Mississippi Books

An excellent guide to what to do when the spirit moves, the time allows and the the journey means as much as the destination. A well-written, delightful read. ~Candace

If you are visiting New Orleans for a week and want to see where the locals visit on their day trips - this is the book. The author has done a great job mapping out fun trips for anyone with a car. If you have just moved into the New Orleans area - get this book. The author really covered a lot of territory; and it is fun reading. I am on my 3rd copy - I buy the book, "lend" it out, and then have to buy another one, etc.

Discover the real Louisiana history, culture and more
James Gaffney's Side Trips from New Orleans opens the door to great same-day adventures from the Crescent City. New Orleans is far more than the French Quarter and this neat book gives reason to visit the city for four or five days so to discover the bayou country, the culture, people and history an easy drive from the city. To me, this book is a 'must' when considering a visit to the Big Easy, and a fine reason to stay longer to discover far more.
Leonard J. Hansen, Journalist, Travel Writer and Author

I read this book and it changed my life. These are the best stories I've ever read about New Orleans and Louisiana. Crone has a sharp witty eye, deft ear, and language that will set you free. Read this book and pass it on to a friend.

I enjoy visiting New Orleans, and the tendency is to just read guides and history books. But excellent fiction, such as Ms. Crone's Dream States, provides as much, or more, insight into the local scene and what makes southern Louisiana unique and worth visiting. Each of the eight stories introduces different characters who provide a cross section of local attitudes, vocabulary, world view and adaptation to one of the few remaining authentic regional cultures in the United States. Highly recommended.

Louisiana Limbo Date: October 29, 1995, Sunday, Late Edition - Final Byline: By Gary Krist; Lead: DREAM STATE Stories. By Moira Crone. 189 pp. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. $18.95. Text: THE house of fiction may be a mansion with many rooms, but if you read a lot of book reviews, you can be excused for thinking of it sometimes as a cramped two-bedroom cottage. Has there been any coming-of-age novel written in the last generation that hasn't been likened by one reviewer or another to "The Catcher in the Rye"? Has any recent author of terse short stories not been accused of engaging in Raymond Carver minimalism? And what writer from south of the Mason-Dixon line has ever escaped allegations of influence by William Faulkner? Well, I defy any critic to liken Moira Crone, the Southern author of "Dream State," to William Faulkner. True, the title story in this smart and exhilarating second collection of stories did win something called the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society Award, and the action of all eight stories does take place in the Deep South, much of it amid the gorgeous dishevelment of New Orleans. But the sensibility embodied in Ms. Crone's energetic fiction owes little to Faulkner -- or, for that matter, to Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy or John Kennedy Toole. I'm happy to report that it is utterly sui generis. Take the title story. It begins with a flourish of narrative confidence: "I'm assuming you know who Jessica Broussard is." Of course we do. She's the beautiful, elusive movie star hounded out of Hollywood because of some unnamed scandal, retreating from public view to reinvent herself in picturesque exile. We see her through the eyes of Beryl, her real estate agent, who must help the actress find an appropriate house in her native St. Sebastianville, La. Beryl -- intelligent, witty and irrepressibly articulate -- is no simpering groupie, yet she cannot help being mesmerized by her client's larger-than-life existence. Too shrewd to be a romantic, yet too full of yearning to embrace mundane reality without a fight, Beryl finds herself forced to decide whether Jessica's bankrupt magic is worth the hefty price of belief. Ultimately -- and fortunately -- the mathematics of that equation prove to be anything but simple. Many of Ms. Crone's characters are, like Beryl, adrift, as confused as they are self-aware, as uncertain of what they want to say as they are forthcoming. Often they are transplanted Northerners, dreaming passively of a different life elsewhere -- in San Francisco or Vermont or Jerusalem. They feel trapped in Louisiana, where "all the big questions are still left open . . . are women people, did Elvis die, was slavery wrong?" Their friends, calling long-distance from places other than the Deep South, places that are not weather-beaten and financially depressed and dangerously close to electing David Duke governor, ask them why they are living there. Typically, Ms. Crone's narrators cannot answer this question. They feel dissatisfied, in limbo -- and yet they don't leave. In "Gauguin," for instance, an environmental lawyer named Paul must endure a final Southern assault -- Hurricane Andrew -- before taking off to pursue a sensible romance on Cape Cod. The big wind, however, ends up overturning Paul's plans like so much lawn furniture. Somehow he finds himself canceling his trip north, succumbing to a "sweet homesickness" for the physical and emotional chaos of Louisiana. LIKE the husband in the story "Fever," who jeopardizes his practical marriage by having an affair with a loopy Cajun singer from the local copy shop, Paul eventually makes what seems a totally irrational choice -- taking up with the unbearable divorced mother across the street. As the title "Gauguin" may suggest, there is arguably something patronizing in Ms. Crone's stance toward Louisiana culture. Her fascination with Cajuns, Creoles and various French Quarter types often smacks of well-meaning anthropology, her Northern Gauguins casting off the chill of civilization to experience a more intense life in more colorful climes. On balance, however, Ms. Crone's take on the territory is complex enough to transcend this kind of sentimentality. "Dream State" successfully presents a fresh version of the Deep South, one that is exotic without being either grotesque or romanticized.

