT STEP IN THE DANCE). This little book was a great discovery.

I had the pleasure of visiting with Raymond last week in Montana,and hearing him tell some of the stories that were not in the book was an interesting evening.

Even though I have lived in La. all of my life so many of the stories in the book I had never heard!Raymond brought them all to life.

Strother, a Texas bred Democrat consultant who served as a mentor to better known figures such as James Carville, recounts his experiences in the rough and tumble world of politics. In many hands, this could have been a very factual, dry and boring book. Luckily for the reader, Strother is an uproarious storyteller.

The son of a fervent union man in Port Arthur, Texas, Strother more or less falls into the political consulting business by default. He begins his career in Louisana, a hotbed of corruption and questionable ethics. Thru his journey, we relive his often painful and hilarious campaign experiences with country singer Jimmie Davis, Gary Hart and Bill Clinton.

Current politics are dirty business and not for the weak of heart. Idealists are often rudely discarded before they even realize what's happened. Strother considers himself a man of integrity in a profession that increasingly looks at such a trait as a weakness. He not only has to deal with Republican adversaries but underhanded tactics by members of his own party. Strother is honest in his analysis of his work and colleagues and spares no one including other Democrats who employed dirty tricks against his firm.

No matter what side your political beliefs fall, this is a good read if you want to understand how politics work behind the scenes.

Books about politics by insiders get most of the business right, but only Ray Strother tells you what it is really like to work in national politics in plain, unhyped prose.

Ray Strother's chronicle of the industry that brings us our leaders is fascinating. His story is also an "American Success Story". From the giants of the U.S. Senate includingRussell Long (recently passed) and Lloyd Bentsen to today's leaders in the Senate - Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln and Zell Miller - Strother has woven a tapestry of stories that enthral and make us consider our democracy.

This is a first-rate, fast-read of an industry that is seldom discussed but that brings us world leaders. Ad agency execs marvel at their brilliance but at the end of the day they sell sugar water to children. Strother has given an insight to a world seldom seen, but of importance to all of us.

Get the book - read it and pass it around. This is one of those books that flys below the radar but could become a movie.

happy reading

Raymond Strother's warts-and-all memoir of his life as a political consultant is a fun, must-read for all students of American politics. Strother's career began when there was still some innocence in campaigning, and winds up during the frustrating years of ego-driven hacks whose self-importance overshadows their candidates, to the detriment of government. Ray Strother's genuinity was formed the old-fashioned way: he grew up poor and learned to appreciate other people.

Strother's tales of Southern political skirmishes will entertain. He's a smooth storyteller who should write more, now that he's out of the maelstrom of the Washington kill-or-be-killed consultant circuit.

Caveat: I am a Republican, and although Strother's life has been spent around Democrats, his tales are compelling across the board.

Having grown up in New Orleans i have a love for it's history.i've heard about the story of Baroness and it caught my attention. i wasn't disappointed having read this book.

Having grown up in New Orleans and visiting the Pontalba buildings on many many occassions, I thought I knew a bit about the countess. This book has brought up many aspects of her life and the lives of her family that I was totally ignorant of. It is quite fascinating even though there are times when the pace is a bit tedious. It is a bit academic at times, but it is afterall a biography and not a work of narrative fiction. There are aspects in everyone's life that tend to be less than thrilling.
Regardless I will recommend it to my many friends, paticularly those who grew up in New Orleans.

Vella brings to life with splendid detail the life in New Orleans and Paris in the 1800's. Vella is unquestionably a tireless scholar who has dedicated much time and passion into assimilating an astounding amount of archival materials to bring to life the realities and sensibilities of the different ranks of the aristocracies. Sophisticated, realpolitic, Machiavellian. A wonderful work and a great read. This is how history should be written (for non-academia). Well footnoted & bibliographed.

Intimate Enemies: The Two Worlds of the Baroness de Pontalba, by Christina Vella, is one of the best books that I have ever read. I took Professor Vella's class at Tulane University in the Spring of 2000. This book was the basis of the class. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in thorough documentation of facts about a dynamic woman and her family, as well as two great cities, New Orleans and Paris.

