Louisiana Books

It seems from reading this book that Poe spent as much time writing on how to write than he did writing. Alot of this book is hard to understand,especially when Poe descends to personal attacks where he seems pedantic.Other times he is crystal clear as when he compares poems to music,"they must appeal both to sound and image to be truly great".As you read this you can't help but notice the 2 Poe's,one the sensitive accomodating philosopher at peace with the universe and the other,shall we say,Mr. Hyde,and another, the Poet who could envision scenes of beauty using phrases and metaphors as fragrant as a bouquet of flowers.And, as lost as a fall from a precipice,all boxed in a crimson velvet coffin.Could alot of Poe's nastier pieces not be the result of a swift deadline for a book critique mixed with a night(or 2 or day and night)of carousing and indiscretion?Maybe a shot of Bourbon mixed,with a bad mood,and an injurious slight to the ego by a perceived underling?That could set anyone off.Fortunately for Mr. Poe,he could back up his criticisms with works of his own while the writings of most of those he criticized,well,I can't recognize any of the names Dr. Jacobs cites as victims of Poe's wrath.Except the "God ,love them" New England transcendentalists.Sooner or later, one way or another, everyone comes "out of the woods"then a person would still have to take a good look at themselves and they may find a dark corner or two(or three)alluded to by Poe.You will laugh as you read this book at some of Poe's critiques,but others will throw you back in astonishment,like the bite of a heavy caliber slug.But most of his critiques were positive although there is truth that Poe at times indulged in literary revenge if slighted.There is also a recognizable attempt at honesty and professionalism in his critiques.Then you might also find it mildly amusing,but no doubt not amusing to Mr. Poe as he apologises to the offended in order to keep his job on the journalists' staff.Right now i can go and rethink my review and tommorrow change it and delete items that might compromise me,that's the advantage of electronics. Poe didn't have that,imagine how many times he wished he could have toned down his articles,but how can one stop a printing press that's spitting out 200 copies per minute.that's why daily's will never be literature. and indiscretions encourage alcoholism to try and forget.In the forefront of his thoughts no doubt, the concern for providing for his family and not wishing to impose his discomforts,due to his avowed vocation,on them.He must have felt like hop-frog numerous times only hop-frog did what Poe could only do in his imagination.But it must be realized from this book that Poe was a serious critic, offering his theory on how to write effective short stories and poems and then putting his theories into action with such works as the Raven and The house of Usher. At times though his theories seem so hard to understand that a read of one of his short stories is alot better than one of his theories.Plato and Byron ,mixed with the Marqui de Sade,what an interesting combo,there's one a person won't see again. Thanks for dr. Jacobs for pointing this out.The book is also filled with memorable quotes like,"to coin one's brain into silver upon demand,is a task in which no one would envy" this quote is in regard to working at a periodical and having to produce on a daily basis "words" that someone will buy.Poe offers his theories on the short story and predicted that it will if not replace the novel,it will at least be equal in importance.He also disects alot of novels showing how some of them are nothing more than a short story,projected into infinity ad nauseum.Mr. Poe,considered Dickens a genius but even Charles doesn't escape Poe's disections.This would be a good book to read if a person wanted to write and avoid some of the more glaring errors involved.But it's main importance is it puts a microscope on Poe's work instead of on Poe and explains Poe's genius.Poe often seems to contradict himself in his discourses on aesthetics,and one does want to be careful,when criticizing anothers art,and Poe is too often brutal.

Dante Germino makes an invaluable contribution to a sustainable notion of the open society, demonstrating connections as Raghavan Iyer did in Parapolitics and very few others have done, between contemporary sacred or even agnostic humanism and classical notions of politics. Dante Germino draws at once upon his close reading of Eric Voegelin's work in political philosophy and explores new ground in reconceiving the notion of an open society that is not historically idiosyncratic to the modern era as was Karl Popper's notion, but stated in terms of the human spirit that are universalizable to any human epoch. Strongly recommended as an intellectual resource for challenges likely to be with us throughout the 21st century.

