Louisiana Books

This is simply a wonderful volume of poetry. Cushman has a low-key conversational voice and is immediately accessible. But there are layers of meaning in his work. He uses a number of poetic forms brilliantly and he uses them to good thematic effect. There are terrific poems about marriage, about children, about war and violence, about faith, and about nature. The individuality of the poet comes through very well as does his ability to connect with the lives of others.

I went through a great deal of trouble to get my hands on this book after reading an excerpt in another book. I was so drawn by the glimpse I had of the main characters that I set out to find a copy, even though it was listed as 'out of print'/'out of stock' in most bookstores, and online. I was finally able to get a copy from a used bookstore (online via Amazon), and was rewarded for my tenacity with a beautiful, funny, and moving story! I absolutely loved 'Dark Shines My Love' - it's not every day one has the good fortune to read such an excellent story of a blind hero and a spunky, loving, and patient heroine. Blinded as a result of an accident when he was a child, Padric LeClerc has been locked in darkness and emotional pain for years; he held the world at arms length, and fed the local rumour that he was a dark, dangerous, and bitter man. Fleeing an abusive marriage, along came Callie and her small son, and their little kitten, looking for work & a safe place to heal, and finding this beautiful but wounded soul living in darkness, with only his memories for company. Afraid of being hurt again, he lashes out at all who comes near - but Callie, herself a survivor and recognizing his inner pain, sees the true man behind the mask, and sets out to 'show him the light' so to speak. Between Callie, her son, and the kitten, Padric does not stand a chance! Slowly oh so slowly the man comes out to play...and finds the unexpected! What a beautiful, moving, elegant story. Even the villain, the hated ex-husband, bent on destruction of Callie's new found independence and growing happiness, is memorable, for he is not your typical abusive husband, no 'beer gut' & stained clothing here - he comes, in fact, from the 'right' side of the tracks ($$$$)! If you can, get a copy of this book and prepare for it to make its way into your heart and on to your 'keeper shelf' - it's on mine! Thank you Ms. Hart!

Natural science ideas had an impact on philosophy and religion. Progress in science undermined the static view of nature held by both Christians and deists. The methods of science extended the study of man and society. The belief in the divine inspiration of the Bible had been under attack for more than a century prior to Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIES. The response of Christianity to evolutionary biology, comparative religion, and biblical scholarship was varied. In the Protestant world there is no central authority. Lyman Abbott contended the sacred authors apprehended truth gradually and imperfectly.

In the 18th and 19th century there was a general decline in theology. Revelation according to John Baillie is not a body of supernaturally-communicated propositions but a series of events of God's disclosing. Inspiration is the divine illumination. In Darwin's time natural theology was in high vogue. In William Paley's NATURAL THEOLOGY (1802) there was a conviction of the permanence and wise design of the world. At the same time, paleontology and geology were giving rise to the view of perpetual change. Darwin's belief in God as the creator slipped slowly away from him. Henry Ward Beecher was confident evolutionary science would provide a basis for natural theology.

Karl Barth rejected natural theology and evolutionary modernism. Paul Tillich erased the distinction between revealed and natural theology. Etienne Gilson claimed that science describes what natural things are. Catholic thought distinguished between scientific theories and philosophical views. To Henri Bergson and William James the universe was a dynamic flux. To Alfred North Whitehead ideas of organism served to correct ideas of mechanism when considering universal processes.

Modern biologists generally do not care for theistic explanations. R. A. Fisher and Theodosius Dobzhansky both emphasized the creative aspects of organic evolution. Chance may determine combination, but there is necessity of mutual reactions to the whole ecological situation. Father Teilhard de Charden attempted to cast evolutionary theory into Christian perspective.

Comte, Rousseau, and Marx all developed theories of social evolution independently of theories of biological evolution. In the work of Herbert Spencer social evolution is linked to organic evolution. Both Darwin and Spencer had to face the problem of measuring progress in social science. Early in the 20th century a strong reaction set in against social evolutionism. Cultural evolution has been propounded by Alfred Louis Kroeber and others. Kroeber's anthropology distinguished between the historical and the scientific approach.

Although one might expect the profile of this book to be a light read, it readily renders a comprhensive essay on Dave Treen.

This book, quite simply, provides the most comprehensive coverage of Huey Long's death available anywhere. Updated with new evidence from the 1992 Starrs investigation. The book thoughtfully presents a chronology of events from both sides, Dr. Weiss and Huey Long. The reader is presented with all of the facts and encouraged to draw his own conclusion. The beginning of the book offers a brief overview of Huey Long's life.

Kelly Cherry has always brought poetry alive for me. In her way of writing, Cherry cuts to the core of human understanding in as clear a way as possible. Cherry's newest collection, Death and Transfiguration: Poems, is no exception. Breath taking, painful and searching, the collection is an exploration of the darker moments in human experience, rendered in sensitive, rich, and refreshing thought, passion, and language. These poems are urgent, crucial contributions to our understanding of such moments, and our understanding of the power of poetry. Those readers familiar with Cherry's poetry know she writes through those subjects considered not conquerable (death, love, God). Yet, where many poets fail under the intellectual and emotional weight of such subjects, Cherry masters each with skillful intent. Diction is sharply crafted, metaphors are clear and beautifully created, and language and meter choice make Cherry's poetry sing like the strongest and saddest of songs.