Intimate Enemies: The Two Worlds of the Baroness de Pontalba, by Christina Vella, is one of the best books that I have ever read. I took Professor Vella's class at Tulane University in the Spring of 2000. This book was the basis of the class. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in thorough documentation of facts about a dynamic woman and her family, as well as two great cities, New Orleans and Paris.

Louisiana's Song is a wonderful book. Great for all ages. Once again, Kerry Madden takes you deep into the very heart of the Weems family and keeps you there! I found myself longing for more Weems stories!

Kerry Madden is a master at creating characters that existed in a real part of America - and allowing readers to understand the times and tribulations of a family in a time not too long ago. The importance of keeping recent history alive for young readers cannot be overstated. Real people, real problems, real characters that young (and old) readers can identify with and understand. Heartwarming, but not soft, Madden goes deep into the characters. This is the kind of book that keeps it real. The book stands alone, but to get the entire journey, start at Gentle's Holler.

This book can show about really good times and really hard times. It could definitely teach people that have an easy and carefree life about much harder times and much better times. It's adventurous and exciting, and if you love nature, this book is perfect for you.


Alexis...
8yrs. old

Louisiana's Song

In reading Madden's second book of the Maggie Valley series and of the Weems family, you find yourself lost in the story. At the end, you must return to the world of tv, canned music, microwaves, etc. Madden's stories of the beautiful Maggie Valley might well be set anywhere as a young girl struggles with her dreams and the reality of everyday life.

This series is a great read for middle schoolers, teenagers, and even to the more mature readers who just want to lose themselves in a time that was more peaceful, more in touch with nature, and families were closer.

Here's my general rule regarding sequels: If you can pick it up and read it through without knowing one teeny tiny detail about the previous book (and I am including the author's name in that statement) and still feel like it stands entirely on its own two feet, then that's a pretty good book, mister. And "Louisiana's Song" is a pretty good book. A soft novel. The kind of book for a certain kind of doe-eyed twelve-year-old girl, perhaps. Or maybe I'm just limiting the scope of the potential audience of this title. In "Louisiana's Song" you're dealing with personal loss, hardship, and disillusionment. The ending could have used a once over, but for the most part this is a strong title and one that is sure to become deeply beloved by someone out there somewhere.

All Livy Two really wants is for life to become "normal" again. Ever since her daddy got in that car accident all those months ago her life has been topsy-turvy. Mama is having difficulty getting ends to meet. Grandma Horace is always insisting that they leave their lovely mountain holler home in the North Carolina mountains to live somewhere industrial. But now it is 1963 and daddy is coming home at last! Surely everything will go back to normal now, right? Wrong. Having suffered severe head trauma from his accident, Livy Two's daddy needs to relearn everything about his old life slowly. To Livy Two's surprise, however, it's her quiet sister Louise that is able to provide daddy with the help he needs and who works up the courage to sell pictures to make money for the family. Will all that be enough to overcome Grandma Horace's campaign to get their mama a factory job and them into the city? Time will only tell.

It's funny that the hero of Ms. Madden's series is always Livy Two, but that the titles are always named after her siblings and not herself. It's probably the mark of the series that the heroine's tales always bear the name of her sibs and that she herself bears a name that serves as a constant reminder that she was not the first child named "Livy" in her family. This is a loving household, but one that gives its children certain weights to bear. At one point Livy Two's mama explains why she willingly had so many children. It was because their father wanted a big family and to live in the beautiful outdoors. Now he's been hurt and no money was put aside for his family in his absence. And when families are this large, it's the older siblings who get stuck with the brunt of the responsibility. Little wonder that Livy Two's older brother Emmett takes off the minute he thinks he can.