For those wishing to understand how the choice to secede came about in a state where elitist planters did not dominate the political process (as in South Carolina) this is an excellent book. Thornton clearly shows that secession was a product of populist Jacksonian democracy in Alabama, providing an alternative to the view that only slaveholders supported disunion. Alabama's politics were marked from the beginning by class conflict between the yeomanry and planter class, and politicians learned early to exploit these tensions for political gain. Parties fought to outdo each other in labeling the other side as "elitist" aristocrats who would subvert the rights of freemen for their own selfish interests. This line of argument set the stage for the development of state's rights theory in Alabama, as promoters of internal improvements, banks, and social reform were often portrayed as elitist cabals. However, state's rights arguments were often little more than sophisticated versions of the election demagoguery that characterized debate over all the state's political issues.

Lack of policy-making expertise and the necessity of courting public approval often led the state's legislators to enact laws that hurt Alabama's long-term development. Forged in the Jacksonian era however, the electorate did not accept the Jeffersonian ideal of deferring to their betters in matters of policy, and regularly removed legislators who did not hew to the voters' instructions. Prior to the 1850s, most Alabama voters were not directly involved with the market economy, and were thus less likely to be affected by national economic and political policies, as well as less aware of the character of Northern opinion regarding slavery. Secessionist fire-eaters therefore enjoyed little support during the nullification and secession of 1850 crises, but their arguments gained respect during the 1850s as phenomenal economic growth drew more people into the market and its attendent insecurities, as well as making them more aware of the power of the federal government and the strength of the abolitionists.

Prosperous times and the marginalization of the Whig Party decreased the number of significant issues of disagreement among Alabama's politicians, leaving them in search of an issue to demagogue for political gain. The fight over Kanasas allowed them to portray northerners as elitists who would deny southern men of their rights and reduce them to the status of slaves. Such an argument gained creedence even among non-slaveholders because of the state's long populistic rhetorical tradition, which had convinced the yeomanry that elitist villains seeking to reduce their rights were always afoot, and could be defeated only by political supermen fighting for the rights and values of the electorate.

The southern rights argument clearly resonated among the yeomanry, particularly among those most affected by new economic uncertainties. In both the Presidential election of 1860 and the subsequent election of delegates to the state's secession convention, voters overwhelmingly chose candidates who supported secession or who would do so as long as Alabama would be joined in secession by other states. While Thornton's argument could be more thoroughly reinforced by exploring social factors that led the yeomanry to support secession, his argument for a hyper-democratic political tradition abetted by demagoguery and voter ignorance as a cause of Alabama's decision to quit the Union is quite persuasive.

This is a masterful analysis of the Reconstruction Act of 1867, its predecessor civil war legislation, and how all of it came into being. This legislation was some of the most influential and contentious ever passed by Congress. It essentially set about to punish the American South for secession and to ensure that the Republican Party gained a semi-permanent hegemony as a result of victory in the civil war.

Between 1863--when Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation--and 1867--when Congress passed its most sweeping Reconstruction Act--the nation was reshaped through these actions. They proved the culmination of a series of laws and constitutional amendments that ended slavery and granted citizenship to former slaves, confiscated Confederate property, and set a strident set of requirements for readmission of the Southern states to the Union. To explore this period Donald employs sophisticated statistical analysis and finds that Republicans usually were radical in their perspectives when they could afford to be, and more moderate when their political base was weakest.

In essence, David Donald found that even if a northern congressman opposed slavery the mandate from his electoral jurisdiction controlled his ability to espouse antislavery ideals. "The more solid his support the more radical he often was" (pp. 6-7), Donald concluded. Consequently, men such as Thaddeus Stevens or Charles Sumner, both of whom had the avid support of their constituents, could dare to be radical.

On the other hand, in spite of his personal antipathy toward slavery, Abraham Lincoln was at first moderate in his public statements because he could not afford to compromise his questionable popular base of support as president. Lincoln recognized that his administration's ability to hold the nation together in the wake of Southern secession was dependent upon his walking a narrow path of acceptability to a coalition of factions with sometimes divergent beliefs about the slavery issue. Without sufficient support for his leadership his position as president would be undermined and he would never be able to accomplish anything worthwhile. In spite of personal desires, it was a question for Lincoln of first things first.