This is excellent reading material for anyone that needs to reflect on their own personal lives. I have used the same values that the book refers to in my own classroom, and my students have embrased it wholeheartedly. We will continue to used this book as a resource to further analyze what constitutes the making of a community and self development. Again, Great Little Book. Robert Cortez

This is excellent reading material for anyone that needs to reflect on their own personal lives. I have used the same values that the book refers to in my own classroom, and my students have embrased it wholeheartedly. We will continue to used this book as a resource to further analyze what constitutes the making of a community and self development. Again, Great Little Book. Robert Cortez

THIS BOOK SO BEAUTIFULLY REACHED ME WITH THE CHAPTERS OF HIS LIFE THAT HE SO GRACIOUSLY HAS SHARED. I WAS STIRRED TO REACH OUT TO ALL OF THOSE IN MY LIFE THAT HAVE NUTURED ME IN TO THE PERSON I AM TODAY. THE BOOK TOOK 8 BASIC BUT TRULY NEEDFUL HABITS AND MADE ME REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT THESE HABITS ARE TO BRINGING OUR COMMUNITIES BACK TO WHAT AMERICA NEEDS TODAY. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO FRIENDS, FAMILY, TEACHERS, MINISTERS... IT APPLIES TO ALL SETTINGS. THANK YOU CLIFTON FOR JUMPSTARTING MY HEART AND DIRECTING ME IN TO A NEW PHASE OF MY LIFE. I SO MUCH NEEDED TO HEAR YOUR LESSONS. FOR MY FAMILY, I WILL BE A BETTER MOTHER AS A RESULT.

Excellent book for children and adults who have an interest in Mississippi towns and their unusual names. I bought 4 books to send to my grandchildren who live in Michigan and Oregon. Their Mothers are native Mississippians!!

When I worked in public education, I read this book to literally hundreds of children and they all adored it! It is wonderfully written and keeps the children's attention. The almost Seuss-like rhyming makes this fun to read for both children and adults alike.

this is a delightful book for children and adults! a book you will enjoy even if you are not from Mississippi!

Fannie Lou Hamer was a remarkable person who may not have received the publicity and accolades of other Civil Rights personalities, but she certainly accomplished as much as anyone in the movement. Lee does a very solid job of taking the reader through Hamer's life. The only criticism I have is that Lee on occasion editorializes about contradictory things that Hamer said, as well as speculates as to what motivated Hamer in certain instances. It would have been more effective to simply let the reader think about such things and make up their own mind. This is a minor quibble, however, because Lee has contributed to the small body of work on Hamer in a substantive manner. I had a hard time putting this book down even though I already knew all the details of Hamer's life from reading other books. Lee synthesizes her information nicely which makes this book a coherent read. The reader gets a vivid picture of the ups and downs Mrs. Hamer encountered in her brilliant life. Fannie Lou Hamer's life was a testament to the human spirit and will to fight for justice. The Civil Rights Movement cannot be fully understood without knowing about the contributions of Hamer. You need to read this book.

I have read and heard so much about men in the Civil Rights Movement, and I have read so little about women. This book for me filled a gap.It told an exciting story with great eloquence. It portrayed the life of a heroine of the Civil Rights Movement, and described the times. And it was at the same time rich and intellectually sophisticated. I cannot recommend this book enough to all readers, and I hope these comments motivate others to get this wonderful book and read it.