Madden gets the emotional quality of her story right. In fact, there are times when it feels like she's shooting you through with one feeling or another on the sly. Livy Two's daddy is a good example of this. When they bring him to a kind of fun park called Ghost Town to see his son, a faux gunfight breaks out. The next line reads that, "Daddy stops crying and watches the rest of the show from behind a post." We didn't even necessarily know that he WAS crying at that point. So really, in a way this makes me feel even more sorry for him than if Madden were giving you a play-by-play of all her characters' emotional states and actions. The same might be said for Grandma Horace. Since we're seeing all of this from Livy Two's perspective, we're not supposed to sympathize with her Grandma, but it's hard for adult readers not to see her point of view when she says, "Child, I'm sixty-one years old, and I'm surprised that this year has not put me in my grave." Her methods for getting the family to move to Buncombe County may be questionable, but you can understand why she'd want to give her grandchildren what she truly believes to be a better life. Admittedly, it was a bit precious for me at times. I'll acknowledge that. It's remarkably hard for an author, any author, to show sentiment without dipping into twee. For the most part Livy Two and Louise are able to give their younger siblings stories and fairy realms that feel of childish innocence. Other times it's a bit much for me, though I suspect that child readers won't mind a jot.

As I mentioned before, this book doesn't require any knowledge of its preceding novel, Gentle's Holler. Be that as it may be, there were a couple moments where I got a bit confused. There's someone named "Uncle Hazard", for example, who is not identified as a dog until you're onto page 12 and the barking begins. And if you're not a fan of series where the plot bleeds into its sequel, best that you avoid this book. I got to the end of the tale without a lot of the major plot points getting resolved and was shocked to suddenly find my nose in the Acknowledgments section. It's an odd choice on Madden's part, I'll admit. "Louisiana's Song" stands on its own right up until the end. Readers, particularly child readers, aren't fans of books that leave them hanging so I wonder if at least one of the dangling strings could have been resolved.

There's a class of sixth graders that comes into my library once or twice a month, and these kids have a huge range of tastes and preferences. I'd say that five or six of the girls, though, like a certain kind of book. They read Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voight, A Corner Of The Universe by Ann Martin, and Shug by Jenny Han. They eat these puppies up and then come to me asking, "Do you have any more of the same? Do you have anything EXACTLY like these books?" I don't, obviously. The best that I can do is to sloooowly introduce them to the notion of historical fiction. These are kids who prefer contemporary fare, but find the right historical novel with the right characters and emotions and they go to town. So the next time I see them, I'm going to have to booktalk "Louisiana's Song". It'll be right up their alley. The great characters. The feelings of love and frustration between siblings. Trying to strike out on your own. For a certain kind of reader, this is a book to love.

I first got this book through the library on a recommendation from the Book-A-Day Calendar series and after flipping through the pages I figured I'd buy, not one, but three copies for gifts. The combination of the three contributors to the book make for a great read, whether or not you've experience the French Quarter. The fact that all proceeds go toward the preservation of the French Quarter sealed the deal for me

This book is a treasure. The photography and text are super, and extremely enjoyable. When I get homesick I pick up "Embrace", having been a resident of New Orleans from 1978 to 1988.

Congradulations to Morgana Press for 2 fine books. My sister, jenniferporterartist.com did the illustrations for Morgana Press's 2nd book "Hearsay From Heaven and Hades" also by T.J.Fisher.

I'm proud to own both books.

Thank-you, Kristina

This beautiful book with a purpose deserves the 10 national awards it has won. It is poetic, haunting, poignant and touching. The prose and the pictures transport you to another place. Anyone who loves New Orleans will not want to miss having this book on his or her coffee table! But read it, too! The author won the PMA Benjamin Franklin Award 2007 for "Best New Voice Nonfiction" and the book also won the "Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book." A treat for all the senses, the eyes and the heart.

