Louisiana Books

Emotions and Words expressed in this book were heartfelt and real.
A great book of rememberance and may we never forget.

Gentle and not so gentle reminders of what happened, what's been done, and what needs doing abound in this book. Each person's eyes tells me that they're not doing this as a pretty face, but as a witness. Let us each witness in our own way that what happened in New Orleans, in Florida, in Texas, could happen to us, to anyone we love, and let us witness, too, how we can each, in our own way, support, care for, and aid each other and ourselves in time of need.

Some books defy almost all categories. This is definitely one of those books. It is a book of hope, dreams, encouragement and support, for those who lost so much in Hurricane Katrina. This book is the brainchild of Naomi Strasser who, along with photographer friend Paul Alexander, decided to create art that would help in some small way to heal.

Alexander donated his time in photographing celebrities from around the world and from different strata of society. Many others contributed to the work, from the stylists working with the celebrities, to Ryan Priest doing the design and layout. This book was the work of the generosity of many, many people who all championed it and gave of their time and talents to make it happen.

The book is a collection of 71 unique portraits of celebrities, from Johnny Depp, Kelly Hu, and Coldplay, to Viggo Mortensen, Helen Bonham Carter and so many more. Accompanying each portrait is a letter, or encouragement note, to encourage the giving to continue. And it is for those who are far from home now, that they should keep hoping and dreaming of their return. Interspersed with photos of the actual devastation from Katrina, these notes provide hope, encouragement and support.

From Johnny Depp who writes "Help and Keep Helping", to Helen Bonham Carter stating "No amount of rain can drown the music of New Orleans", the words will challenge us to appreciate what we have and to help those less fortunate than we find ourselves to be.

The publisher, Naked Ink Press, is doing their part as well; they have committed to give at least $25,000 US dollars to both the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and to Habitat for Humanity's Operation Home Delivery. That is $2.50 from each book, sold for a minimum of $25,000 each more depending on sales.

Shawn Ashmore states: "She beat you, but she didn't break you!! Stay strong!!" Picking up this book, either for yourself or for others as a gift, will help to make those words come true. So along with Kevin Bacon we will say "Thinking of U."

It may be trite, but giving this book as a gift, will be a gift that keeps on giving.

My husband and I are natives of the area Julia Sims photographs! We've been gone 34 years! This book lets us relive the beautiful wilderness we grew up in and also to hopefully, preserve it! We have never seen such gorgeous photographs of the Manchac Swamp, except maybe in her gallery in Ponchatoula, LA. ANY nature lover will enjoy this book, even if not from LA!

A beautifully written, heartbreakingly photographed book that will haunt your dreams. The majesty of the swamp and the dignity of the people will move you to tears. Julia Sims is an amazing photographer with an eagle's eye and a full heart. Manchac swamp and it's people won't easily be forgotten by anyone who opens this book. It is the book, that once given, the giver gives it to another, who gives it to another...and so on. You want to pass it on.

Susan Bryan, Memphis Tennessee svmarsh@yahoo.com

As a first time viewer of wildlife/landscape photography, I expected this book to be little more than a book of pretty pictures. However, Julia Sims managed, with vertiginous purity, to bring the swamps of Louisiana to my very living room over a thousand miles away. Her lyrical use of brilliant colors and vivid backdrops enabled me, and many others with whom I have shared this book, to feel the majestic and natural beauty of Manchac Swamp. Nearly ever picture tells a story that enables the reader to feel a part of this American treasure. Mr. Kemp's ability to illuminate the personalities of those who call the swamp home is equally impressive. These "guardians of the swamp" have coexisted beautifully for decades with this as their wallpaper and any reader of this book will understand their fortune for having been able to do so. This is more than just a coffee table book to be shared during polite conversation; these 144 pages are a visual love letter to the flora, fauna and wildlife of a dying swamp. Ms. Sims and Mr. Kemp will be thanked for many years to come. Manchac Swamp: Louisiana's Undiscovered Wilderness is a true work of art and a source of inspiration.

Contrary to the two reviews you display, this was a "One-Shot" Magazine that covered Pete's first three years at LSU. There were two Authors, Editors, and Publishers, John Muchemeche and myself. While John wrote most of the articles which were great, and took most of the pictures, the real credit for the Magazines professional look should go to Kirk Kirkpatrick, who did the artwork, Lay-out, and design. My only regret was that we didn't follow up with Volume 2, at the end of his Senior Year, and distributed it Nationally.

The program/book of Pete's junior year at LSU is a gem to any collector's bag. It is full of memoriable moments of Pete and Press and the LSU gang during that that year. It offers superb pictures, statistics, and in-depth analysis of Pete's flamboyant years at the collegiate level. I am so glad that I discoved this collectible item. It is a must have for any fan of the Pistol,or the average Maravich fan. Enjoy and treasure the reading. Superb!

This is a hard to find program from Maravich's junior year at LSU. It was sold at the Pistol's home games in New Orleans. It's full of stats, interviews, and incredible photos (some color). I have seen used copies of this very publication offered for $125 in sports magazines. Two words: collector's item.

I DESIGN MARDI GRAS COSTUMES. THIS BOOK HAS BEEN EVERY USEFUL FOR IDEAS

If you wish to view the real New Orleans carnival celebration, take a look through this window opened by its legendary artist/historian, Henri Schindler. Schindler is a local icon, the touchstone of this unique cultural expression. Students of cultural and social history as well as art lovers and designers will share delight in Schindler's masterful recreation, through well-researched and entertaining text and beautiful color plates, of the "golden age" of the celebration--an oeuvre to which Schindler adds annually through his own designs for several of the old-line carnival organizations, thus keeping alive the artistic and cultural tradition of which he writes in this and his previous books. The reader comes to know, through the insights of a true "insider", the meaning and spirit of the "real" Carnival.

