Louisiana Books

Great book! I enjoyed every chapter. It not only let's you smell the roses from your childhood since I lived in Polk County Florida during these times, but it definitely lets you smell the orange blossoms!

I went to High School with Bobby. This is a great book of the small town of Auburndale, Fl. It's fun reading. I can assure you that you will laugh a lot if you put yourself in his shoes.
I recommend it highly.

Although just a bit younger, being from "Inwood" between A-dale and Winter Haven, I know/knew some of the people mentioned in the book. I also have some of the same memories growing up in the area. I went to Winter Haven High School because back then we had a choice. Today I would be going to A-Dale High. I enjoyed the book very much. I don't think Bobby Braddock and I ever met but we do share friends and what it was like grow up back then. It is a time gone for good and that is tough to face sometimes. We had quite a few talented people in music come from Auburndale and Winter Haven.

I was on TV once, flogging a book, when the interviewer, a Terry Splendid-looking mannequin of a guy who could read without moving his eyes but not without moving his lips, got the 30-seconds-and-counting signal from the control room. "We're about out of time, Mr. Adams," he said, hefting my 700-page book as if he were guessing the weight of a hooked mackerel. "This is quite a tome you've created. Could you tell us, in a few words, what you were trying to say in it?"

The answer came to me in a split second, like lightning from the night sky, and I threw it straight to Terry quicker than a baked potato from the oven: "I was trying to say, in three or four hundred thousand words, what a great songwriter named Bobby Braddock typically gets said in three or four hundred. A beginning, a middle, an end. A story, a narrative about original sin."

The red light on Camera 1 was blinking. "That's all our time, folks, see you tomorrow!" Splendid's image vanished from the monitor, to be replaced in an instant by a commercial about Rolaids. Terry and I both looked like we could have used a couple.

Those of us who write long for a living are filled with envy for the likes of Bobby Braddock, the masters of writing short. And so it is with green-eyed admiration that I report the recent arrival of Down in Orburndale, a finely paced, 271-page, growing-up-Southern memoir by--you guessed it--Bobby Braddock, the quiet man behind the words and music of some of George Jones and Tammy Wynette's greatest hits.

If I could write songs half as well as Braddock writes books--this first one, at least--I wouldn't have to worry about my obscurity in the field of long prose. I'd be rolling in clover. The boy from post-World War II Auburndale, Florida, has got the knack, short and long. This book is a confessional of lessons learned from a fully-spent youth, remembered with humor, pain and unflinching honesty.

Bobby Braddock has written an exceptional book -- a portrait of an artist as a young man, if you will. So much honesty about a part of America that is gone. So much honesty about a boy who grew up there and would go on to become one of America's great songwriters. He sees the humor of his darkest moments, and I'm still laughing just thinking about those moments. The book ends just before he makes his fateful journey to Nashville, and fame and fortune. I can't wait to read the sequel. If braddock the bumbling, stumbling boy-to-man is such a hoot, then Braddock in the weird wild world of the Nashville Music bizz is bound to be a classic!

I have read hundreds of Civil War books, and to my mind the best are the ones where the author weaves a narrative told by those who were there. This is such a book. Mayeux not only gets us closely in touch with the strategic and tactical issues in central Louisiana (and connects them to larger issues) but excells in putting you in the shoes of General and private (and sailor), citizen and slave and lets you see the story through their eyes. By the end of the book, you really want to know how their lives went after the war...and he thoughtfully weaves that in at the end. I was sorry to reach the end of the book. My faith is renewed that real ground level history, always a compromise of competing eye witnesses, can be done through serious digging and thorough analysis. But you still have to tell a great story - and here it is. Steve Mayeux makes you stand up and cheer the story of the side show on the Red River, and especially those Americans north and south, who lived it. Well done!!

The author, with local and family roots, covers Fort DeRussy from construction to destruction and current efforts to preserve and maintain the site. There is in-depth background on the fort, the area around it, and its role in the Red River campaign of Banks and Porter against the Confederacy. Excellent commentary on the role of cotton and its confiscation for the North's war effort, on the local black and white population's involvement with the Fort, on naval aspects of the Western theater - all increase knowledge of the scope of the Civil War.