Accordingly, only when the tenor of the nation shifted did Lincoln act to abolish slavery by executive order. At a fundamental level this pragmatism represents the essence of American politics and David Donald acknowledges its central place in the history of the nation's political system.

Enter the hearts of a man and a woman, newly married and swallowed like a drunken night on Bourbon Street in the dangerous criminal world of New Orleans. Ruffin's power lies in his ability to use incredible imagery entwined with an amazing storytelling ability to hook his reader and slowly unwind the tale to its dramatic finish. You will be hooked, and you will not be disappointed.

I had the fortune of hearing Ruffin speak live in his hometown of Columbus, MS during a book reading and interviewing him for a newspaper story. His skill live convinced me to read his written work. He is an incredibly talented writer I grow to increasingly appreciate the more I read.

The editors of "Porchtalk" have given us the sound of Gaines's voice, just as he has given readers the sound of Miss Jane Pittman's warm and human voice. In "Porchtalk" we become more familiar with the author who charmed Oprah Winfrey's audience earlier this year. Everyone who has read one of Gaines's novels will want to own this book because of what he tells us of his own background and his artistic values.

There are Seven Hundred and Eighty-Five pages in this very thick book, over a thousand recipes. And they are down home Southern finger-lickin' good. However, if low fat is what you're looking for, better look somewhere else. No fancy photos in this book either. And the sparse artwork, what there is of it, is cheesy, like the cover. In fact the cajun chef on the cover kind of looks like Saddam Hussain. And boy this book is heavy, you could knock out a robber baron with it.

But as I said above, follow the recipes and you'll be cooking up food that's good to eat. Sure, a lot of the recipes are pretty basic, but there are lots of surprises here too. Basically this book was compiled by, and I'm guessing here, dozens, if not over a hundred, different woman on the Councils of Louisiana Telephone Pioneers of America, each woman contributing her favorite recipe or recipes.

I'm a cookbook junkie, so when I ran across this book at a garage sale in Portland, I had to have it. I don't know how it got all the way up here, but I'm glad it did. If you collect cookbooks, as I do, or are always on the lookout for a different way to prepare an old favorite, then pick up this book if you can find it.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

John Farrenkopf's _Prophet of Decline_ fills a gaping hole on a controversial historian. Farrenkopf effectively shows the greatness and magnitude of Spengler's thought while keeping a critical eye throughout the book.

Farrenkopf's prose is crisp and fluid - certainly a complement to the rigidity and obtuseness that is typical of Spengler. Farrenkopf goes to great pains to not only dispel certain lingering myths about Spengler (specifically, that he was a Nazi sympathizer) but also to familiarize the reader with Spengler's influences (especially Ranke) and his more obscure works. As it is impossible to understand Spengler without a larger understanding of the historicism (and Goethe) that permeated his worldview at the time, this contribution is long overdue.

Farrenkopf also devotes quite a bit of time to Spengler's obscure political phase. While certainly an authoritarian conservative, Spengler was certainly no Nazi - he viewed Hitler as a man more "of the people" than a "leader of the people." While Spengler did find court with the Nazi regime during its early years, it appears that it quickly lost interest in him. In fact, Hitler made a reference to "Decline of the West" in one of his speeches - stating unequivocally that he was opposed to the book's thesis!

The book ends on a tragic note as the reader comes to terms with Spengler's "ultra-pessimistic" view of reality. There is no saving culture, Spengler says - we must all come to terms with the fact that our culture will extinguish itself, just as our own lives will eventually wither away. Coming to terms with the true implications of Spengler is not an easy task - especially when one considers that one of the few things Spengler got wrong was his glacial timeframe for predicting the demise of the West. However, foreknowledge of impending doom may lead to potential greatness: in the end of Spengler's _Man and Technics_, he implores us to heed the following words: "We are born into this time and must bravely follow the path to the destined end. There is no other way. Our duty is to hold on to the lost position, without hope, without rescue, like that Roman soldier whose bones were found in front of a door in Pompeii, who, during the eruption of Vesuvius, died at his post because they forgot to relieve him. That is greatness. That is what it means to be a thoroughbred. The honourable end is the one thing that can not be taken from a man."