No ordinary coffee table photography book, "Orleans Embrace With The Secret Gardens Of The Vieux Carre" is a 388-page memoir of the New Orleans French Quarter featuring 49 historic black-and-white photographs and 320 full color illustrations. While the overall book draws from the previous work of Roy F. Guste, Jr., the photographs by Louis Sahuc are bonded with a personal and compelling narrative text by T. J. Fisher. Readers will encounter a work originally intended to be of local interest, but in a post-Katrina world, has emerged with universal attraction as a memorial and a motivation to restore a once great American city to its unique and original glory. Enthusiastically recommended, "Orleans Embrace With The Secret Gardens Of The Vieux Carre" will prove to be of immense interest to several categories of readership including: gardening enthusiasts, historians, architects, photographers, and anyone who has every walked along the avenues and admired the parks, gardens, and buildings of the New Orleans French Quarter.

WOW...what a big beautiful book! For anyone who has a connection to New Orleans...buy it...give it...treasure it...well written, throughly researched, amazing photos and layout...sure to be an award winner! Thanks for putting your heart into this volume!

Reading your book was like going home for a visit. I'm from New Iberia and have been to the statue of Evangeline. My son and his wife Jeanne' were married in the St Martin De Tours Catholic Church. My grand babies were baptised there! Jeanne's maiden name is Bienvenue, her mom and dad are Lennie and Fred. My husband and I moved to Vallejo, California eight years ago and reading your book made us sooooo home sick. I read it aloud to him for the first few days after I recieved it, then I got so home sick I had to quit. California would be alright if I could get some good crawfish and shrimp that tasted good. Ha! The crabs over here are the best, though, where else could you go to eat one crab that cost $30.00 at a place called The Dead Fish and go home full. Being a cajun you know that I had to eat every morsel When I started banging the legs with a knife I felt like the whole room turned to stare! Ha! Thank you for your book. I believe that I saw a second edition. I am looking forward to it! Thank you, Susan Bodin Gotcher

This is a great gift to give friends who are not from cajun country. I just ordered two more and realized I need a new one for myself. I have one of the first ones that came out and the new one is even better. Thanks Marcell for all the memories.

I've wanted this one for years, since I lived in N'Awlins for 15 years or so. Excellent cookbook with some great little vignettes into the life of the author.
Delivery was within the stated time period and I have no complaints.

Didn't really know about this cookbook, but loved the title. My mother was an amazing cook. Her Houma Indian ancestry prepared her for some of the best eatin' anywhere. I bought this cookbook because I wanted to expand my own repetoire of recipes. Easy to follow, replicate, and cook. I truly enjoyed the vignettes and feel that every cookbook should include the story behind the meal. I gave one for a birthday present to someone from South Louisiana and she loved it. Plus I kept one for myself. You don't have to be from above the Mason Dixon line to either buy it, use it, or cook from it. Highly recommend it.

I AM CREOLE AND I LOVE TO COOK. I NORMALLY DON'T USE COOKBOOKS, BUT ONE DAY I WAS AT MY SISTERS HOUSE AND I STARTED READING THIS BOOK. I SAW MYSELF AND MY FAMILY LIFE GROWING UP IN A LITTLE PARISH CALLED CHURCHPOINT. I COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN AND I LITERLY DIDN'T. WHEN I MOVED TO THE NORTHEAST I WAS DEVISTATED BECAUSE I COULD NOT FIND MY COOKBOOK NOT THAT I NEEDED IT ANYMORE I JUST WANTED IT. I AM SO GLAD THAT I WAS ABLE TO BUY THE BOOK AGAIN. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE THAT LOVES TO COOK AND WHO LOVE THE SIMPLE LIFE OF A CREOLE WOMAN.

Many died in battle, some early like Bernard Bee and some late like A.P. Hill. Others infamously, like Earl Van Dorn at the hands of a jealous husband.

Almost all were from the South but some, like John Pemberton, Josiah Gorgas and Samuel Cooper cast their lot with the CSA because they had southern wives.

Some had memorable names like States Rights Gist and Bushrod Johnson.

They came from all walks of life and many were trained and educated professional West Point graduates and others were talented amateurs like Wade Hampton and most notably Nathan Bedford Forrest. Perhaps the most able field commander in the west, Patrick Cleburne, was Irish born and had served in the British army.