This third novel in the series finds Pete Brady really out of his element. It was one thing to work a story back in the day in New Orleans along some bayou and watch for folks. It is another thing to sit in a deer stand as a light rainfalls and wait for some unsuspecting deer to wander by. Brady isn't a hunter, has no ambition to be one, but hunting is a major way of life in Troy, Louisiana.

To be part of the community, something that he has struggled with since taking over the local newspaper known as the "Troy Parish Express" he has to hunt. Pressured by Sheriff Matt Garitty to come hunting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, this will be his first hunt. As it will be for Matt's teenage son, Scotty. While both have taken the shooting course, Scotty has been taught from a young age the responsibility of gun use as well as he has been shooting at targets the last 3 years.

Then, the unthinkable happens.

Scotty shoots and is convinced he hit a deer that vanished into the underbrush. Instead of the expected downed deer, the three hunters find a dead man. Dwayne Elkins was shot in the face with the round exiting through his skull. All the evidence seems to indicate that Scotty shot and killed him. Something Matt can't believe. As his family rocks under the strain, Matt asks Pete to investigate what happened. Matt knows what his people in the department can do and he knows what Brady can do. Brady has a history of getting results. And for himself as well as his son, Matt has to know.

Released in 1991 this third novel in the Peter Brady series features a man still deeply conflicted with his past as well as his present. Brady is trying to accept that his life has changed and gotten better, but the recrimmation over his past as well as his own paranoia still drive many of his actions. What can be a blessing in some areas can also hinder one tremendously in others. While he is aware of this internal conflict and working on it as best he can, he still damages himself in ways that he seems almost powerless to stop.

Like the other books in the series, this book opens slowly allowing readers to get to know the characters before the crime happens. Once it happens, the case is worked slowly and methodically with little forensic help and lots of shoe leather. Those looking for high tech solutions where every thing is solved in 30 minutes or less won't be happy here.

Instead, this follows the other books in the series in being a character driven read containing a complex mystery. Action is limited as is the humor. Instead the focus is on the people of Troy, LA and their day to day lives. The result is another very good read and one worth searching for.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2008

Anyone familiar with Colonial Williamsburg will want to learn about this period of its history. Major Civil War figures such as McClellan, Longstreet, Sumner, and Pickett were present, yet the details of the Battle of Williamsburg and the lengthy occupation of the town by Union forces are not widely known. This book compiles the facts and tells the story with excerpts taken directly from the memoirs, journals, and newspaper accounts of those who were there. This is not a fictionalized novel. The movements of the troops are well chronicled, and it is interesting to read the various perspectives on the strategic importance of the Battle of Williamsburg. Anyone interested in Civil War history will treasure the details offered in this book. In my mind, the images of the town's honorable aspirations and its historic significance as represented by the College of William and Mary, Bruton Parish Church, the Mental Asylum, and the care offered the wounded of both sides, were graphically contrasted with the harsh realities of slavery, and a bloody war.

They say that when it comes to politics, the House is for offense, the Senate is for defense. That was true around the time of the Missouri Compromise, where the South feared a loss of parity in the Senate, to the Civil Rights era, where Southern senators stalled efforts to pass legislation friendly toward African Americans. In this insightful analysis of Southern politics, Keith Finley explores the efforts by Dixie's senators to delay the passage of civil rights measures. His story begins in 1937, when senators sought to block an anti-lynching bill, to 1965, when the U.S. passed the Voting Rights Act. Finley shows that senators ultimately did not think they could defeat civil rights reform, but they were convinced they could delay it indefinitely. To bolster their efforts, they used arguments that claimed black and white people were naturally inclined toward a separation of the races, which suggested the inherent wisdom in the existing Jim Crow laws. Segregation eventually collapsed, but not for want of effort on the part of Southern senators. They believed action in Congress, not at the state level (which was plagued by race-baiting demagogues), could best maintain de jure segregation. Dr. Finley's well-research and cogently argued book is must reading for people who want to understand the ideology of white opposition to civil rights legislation as well as the racial attitudes of white Southerners in general in the mid-20th century.

This history of a river swamp that threatens to capture the Mississippi is a wonderfully balanced and thought-provoking account of engineering conquest and the politics of public works. Published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through the indiscriminate Government Printing Office, the publication stands apart from the usual history-as-public relations effulent from agencies such as the Corps. DESIGNING THE BAYOUS, a work of scholarship despite the in-house publication, moves well beyond agency ego. Topics include the history of the Mississippi River, flood control and navigation, environmental assessment, interagency squabbles, scientific contributions to river engineering, and the unintended consequences of technological progress.