This is must read for Louisiana Civil War History. Mayeux is an excellent story teller who makes the history of Fort DeRussy come to life

A unique book about a little known place that was extremely important in 1863 and 1864. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Red River Campaign, the Civil War in Louisiana or the Trans Mississippi Theater. Fort DeRussy seldom merits mention is most accounts of the Civil War. This book was not a rehash of old material. The author is able to draw on a wealth of local information as well as primary and secondary sources. Steve Mayeux gives us the story of the fort which was supposed to defend the Red River Valley from Union gunboats from its beginning to the end of the War. It captured the Queen of the West, provided troops to man the boats that captured the Indianola and defeated another gunboat attack before falling to a Union army that captured the fort without naval assistance. Fort DeRussy then served as an important Union station during the disastrous Red River campaign. I liked the author's easy folksy style, including his personal feeling and experiences in the text and footnotes. I also appreciated the footnotes on the page for easy access. It is in the footnotes that we discover more and more about how his ancestors owned the land, his great grandmother was born there just before the union army arrived and how he and others worked to restore the fort and have it protected as a Louisiana State Park.

As a native of Avoyelles Parish, Steve Mayeux really has one leg up when it comes to the study of the Civil War in Central Louisiana. As such, he was able to provide details that another historian might well miss. Leaving no stones unturned he researched such obscure sources as articles appearing in the "Marksville Pelican", a local newspaper that was published contemporaneously with the events as they were occuring, as well as the observations of the Mother Superior of the Daughters of the Cross, whose letters, written in French back to her family, but translated and published by Avoyelles teacher Sister Dorothea McCants, shed great light on what it was like to have actually lived during the Civil War years in Avoyelles. Such first person accounts bring great life to the reconstruction of this moment in history. For those of you whose eyes glaze over at the thought of another book filled with complicated analyses of battle strategies and "dry as a bone" statistical studies, be advised that this book is NOT in that genre. Mayeux has truly captured the "soul" of this conflict. It is significant, no doubt, that the author, whose family has lived in the parish for generations, has a deep connection, both emotional and familial, to the events and people portrayed in this book. Mayeux spent years doing an incredible amount of research on both the Union and Confederate sides, as well as countless hours and dollars spearheading the effort to preserve the Fort DeRussy Historical Site. But what sets this book apart from so many others is that it was written from the heart by a man whose ancestors lived and died in the context of this very story.

One of our all time favorites, along with the sequel: Feliciana Meets d'Loup Garou. We took these books out of the library repeatedly when I was still reading to my children. Jump ahead 5 years and now my 12 year old and I just had an emergency need to read these stories again. Luckily they were at the library, and reading them (as other reviewers, with a Cajun accent) was such a wonderful time. Now we feel we must buy these books, because they are treasures. One of the great reasons to become a parent is to get to read such books to children!

I've read this one to a class of 2nd graders who were begging for more by the end. The only complaint I got was that I only read the dialogue with a Cajun accent instead of the entire book! I'm watching for more books by this author and plan to buy every one.

This book is one that you can read over and over again to the children. There's is even a song that goes with the book by Johnette Downing! The kid's in my class love this book and most of them own it by the end of the year.

This book is one that you can read over and over again to the children. There's is even a song that goes with the book by Johnette Downing! The kid's in my class love this book and most of them own it by the end of the year.

My kids (8, 5, and 3) love this story, and it's a book that's fun for a parent to read, especially if you enjoy putting on just a bit of an accent when you read. The language in this story is wonderful, and the book comes complete with a one-page Cajun glossary and pronunciation guide, to help your kids learn just a little about Cajun culture.

Feliciana is a wonderful little girl, strong, spunky, and definitely more spice than sugar. She has a whole passel of brothers, who keep her on her toes.

The story, set in a Cajun bayou, is one that little boys and girls from everywhere will enjoy, since it involves a hungry alligator, who bites off more than he can chew when he goes after Feliciana Feydra LeRoux.

The drawings in this book are terrific. Colorful, funny, and whimsical -- they bring the story to life.

This is a great book that has the rare ability to both entertain and teach, and I highly recommend it.

If you're looking for the nuts and bolts of what made the WW2 German army, this is the book. A very nice overview of the entire military machine. As a historian and WW2 German reenactor I liked the coverage of military tactics from army to platoon, as well as the coverage from tanks and airplanes to individual field gear. Weapons, boots, bread bags, radios and all the field gear are covered along with lesser known machines like field kitchens and bread makers! Highly recommended.