Chana Kai Lee makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of the civil rights movement with this stirring and important biography of Fanny Lou Hamer. Mrs. Hamer, an icon in the movement and a force unto herself, was one of the strongest and most influential voices in the African American struggle for freedom. Thanks to Professor Lee, that voice echoes for the ages in the pages of For Freedom's Sake. This is a book that all Americans should read and that students and general readers alike will enjoy. Like its subject, this well-crafted book will be a beacon for freedom for many years to come.

I am not really big on non-fiction. Most of it feels like reading a text book. However, I decided to read Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe because of a book talk my Young Adult Literature Teacher gave on it and because one of my requirements for this class was to read a non fiction young adult book. I was pleasantly surprised. It gives a window into the Southern Culture and Racism of the 1950's without feeling like a textbook. If there is any question if racism actually existed, it is proved in this book.
I thought it is very well written for young adults because of things it contains that make the story real and personal. First, the author uses interviews and court records to tell what happened, so the reader can enjoy a lot of first hand accounts of the events that took place. The book is also filled with many pictures of Emmett, his mother, J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant (the men who killed Emmett), and pictures of places where different events happened. These pictures of actual people and places help the reader realize that these were actual events, not just stories. The author also shows how the event of the murder of Emmett Till related to the civil rights movement. This adds more significance to the events, and also imparts more knowledge to the reader who may not know a lot about this time period. I think it is a great read for teens of all ages, and adults too. Anyone who would like to learn more about what segregation and racism was about, or are just interested in the civil rights era, will enjoy this book. I definitely plan on sharing this book with my children!

I do recommend this book because there is still racism in the United States of America today and many people need to stop because nobody wants to be insulted because of there race. The books plot was how people were treated back in the 1940's and 50's and gave me many reasons why not to be a racist. I would not like to read another book by Chris Crowe again because this book was extremely sad. This book is perfect for people that are trying to improve themselves and are trying to put themselves in someone else's shoes way back when.

This book is a very good buy and very interesting read. This book follows a young boy named Emmett Till. This book is based on real facts and was considered the cause of the beggnining of the civil rights movement. This read will not only give you real facts and info, but will bring a tear to your eye and really think about what life was like during this time period.

We traveled across Wyoming, down the Colorado-Nebraska border, crossed the narrow panhandle of Oklahoma, and continued southward through the high plains to Amarillo and Lubbock. It was long day. Temperatures reached 106 degrees. Our return from Wyoming to east Texas is never easy.

The great plains are awesome, stretching forever in all directions. Barb wire fences, lonely windmills, widely scattered cattle, and some isolated ranch and farm houses are among the few landmarks. How did the early pioneers react to this vast barrier extending from Mexico to Canada?

Walter Prescott Webb's acclaimed history, The Great Plains, is a fascinating examination of how our extensive plains shaped American history. For more than two hundred years settlers had pushed westward, largely along navigable rivers, and tamed a wilderness with the axe, the plow, and the rifle. But in the mid-1800s this westward movement encountered a new world, a vast expanse lacking forest, navigable rivers, and adequate rainfall. The lessons of the past few centuries proved irrelevant in this new, formidable wilderness.

Webb argues that the Spanish (and later the Mexicans) failure to colonize the area that is now western United States was due to their inability to defeat the plains Indians, especially the Apaches and Comanches in Texas. Travel from San Antonio to Santa Fe was not easy; the route was southward deep into Mexico to Durango and then back west and northward to Santa Fe. The direct route westward across the plains was Indian country.

As the American settlers ventured onto the plains after the Civil War, they were aided by an explosion of innovations, especially the Samuel Colt revolver (tipped the balance away from the Indians), the barb wire fence (made fencing possible), and the self-operating windmill (made water available). And the railroads made freight and livestock transportation possible between the sparsely populated great plains and the populated, industrialized eastern states.

Webb describes in exciting detail the short, remarkable period of the cowboys, the cattle drives, and the cattle barons. Indelibly engraved on the American psyche, this period was already history by 1930 as Webb offered his insightful thoughts on the settlement of our mid-continent.