Two personal favorites of mine are Richard Taylor and Alfred Mouton, a pair who did so much in defense of my home state of Louisiana. Taylor was son of President Zachary Taylor and Mouton, who was killed at Mansfield, was son of Louisiana governor Alexander Mouton. Mouton was born in Opelousas and did not speak English until he was a young man.

All these and many more are here in Warner's Generals in Gray. Almost fifty years after its first publication it is still the essential reference on the commanders of the CSA.

Like its companion volume Generals in Blue, Generals in Gray is an important resource for both the Civil War buff and the serious historian (which is not to say that the two can't be one and the same!). In this volume, which was actually written before Generals in Blue, author Ezra Warner has written the biographies and rustled up the photos of all the general officers confirmed by the Confederate Congress, and a handful of those who weren't for one reason or another.

There were 425 men who served as Confederate generals. Nearly one-fourth of them died in the war. Boy generals, men promoted before they reached the age of 30, were plentiful, and nearly half of them were killed on the battlefield. Looking at their photographs, one can scarcely fathom the experiences they endured at such young ages. They look like college lads.

Several of the generals profiled by Warner especially stand out for me. There's William Flank Perry, for example, the philosopher-general, who enlisted as a private in 1862 and was commissioned a brigadier in the war's final months. After the war, he taught philosophy at Ogden College in Kentucky until the turn of the century. There's Alexander Reynolds, who at war's end entered the service of the Khedive of Egypt, and so must've known the tragic Federal General Charles Pomeroy Stone, of Ball's Bluff infamy, who did so as well. There's General John McCausland, who with his huge handlebar moustache and heavy eyebrows looks for all the world like Yosemite Sam of cartoon fame. And there's the boy general Thomas Benton Smith, a youngster whose fate breaks my heart. After he and most of his brigade surrendered during the Battle of Nashville, a Federal colonel tried literally to beat Smith's brains out. His brain exposed, in a coma, Smith was expected to die. But he somehow survived, only to spend the rest of his life, some 48 years, in an insane asylum.

.....but this one sure is. The Civil War is still a current event for many of us. For four long years, both sides were carried by their armies, and led by their Generals. Now, lots of us know about Lee and Jackson, but there were a total of 425 Confederate Generals over the course of the war, and some even I've never heard of. Of these, 299 were serving as General Officers at the end. A total of 77 were killed in battle; the rest died of natural causes, resigned, got fired, etc., etc.

They're ALL here, at least the ones that we can't argue about whether they were really a General. [There are others about whom we can argue, for various reasons--a separate book has come out in recent years...see "More Generals in Gray"]. While Lee has has more biographies than I can count, and many have at least one, for most of these guys, this is all we've got. Here we get pictures, pre and, where appropriate, post war careers, grave sites, and a study of just what the man accomplished [or didn't]. Robert E. Lee gets three and a half pages, but all get a good write-up.

They were a varied lot: six General Lees, six Jacksons, eight each of Smith and Walker. Professional soldiers, lawyers, politicians, even three preachers [Polk and Pendleton, you know; read this and find the third]. Some were heroic, some were drunks, a few were both. Some brilliant, some inept, one or two both. The post war lots of the survivors were as various as the men; poverty and wealth, glory and apostasy, and all points in between. Trivia: Who was the ONLY Confederate General born in Texas? Who was the last living Conferderate General? ONE man answers BOTH questions. [OK, I'll give it to you...Judge Felix Huston Robertson of Waco died April 20, 1928]. The very first American Indian to wear General's stars AND the last General to surrender...he's here, in all his glory.

I can go on all day. The late Ezra Warner, Illinois native and California investment counsellor, published this in 1959...it needs to stay in print forever. While I've had this, and the companion "Generals in Blue", for years, only recently has a trade paperback made it readily available, and affordable. A "thank you" to the publisher, and a huge, everlasting, "THANK YOU" to Mr. Warner.

This book is a must for any Civil War buff. Learn the good, bad and the ugly about all general officers of the army of the CSA. I keep this book, and its companion, Generals in Blue, handy when I am reading historical accounts of battles of the Civil War. How often, while you are reading, have you yearned to get additional information on a particular general? These books are perfect to provide more information, when you want it.