Totally comprehensive review of everything about the Wehrmacht from their biggest guns down to their canteens. Massive review of the organizational structure of all elements from the leadership down to breakdowns of divisions, tactics, etc...The claim on the back that Marshall might have known more about the Wehrmacht than Hitler seems plausible. This is a real gem.

An absolute must have for anyone interested in the German military of World War II. A very technical guide that does not waste time with flowery documentation.

This is the ultimate guide to German forces in the Second World War. Although produced late in the war, it covers the old type of infantry division. I thought that was a nice touch. This book teaches us not only about Germans, but what their contemporary counterparts were thinking. Want to crawl around indide the heads of American Intelligence Officers from another era? This is the book.

This an outstanding book of facts and data whose main scope is the German Army. Although the name of the book refers to the whole German armed forces in reality the coverage is wide for the Army, light for the Air Force and almost non-existent for the Navy. The information it contains is extremely detailed (in particular in tables of organization and equipment of many divisions) and on the whole very accurate (although not without the ocassional flaw: a schwärme is referred as a tactical unit of 5 airplanes but in reality was a 4 airplane unit).
Although it provides information from 1939 to 1945 the information relating to the tables of organization, tactics, equipment and uniforms refers mainly to the period 1944-45.
For example, you can find the TO&E of an army and SS panzerdivision in 1944 but not in 1939 or 1940.
Also, it is important to note that due to the nature of the book it is mainly a WHAT and HOW book (provides data and factual information )but is not a WHY book. That is, you will notice that a motorized infantry battalion differs organizationaly from a regular infantry battalion but it is not explained WHY. Other books give the explanation. This is not a problem with the book, it is just its scope. Overall it is a highly recommended book for anyone interested in the details that are not covered in most WW2 books.

Neff, Thomas. "Holding Out and Hanging On: Surviving Hurricane Katrina", University of Missouri Press, 2007.

A Reminder

Amos Lassen

I have had many different kinds of experiences in my life but one that certainly stands out is Hurricane Katrina and I think that is not only because of what I saw but how it so drastically changed my life. There are still pictures in my mind that I do not think I shall ever forget and I am not sure that I want to forget.
Thomas Neff in "Holding Out and Hanging On" allows me to remember and in his photographic essay, he shows us the real impact that Katrina had on the lives of those who went through it. Looking at his photographs is like having a conversation with the people in them. We see moments that go beyond what the camera saw. There is great sensitivity here and a great deal of insight. Many of us who experienced the storm will never forget what we saw but it seems to me that others who were not directly involved need to be reminded of one of the worst disasters in American history. We all must remember Katrina.
Neff not only gives us photographs but also interviews with those affected directly by Katrina and the book is a wonderful testament to those who have been able to rebuild their lives but we must remember that not everyone has been that lucky. A lot has been accomplished since the storm but there is still plenty to do.
Neff's photos and the text shows us what kind of man the author is--he is filled with compassion and courage and an example for all of us As it broke my heart, once again, to see these pictures, I can only imagine what was going on in Neff's mind as he took them. The book documents a disaster--one we should never have to face again.

Neff has produced a magnificent book here of portraits of Katrina victims. These are the REAL people and stories from Katrina!

Thomas Neff is a remarkable photographer and this book sharing the real impact of Katrina on people's lives is powerful, timeless, truthful in an inside and honest way that no casual viewer could comprehend. Neff's vision is sophisticated but pure, trained but revealing in its simplicity, visually poetic with the abhorrent facts of life that have been so cruel to so many. If that weren't enough, there are the essential, heroic and stunningly conveying essays which accompany each image. The photographs share so much comprehensive visual information that one needn't ask for more, but by conveying a much broader and richer context for each image through writing and story telling, a nearly complete cultural mosaic is spun, surrounding the milestone and epic event so unique in US History. This book will stand through time as a classic conveyance of important information about an event that we all know about, but certainly haven't had, until this book provided us with it, an insider's view of the real nitty-gritty that is life, both cruel and beautiful. Way to go, Thomas Neff. Such a brilliant work which we should all feel grateful to comprehend.