I can think of only one other history of the American West that compares with this remarkable work, and that is that great book by Ray Allen Billington, Westward Expansion. Before your next travel across our endless plains, I encourage you to read Walter Prescott Webb's fascinating history of The Great Plains.

In the mid-1930s, this book won the Loubat Prize as the best work published over a five year period. In 1950, a national panel of historians selected The Great Plains as the most significant historical work by a living author. This book continues to receive attention as reflected in the bibliographies of current books dealing with aspects of the American West.

In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner's essay "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," outlined his Frontier Theory. Turner asserted that the frontier was the decisive factor in creating an American nation distinct from other nations; that the frontier created dominant traits of individualism, freedom, materialism, originality, et. al. Turner called the frontier a "safety valve" of abundant resources which shopuld be exploited for the benefit of the national good. Turner's theory foresaw progress from the simple to the complex.

Webb's "The Great Plains" modifies Turner's theory by pointing out the steady progression of settlement westward from the timbered and well watered Atlantic Coast to the edge of the Great Plains; the 98th Meridian, an "institutional fault line." Webb contended the great plains were neglected until all lands that were timbered and well watered were taken; that pioneers "jumped" across to the Pacific Slope where they could also employ long-standing techniques that had been successful in the East.

Not until the post Civil War era were pioneers able to settle the great plains (characteristics: a level surface, an absence of timber, and a deficiency of rainfall), and then only by drastically altering or changing their previous frontier techniques. According to Webb, westerners on the great plains became progressive because they relied upon change in order to overcome their harsh environment. The pioneer used what was given him and the results astonished the world.

Great plains pioneers had to build houses without timber, burn fires without wood, carve furrows in soil so matted and tough an ordinary wood or iron plow would snag in the sod or skitter across its surface like a stick over ice, draw water from an arid or semi-arid land, and grow crops that could exist with little water. Webb contends adaptation and innovation in the development and use of new or existing products and techniques allowed the hardy pioneers to conquer their environment. In essence, often reverting from the complex to the simple - "geographic reality."

This book is interesting and easily read. Webb's research ranges from the Indians, Spaniards, Americans, cattle, and water - encompassing the esoteric and the simple. For example, he delves into the Land Law of the West, in all its complexity (written by Webb 68 years ago) and the parallel and distinct differences in sign language used by deaf mutes and the plains Indians.

Webb's scholarly research is reflected in the extensive bibliography that follows each chapter. The index is useful and annotated to identify areas of relationship when warranted.

The accolades given this book over the years is well deserved. Webb's innovative study is fascinating and expands the reader's knowledge of the great plains as it contains a wealth of information on the history of the region. Webb's later book "The Great Frontier" was also influential and controversial. Both books are the hallmark of Walter Prescott Webb's long and distinguished career.

So many people use the cliche "this is the best book I've ever read" when critiquing it. I mean it. This book, 70 years old this year, is a brilliant historical work. Webb calls the 98th meridian an "institutional fault line" that required alteration or abandonment of all the laws and implements used in pioneering east of the line. Webb offers the windmill, the six-shooter, and barbed wire as three examples of inventive genius that allowed pioneers to settle on the Great Plains. Webb cites Eastern land laws, as well as the old English common law, as impractical when used on the Plains. Interestingly, Webb states that the West was lawless in part because settlers had to disobey these impractical land laws in order to survive on the Plains. Webb examines the Great Plains from a multitude of angles to substantiate his thesis. He successfully defends it, and in the process creates a work that is of great interest to people from many walks of life.

This book displays the wonderful art and tradition of Haitian sequined prayer flags. The layout of the book with it's full color reproductions is very well done. The text of the book beautifully describes the history and aspects of vodou religeon, in a way that speaks to all people who are touched by art and culture. I highly recomend this book especially to those interested in folk art and Haitian culture.

This book displays the wonderful art and tradition of Haitian sequined prayer flags. The layout of the book with it's full color reproductions is very well done. The text of the book beautifully describes the history and aspects of vodou religeon, in a way that speaks to all people who are touched by art and culture. I highly recomend this book especially to those interested in folk art and Haitian culture.