In close, _Prophet of Decline_ is an excellent, timely, and long overdue contribution to the study of a man that may yet prove to be the West's greatest seer.

Malone writes a biography of the well-known New Orleans reform Rabbi Max Heller of Temple Sinai, beginning with his life in Prague and ending with his death in 1929. Malone examines Heller's family, education, career, travels and ties to the communities in which he lived. Alongside the biography of Heller is a story of the American Jewish community during his lifetime, touching upon such topics as would befit a Rabbi of a major synagogue in America: the Reform movement, Zionism, the New Orleans Jewish community, and immigration. Also, the growth of racial beliefs that affected the Jewish community's identity with and acceptance in a Southern community which was defined upon racial and caste grounds is also much discussed. Malone does an excellent job of giving the reader an "actual feel" for the person Max Heller. Between sharp letters to and from his wife while Heller was in Europe to pictures of him working the land in Palestine, Malone carefully outlines Max Heller the activist, the family man, the community leader, the Rabbi, and the Zionist.

As Malone's dissertation, this book is extremely well researched and the sources of evidence are varied and credible. However, Malone does not discuss some of the larger aspects of her scholarly research. Mainly, Malone does not discuss how the environment of New Orleans helped shape Heller's career. Malone argues that Heller's public stance on controversial topics put him at odds with his congregation and community. Yet, why was Heller not fired, as would have occurred in other Jewish communities? The answer lies in a comparison of the relationship of the community, synagogues and Rabbi to other communities, such as Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, the largely Quaker roots, which was anti-clerical by nature, put the community at odds with the clergy. The Jewish community in Philadelphia was also anti-clerical. Had Heller been the Rabbi in Philadelphia, he would have been fired. Yet, in New Orleans, Heller is not fired. In fact, his tenure is extensive. Answers to this question are also the answers that would explain why Heller's predecessor was so beloved as well.

There are a few other areas that needed more explanation. Once such area was the relationship between Isaac Mayer Wise and Heller. Such knowledge might establish an extremely close tie between New Orleans and Cincinnati, and that tie has not been adequately completed. Indeed, from the evidence in the dissertation, it would seem quite easy to establish that New Orleans was extremely close to Cincinnati. In addition, another aspect that might warrant further investigation is the Zionist beliefs of Heller. Heller's views of Zionism are ahead of a famous Zionist, Ahad Ha-am, and Heller's negation of the Diaspora stance pre-dates and even contradicts the beliefs of many contemporaries. Further exploration of this matter would shed light on the distinctions that distinguish Southern Jewry and Southern beliefs from the greater Jewish America. Also, Malone discusses with much significance of the dueling identities of Jews in the South. The first is the Jew who lives in a Southern city that adheres to a racially divided social system that supercedes the standard applied to a divided religious community, but is aware that such a system exists. The second identity crisis for American Jews is as Americans in the greater American culture. Thus, the difference between Northern Jews and Southern Jews is the degree in which the South shapes conceptions of Jewish identity. Malone explores these concepts, and her exploration leaves many questions concerning these different identities.

Overall, this is a quite readable biography of a Southern reform Rabbi during the growth and transformation of America and the American Jewish community, touching from the end of Reconstruction in the South through World War I and then on to Zionism. This book promotes the study of American Judaism in the South, and proves that biography is an excellent vehicle as a methodology for examining the issues that confronted the Jews living in the South.

Can you put a price on a human life? Slave owners did, and you can read the inventory record of a plantation.

The story is an interesting one, told many times before. The reason this little book stays in my mind is that it does not sugar-coat slavery. It's a real lesson in history.