Armed with a thorough history of the medium and a flawless technique that has played out over a distinguished career, Mr. Neff has produced a timeless and distinct look into a photographic story untold by the weekend warriors of popular media. The photographs in Holding Out and Hanging On are an extended conversation, empathetic moments that live far beyond the click of the shutter and into a tragedy that has long been forgotten by it's neighbors and countrymen. The photographs are the eye and the heart of a man who is compassionate, realistic, courageous beyond belief and a model for who we should strive to be. As the portraits separate themselves from the time of exposure, the complex clarity and humanity of Neff's photographs are further revealed as a critically important document of the people who lived though Hurricane Katrina as well as an informative and poetic addition to the canon of concerned photography.

Mr. Neff has been my friend and mentor for over ten years now and I could not be more proud to own this necessary book of socially and historically necessary photography that is flawless in it's execution and communion with the spirit and people of New Orleans.

Bradly Dever Treadaway
Faculty Member, The International Center of Photography
New York, NY

The drive down from Chicago to the French Quarter in the canteen left me feeling heavy hearted & speechless. The vast area that hurricane Katrina hit left behind a sea of wasteland like nothing I'd ever seen before. Some areas were completely wiped out where others were only battered, yet the people I met along the way while serving with the Salvation Army in the French Quarter were such a blessing. It was one afternoon in the French Quarter that I met Mr. Neff--I was on my way back from delivering supplies and checking on some of the neighbors. By this time the media was swarming the streets looking for new sensational stories for the headlines. I must say that I did meet a few that tried to report more uplifting personal stories of survival but the majority did not--they were insensitive and disrespectful to the residents. Mr. Neff had a sincere interest in the people he met & photographed, and you can see it in his subjects' eyes: their transparency and trust. Mr. Neff's body of work gives the reader a glimpse into his subjects' lives during this most difficult time. Thank you for recording what words cannot fully express.

We enjoyed reading THE IMPOSSIBLE TOYSTORE by Mark Perlberg very much. Perlberg is a new author to me, but his poetry is both accessible and profound. I recommend it very highly. Bernard Gallin, East Lansing, Michigan

In his third collection of poetry Mark Perlberg continues to take us on a fabulous voyage from his pre-World War II childhood to the rewarding days of his maturity. With delicacy he unfolds the petals of feeling about his family and his travels through the byways of our country, beginning with the arrival in New York in in the 1880s of his grandfather Ivar, a Jew from Sweden, to his own summer rest on an island near Portland, Maine, in a letter to Huckleberry Finn, with whose peregrinations he has identified.

These wonderful poems cover a range of both narrative and emotion. The narratives have the impact of the very best short fiction, but they surprise you: the power of the narrative is really being shaped all along by the concentrated and beautifully wrought language. While these are often poems of memory, they are more often about the "impossible" gap between what we wish the past was like and what we know it was. Still, the poems are not mostly exercises in memory; the best are great examples of language intensifying emotion and image. Some excellent poems on painters paintings, and the power of imagery. Deserves to be much read, reread, and quoted.

This is a collection of personal and very lovely poems that you will want to read and reread, for the intellectual and emotional content of the poems as well as the very considerable art of the poetry. Perlberg creates beautiful word pictures, but without the cold abstractness of much imagistic poetry, and he deals, with great subtlety and intelligence, with feelings and experiences that are both universal and substantial. The work is accessible and moving without ever being simple. The language is so musical and the rhythms so natural that many of the poems demand to be read aloud. I found the poems exploring the poet's memories of childhood events and family relationships to be particularly affecting, at once honest and unflinching but also sensitive and forgiving. I have gotten much pleasure out of this slim volume.

Mark Perlberg's poetry reveals intensely personal experience that simultaneously evokes universal human emotions and conditions. His finely wrought language, graceful cadences and precise imagery make this third collection of Perlberg's poetry an enduring literary achievement.

This Micky Knight mystery/romance is just sooo good you wont be able to put it down. I kept telling myself that one more page wont hurt and ended up reading till 4 am. Both romance and mystery kept my mind occupied.

Once again Ms. Redmann has out done herself. Micky takes us on a great ride. The twists and turns of her life are entertaining and thought provoking. This book is a great read and I couldn't put it down until I finished it at 2am! You won't be sorry you bought it but it helps to read the first two in the series.