If you're interested in the art, religion, or culture of Haiti, this book is fabulous! It shows clear links between Catholic and Vodou imagery and themes, and the art is inspiring. The color photos are rich & wonderful, and consistent enough to provide a clear understanding of Haitian and Vodou artistic/spiritual traditions. In this case, a picture (or pictures in this book anyway) are worth more than 1000 words. If you're interested in Vodou and/or folk arts of the Caribbean, this book is a worthwhile purchase.

This book is fascinating. It covers the Mississippi River past and present. It is more than just a history book, for it covers geologic time as well as modern history. But it is more than a geology book as it covers the river's ecology. But then it is more than an ecological book as it focuses on the necessity of the river's economy. To sum it up, this book covers the Mississippi River in a way that few books do their subject's justice. Reading it makes me proud that the river is part of my world here in the Twin Cities. I've driven over it, walked over it, walked up to it, pondered its power and might, but never knew the river until I read this book.

The river is three million years old. Man has been active around it for a few thousand years. Modern economies have influenced it for a mere 170 years or so. It is not a simple thing. It is a force to be reconciled with. What humans do to this river is profound, but only so far as our vanity allows us to understand our relationship with the river. It has had several sources over the years. It took modern white men years of guessing just trying to find the current source.

This river supplies our needs. It allows for barge traffic that come and go with products Minnesotans (or any of the other states whose boundaries it forms) need and make (or grow). We recreate upon it. We dam it, bridge over it, pollute it, draw water from it, try to make it conform to our wills, then wonder what went wrong when it floods (as in 1993).

This river truly is immortal. Calvin Fremling does the river justice by his book documenting its story. His writing style is pragmatic and relatively unbiased, though extremists (both right and left wingers) my suffer his ridicule. The Corps of Engineers, the environmentalists, the riverats, sportsmen, politicians all receive adequate and relatively accurate assessment and criticism by the author. If there is one person who truly knows the river, it seems to be Fremling. He leaves the reader with the impression that the river's age will allow it to survive inspite of what modern man is doing to it. Who knows, it may be around for another three million years. As Fremling concludes, somehow, I find comfort in that.

Dr. Fremling, I will address this to you. You were graduate advisor to my dad, Glenn Jergens, when he earned his Master's degree. You were my most revered college professor many years later. Now I have my Master's and will teach biology when our son doesn't need me at home quite so much. Your influence on my dad, and on me, was profound. If I am half the teacher you were, much of the credit will be yours. I remember the slide-peppered lectures and the frequent field trips that made scientists of your students. I appreciate more than ever your gift for making learning so effortless because the teaching was so relevant and so rigorously planned. I have rated your book as worthy of five stars even before I've read it, as I suspect it will reflect this gift as well. I'm purchasing two copies, one for my brother and his wife, which will be passed around, I know, and one for my family. Thank you, Dr. Fremling, and congratulations. With all best wishes, Merri Beth Nord

As a person who grew up on the Upper Mississippi I assumed that I knew that great river. Not so. Calvin Fremling's book opened my eyes to the river's past and alerted me to the significant environmental problems that confront the river today. This is must reading for anyone who uses the river or has an interest in it.

If you are looking for a comprehensive guide to the native fishes of Mississippi, you need look no further. Not only does this work include all native and exotic species of fish in Mississippi but also extensive biological information on each. This volume should prove useful to not only a well versed field biologist, but also anyone interested in fish.

I have to say up front that I am a bit prejudiced here. Dr. Ross is responsible for my current interest in fishes and I have been looking forward to this book for a while. That being said let me tell you what is good about this book... #1 The keys are outstanding, they are made so that the expert or layman can use them. Key identification points are well illustrated and explained #2 The species accounts are the best I have ever seen. There is excellent information on the biology and conservation concerns of each species. There is also a brief section on the meaning of each scientific name that will be of interest to the professional and beginner. #3 Dr. Ross included an excellent glossary and bibliography that will make further research and understanding easy. #4 There is also a section on the history of Ichthyology in the Southeast US in general and Mississippi in particular.

If you are interested in the fishes of the Southeast US this book will be useful and entertaining. It will be indispensable if you study fishes in any Mississippi river or Gulf drainage. I can remember my first day in class, thinking that we where just going to look at a bunch of minnows. I know better now, and this book will explain why.

I found it very useable and well organized - great pictures! We have been waiting years for this reference!