I remember first reading Generals in Gray as a teenager and have often referred back to the book over the years.

Warner gives a synopsis of each general , usually containing the following information:

1. Birthplace and birthdate.
2. Pre-Civil War life.
3. Battles served in, promotions, woundings, death (if applicable).
4. Postwar career (if he survived the war).
5. Death and place burial.
6. Brief mention of the general's competency (or lack thereof).
7. Relationships with other generals (superior, subordinate).

I have often found the book to be extremely helpful when reading a book on a particular Civil War battle. Doing so helps me to better understand the general when studying a particular battle.

Whether you have a serious interest in the Civil War or a novice, I highly recommend the book as an excellent reference!

I flatout loved this book. Chappell's novel of quirky tales flows with humor and touching insights, a work of subtle mastery. Everything about it seems right: the understated yet lyrically precise prose; the easy-leaning pace; the eccentric characters, especially the visiting uncles; the curious yearnings of an adolescent narrator; the grounded, homespun values of Southern lore.

In the title of another reviewer, this book is a keeper. As Stephen King said (and I agree), life is too short to reread many books; however, this is one that deserves to be reread. It's that good.

Clearly, Chappell's a man who savors the humor and language of life, a writer who crafts a tale of beguiling beauty. He writes sentences of such grace that I'm reminded of Anne Tyler.

Read this book and enjoy the magic. Chappell is an artist who knows what he's doing.

This, the first in Fred Chappell's tetralogy of books about Joe Robert Kirkman and his family, consists of ten stories about ten-year-old (at the start of the book) Jess Kirkman's encounters with four of his mother's relatives, the live-in hired hand on the Kirkman farm, and some of their neighbors. Chappell's narration veers from straightforward fiction to fantasy, telling of the gusto and humor with which Joe Robert meets life. I found myself laughing out loud and slapping my knee at some of the passages, while being touched deeply by the novel's underlying theme of belonging to a family, a place, and a tradition.

Called a novel, "I Am One Of You Forever" is really a collection of short stories that are unified as the adventures of a 14 year old boy growing up in the mountains of western North Carolina. These stories cover the spectrum of human experience; love, tragedy, the supernatural, family, comedy. All the stories are made magical by the observations of the especially well-read and intelligent young narrator/persona.
Easily one of the funniest books I've ever read, I think I rarely went more than a page without a good laugh. The book also has some of the most poignant passages I've ever read, those dealing with the death (always a dominant theme in Southern literature).
A well-written book, Southern through and through, and appropriate for young teen-agers as well as adults. The book's title serves as the answer to a question posed as the story's last line, thus giving the book a wonderful circularity. Read this book; you won't be sorry.

This novel, really a series of interconnected short stories about a boy growing up in western North Carolina in the 1940s, is my favorite so far by North Carolina's poet laureate Fred Chappell. The prose is simple, the characters are vivid and colorful, and the stories have depth. Chappell's style works best when the stories follow believable plot lines; his penchant for tall tales sometimes falls flat. I especially could have done without the chapter entitled "The Beard," even though I could see the metaphor Chappell was attempting to capture in that story. Other than that, I thought the book was sincere, funny, and often breath-taking. The finest moment for me was the chapter "The Wish," which encapsulates everything I would like to say myself about life in the Southern Appalachians. The book is worth reading just for that one chapter. I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys the works of such writers as Tony Earley, Charles Frazier, Robert Morgan, Kaye Gibbons, and Wilma Dykeman, although Chappell is funnier than all of them. Think a modern Mark Twain.

I read this book originally for a class in college--so I went into reading it thinking "ugh."

But not only did I love it--not only did it make me laugh, cry, roll my eyes, and a range of other emotions--but when I shared it with the rest of my family, they had the same reaction. All of us have read it, it's that good (and we don't usually agree on what's good). It is full of tall tales and mischief and is a fabulously, fabulously amazing book.