J.M. Redmann has four mysteries to her credit, all dealing with private detective Micky Knight, a New Orleans private eye. Her previous titles are: DEATH BY THE REVIERSIDE, DEATHS OF JOCASTA, and LOST DAUGHTER.

Micky (Michelle) Knight is a private eye, having arrived at that occupation through a series of tough life experiences. Micky is strong and beautiful, but is also vulnerable and sensitive, which makes her the perfect savior for abused children. When her friend's daughter, Cissy, stops smiling and begins having nightmares, Micky is suspicious. Patrick, Cissy's brother, tries to hire Micky with his paper money to find out who murdered little Judy Douglas, a classmate of Cissy's. Simultaneously Micky is working on a case with Karen, a cousin of Micky's girlfriend Cordelia, extricating her from a money lending scheme that stinks to high heaven. Is there a connection between the two cases? "'Someone invests fifty thousand dollars and a month later gets seventy thousand back. Wouldn't that make you curious?

Bill let out a low whistle, then nodded. 'Could it be legit?' I asked. 'Only if I could be the Pope, and I'm Jewish. Drugs, most likely. How did you hear about his?'

In the midst of Micky's own demons haunting her from her hellish past, she manages to not only piece together the puzzle of a grand pornography ring, but also works through her own problems by getting involved with a child psychologist with a penchant for sex, and by actually infiltrating the crime ring. Luckily, she enlists the help of the local police in her adventures. She is working solo, everyone is angry with her, and she is feeling very alone. But she ends up the heroine, after taking on a gang of thugs and saving the day for the women she loves the most.

J.M. Redmann is one heck of a writer. This tale is so gripping that the pages can't turn fast enough. Emotions are taut through most of the novel, and Redmann continually ratchets the action to a higher level. Character development is pivotal, and the plot has lots of twists. New Orleans jumps to life, as does the pain of child abuse, the loneliness of the gay lifestyle. Great!

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Another terrific Mickey Knight adventure. I enjoyed the plot of "Jocasta" a bit better, but this was still a full, satisfying read. That is what makes the books so good - they have a meaty plot and substance. Too many 'tec stories rely a bit much on coincidence and thin plots.

The Intersection of Law and Desire
This is a hefty book. I liked the weight of it before I even read the first page. When I finished it, I found that it had another kind of weight. I like books that have a lot going on in them, and this one is very busy. There's the plot: it's involved and twisty and dark, just like a good private detective novel should be. There's the setting: New Orleans, with all its seaminess and hints of things beneath the surface. There's the protagonist: Micky Knight, a character with things of her own stirring under the surface of toughness and independence. There's enough action to get the reader immersed and turning the pages. Oh, and there's a great ending, for those of us resigned to novels that somehow let us down in the final pages.
And there's the author: this is the best thing going on in this book. J.M. Redmann does not disappoint. She writes with great skill and it was a delight to relax and just read this book, knowing after the first pages that all of it, the plot, the setting, the characters, were in good hands. I didn't have to be distracted, wondering when I would first be let down, looking for the first hole, because there isn't one. This book does everything it sets out to do. Because the writer did such a good job, I could do mine, and simply enjoy reading.
Micky Knight is everything you expect from a "hard boiled" private eye. She has a world-weary cynicism, an idealism that balances against it, a hard past she'd like not to intrude upon her present, she has courage and determination, and a fear that what she does is never enough. She has a girlfriend too, a doctor who has more money, more family, more innocence, more of all the things that Micky doesn't have. Micky lives alone in a cheap apartment with a cat. She and Cordelia have exchanged keys and begun to mingle their friends together, but a lifetime of feeling like an outsider makes Micky wary of her own feelings.
Two cases present themselves and get intertwined. One involves Cordelia's cousin, and Micky reluctantly takes it on. One involves the children of a friend. It could be that Micky crosses the line in both these cases, gets too involved, when she might have walked away. When they become entangled, it could be that the complications are convenient for Micky, pulling her away from Cordelia until they are on the verge of splitting up. In an effort to save Cordelia's cousin Karen from herself, and to save the child Cissy, Micky goes undercover and very far into an underworld of drugs, prostitution, pornography, and also finds that all of her problems, the ones with her girlfriend, the ones with the criminal elements, are impacted by her past, complicated by her own confused desires.
I like this woman. She confronts people about issues that most would choose to ignore. She has a fine anger that simmers and sometimes boils over. Micky has a right to anger. Other emotions are less comfortable. She hasn't learned them yet. Her anger drives her to try to save at least those she knows from the kind of harm she has personally experienced. She knows the lasting effects, but knowing doesn't mean she has escaped them herself. Anger fuels her compassion, pushes her toward danger, wrecks her relationships, and finally rescues her from guilt and shame. Anger is a cleansing, simplifying emotion, not murky and fluid like love, which in Micky's mind is a changeable thing, slippery, unwieldy, bound to disappoint and betray.
From seedy, unsettling, dangerous bars where drugs and much worse are peddled, to the ultimate private clubs where essentially the same transactions occur, from her confused past to an even more confusing present where events happen at a terrifying speed, Micky Knight goes on a ride around New Orleans and winds up at an interesting place. Not everyone can be saved. Justice is not always served. But sometimes, just making the trip is enough.
This novel is a good trip to take. It has action, it has atmosphere, it has finely drawn and diverse characters, it has depth and style and it is polished and smooth.

What an incredible story! The four generations in Isle of Canes have touched me in a way I can't forget. Mills has a true gift for creating characters whose skin you can crawl right into and feel their pain and joy.

Behind its idyllic façade, Isle of Canes is a frank and gripping look at issues America has preferred not to deal with-particularly the world of slaveownership by those who once were slaves themselves, its motivation (some would say, necessity), and the conflicts of conscience that lifestyle created. A major underlying theme is the world of sexual servitude, which Isle explores in multiple ways, some of which turn stereotypes on its head. Both issues are presented on a stage history has ignored: the cultural conflict of Creole (French and Spanish Catholic) America versus Anglo-Protestant America in the colonial and antebellum South. Mills brilliantly shows the consequences of the white Creole vs. Anglo conflict upon America's racial history.

I highly recommend this book to those who have any interest in genealogy, history or just enjoy reading the saga of a family. Excellent reading. Very enjoyable. Difficult to put down.

Isle of Canes has been called a cross between Gone with the Wind and
Roots. It's a grand epic to rival both, but it goes far beyond GWTW's
moonlight-and-magnolia image of the South and it explores complexities of
slave life that Roots' ignored. The sexual tension of Isle is more akin to
Monticello's Thomas and Sally than to Tara's Scarlett and Rhett, and the
masters who occupy the "big house" were once slaves themselves. Mills
explores raw and painful sides of America's past, but she has done it with
a grace and style and rhythm and emotion that held me spellbound.

A magnificent work. Mills, America's preeminent genealogist, has evolved into a passionate and successful writer of historical fiction. The Isle of Canes deals with the little told story of the Creoles of Louisiana. Mills shares the story of a family, the Metoyers, people of color, as successive generations live and prosper in the unique environment of Spanish and French Louisiana. We see and feel the changes in their lives as the impact of the Civil War comes to the Isle. The story richly weaves the tensions of slavery, multiracial families, and economic upheaval in the antebellum South. This novel is of enduring importance, and will come to be part of the classic literature describing Southern history. If you enjoy a compelling, and entertaining story, based on real families and events, and if you like to be more than entertained i.e. learn something about our history, you will thoroughly enjoy this novel.

I was pleased to find this book. I've only seen one other that showed the catahoula. This book is a must read if you are thinking about getting a catahoula. It tell's you just like it is. The catahoula is a wonderful breed and a joy to own if you give them the time and exercise they require.

As a first time Catahoula owner, I found this book invaluable. There isn't a lot of information available on the breed (compared to others) and after reading the book I felt I had a better understanding of my dog. Mr. Abney covers a wide variety of topics including healh, breeding, and history. The section I found most helpful was the section on breed traits. The pictures are wonderful, even though they're black and white. Your Catahoula will thank you for reading this book!

Finally, a book that discusses this wonderful dog. I adopted a stray dog 12 years ago. I did not know what kind of dog he was, but he was different from all the other dogs I have owned. My vet informed me that he is a Catahoula. He has been my companion ever since. I have been looking for someing more about this great breed and this book answered many questions about my dog, from why he has glass eyes to his need to please. My Catahoula was diagnosed with liver cancer recently, and has about six months left. If someone looked up the word "dog" in the dictionary, there should be a photo of a Catahoula. They are truly great dogs. Thanks for the great read!!

I recently adopted an 'unknown breed' dog from a no-kill shelter. While at the Grand Canyon last month, a tourist from Louisiana introduced himself, identified my dog as a Catahoula and gave an overview of the history...naturally I went home, checked the web, and confirmed his background. It has now become a hobby finding more and more information about this fantastic breed. Don Abney's book was a great foundation of knowledge for understanding our new family member and also having fascinating background history to tell my friends/family. All I could ask for is more pictures (color) and a list of reputable breeders/clubs...other than that I highly recommend this book! Thanks Don....

The book was very informative. This is a very complex and little-known breed. People need to be aware of what they are getting into when bringing a Catahoula into a suburban environment. This book was very helpful and straightforward. My Cindy is only 4 months old and is already exhibiting some of the traits pointed out by Mr. Abney. Consistency and persistence are very important when training this breed.

The plays of Rosary O'Neill have the best of that American literature of the South has to offer: passion, eccentricity, wit, intelligence, and humanity. Comparisons to Tennessee Williams great dramas are inevitable, as Dr. O'Neill made her home in New Orleans and founded Southern Rep. Her background in acting & directing are evident in her dramaturgy: these plays are ready to be performed! If you're an actor, you will probably chomp at the bit to play one of these flamboyant, complicated, charismatic characters. If you are a director, your imagination will be fired by the possibilities of recreating these plays from Lousiana life. This first volume of her works centers largely on plays set in or around New Orleans, this 'Paris of the South', with its unique collection of mountebanks, poets, pining lovers and crushed idealists. Hopefully the publication of this volume will encourage more people to perform her works in the immediate future.

A LOUISIANA GENTLEMAN is full of wonderful Louisiana folklore and romantic
tales of New Orleans. We follow the Dubonnet clan through most of the plays.
Going behind lace curtains and on the balcony of the Pontalba apartments, we
discover the intriguing world of New Orleans night life and romance. All the
stories are powerful in themselves and the characters so Southern in their
"white suits in summer, navy blazers in fall, a nurse to sleak down every
wisp of hair." A must read for any serious lover of Southern fiction.

A LOUISIANA GENTLEMAN is an extraordinary compilation of love stories in pre-Katrina New Orleans. O'Neill takes us to the Pontalba apartments, to Exposition Blvd, to the Garden District, to Pass Christian--all over the secret rendez-vous of the rich and privileged of New Orleans. In the book, we see the south through a group of interrelated stories of the DUBONNET FAMILY, whose member typify the jaded and rich upper class--drinking Mint Juleps and eating Russian caviar and dreaming of money and fame, while scrambling for money in back. As Irene Dubonnet says, "We are the people the great Louisiana hotels were built for. . . My family is I suspect the most miserable one I know." These plays are a delight to read and will be extraordinary to see. Simple sets and intoxicating characters abound.

O'Neill's anthology includes a variety of well-written plays that interest many kinds of viewers, old and young alike. This anthology has the power to appeal to actors and students seeking to perfect their craft. An actor looking for an honest and very real monologue, a college acting class seeking to get to know Southern character, or a regional theatre company devoted to educating others about the humor, wit, and passion found in the South, will all find writings having to do with their goals in this anthology. "Wishing Aces" is quite interesting as it sets a love story amidst the background of a impending hurricane. O'Neill creates characters who implore us to listen to their stories in very unforgettable ways.

My favorite of O'Neill's plays is "A Louisiana Gentleman." O'Neill paints a portrait of a Southern family and the struggles they endure. She is able to weave together the story of young medical student as he is torn between responsibilities as a romantic partner to girlfriend, an actress 15 years his senior, a wise older brother to a religious-obsessed sister, and a dutiful nephew to his critical and hilarious aunt. The backdrop is Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where the streets are filled with laughter and celebration. O'Neill presents a man as he tries to hold all the elements of his life together amidst a culture of this city's culture of light-hearted festivities. O'Neill depicts with honesty human struggle, love, and duty.