This book is exquisite.
In New Orleans, Mardi Gras as practiced by the faithfull is the high holy event of the year. Mr. Schindler has documented the aesthetic traditions of the rites in a series of beautiful books- this is the lastest and focuses on costume designs from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The plates are all original drawings by the great designers of Carnivals' past (Mr. Schindler is the great designer of Carnivals present). New Orleans Mardi Gras is rooted in the aesthetic of 19th century Italian opera and this book has some truly surreal illustrations. Any Carnival faithfull, opera fan, theatre designer or just folks who love costume parties should love this book. It also stands as a serious work of art history- the talent and effort that go into mounting parades and tableaux balls in New Orleans get overlooked and all of Mr. Schindlers books on the subject document a rich history of artists and artisans who worked in the city and built its most revered tradition.

`Mediterranean Seafood' and `North Atlantic Seafood', both by noted culinary writer Alan Davidson, the author of `The Oxford Companion to Food' are reference books which a serious cook must have in their library where time is spent deciding on what to eat rather than time spend actually cooking. These books belong to a rare breed of books in English such as Elizabeth Schneider's `Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini' or `Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients' which thoroughly cover a broad single subject or the `Larousse Gastronomique' which gives an overview of virtually every culinary subject, at least from the point of view of French cuisine.

Both books are organized in the same way that gives primacy to information on the aquatic species and secondary coverage of recipes.

Biological family, genus, and species organize the first part on the catalog of species in order that the biological similarity of the fishes is clearly shown. Each article gives the most common English name, the two part Latin scientific name, the scientist who assigned this name (most commonly the great inventor of biological Taxonomy, Linnaeus), the biological family name, and the common name of the fish in virtually every language of the major fishing nationality bordering the relevant body of water. The North Atlantic species, for example, are named in Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and others such as Gaelic (Irish). The Mediterranean species' names are given in French, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Tunisian, Turkish, and others such as Bulgarian, Romanian, and Russian if, for example, the species is most commonly found in the Black Sea, which is included in the coverage of the Mediterranean. These names in themselves are entertaining to the linguistically inclined, as it is interesting to see the similarities and differences from country to country. For example, even though the Turks came to Asia Minor from central Asia, most of their names for fishes are very similar to the Greek name, making a lot of sense, as a traveling people is likely to name things new to them based on the names given by the indigenous population. The articles on every species also have a highly detailed black and white drawing of each animal. The great value to these is that it makes comparing the appearance of different fishes very easy, as every species is depicted in a similar style. It is too bad they could not be depicted to scale, but this would have had the sturgeon filling two pages while the anchovies would be the size of a period. Instead, the remarks on each fish give the average market length and a description of the typical color and markings.

The catalog entry also gives a paragraph or two on cuisine, which is a discussion of the culinary desirability of the species and typical ways in which the animal is prepared. For most fish, this includes methods by which the fish is butchered. The catalog entries also include a list of recipes and page numbers for these recipes in the second major section of the book.

The second major section divides recipes by country. The Mediterranean volume has chapters of recipes from Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, the Black Sea, and Northern Africa. The North Atlantic volume has recipes from Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, the United States, Scotland, England, Ireland, and Wales. France merits two sections, covering the southwest and the northwest. The US merits four sections, covering New England, the Middle Atlantic States, the Chesapeake, and the Carolinas and Georgia.

Other books, such as `Fish' by Shirley King seems to have copied this scheme, but seems to be much less successful in that not enough valuable information is packed into the catalogue to make it interesting enough reading to outweigh the annoyance of doing a two step search for a recipe on haddock, for example. The other side of the coin is that if you live in Maryland, you are much more likely to be interested in recipes from the Chesapeake than in recipes from Maine.

One is tempted to expect these recipes to be very generic and not as interesting as those you may find in books of `haute cuisine' from a fish specialist such as Eric Rippert. This is partially true. Davidson is less the great cook than he is a great writer on food. This means that while his recipes may come from common sources, he gives us much more information on the background of the recipes than the chef may do. Two perfect examples of this case are the recipes for bouillabaisse (French fish stew) and Maryland crab cakes. Davidson confesses to giving us something simpler than the `de luxe version', yet this simple treatment is entirely appropriate to the simple origins of the dish, before the gourmets got their hands on it. Similarly, the crab cake recipe has very few ingredients, mostly just crabmeat, seasonings, breadcrumbs, and enough egg to hold it all together.

The supplementary information tells much about the fish cuisine of both regions. The most interesting information is on the fact that while the Mediterranean is very shallow, it has relatively little continental shelf while the North Sea is practically all shelf, suitable to the spawning of young fish in shallow water. This does much to explain the popularity of the North Atlantic cod in peninsular Italy, virtually surrounded by water.

The bibliography shows that the author has based most of his material on local sources in native languages such as Polish, Turkish, and Portuguese. This may only help the multilingual scholar, but then it is the rare English culinary work that does this. One of the greatest things about these volumes is that all of this great material is available in trade paperbacks, which list for no more than $25.

These are must have books for devoted foodies!

All the commonly-eaten fish and shellfish of the Mediterranean are covered in this wonderful reference and cookbook. As in his Atlantic Seafood, each animal's entry includes an old engraving (better than a photo for identification -- except for color), its scientific and common names in various languages, a description of the animals habit's and culinary qualities, and a reference to recipes.

Recipes are organized by country, and are well chosen and edited. The only criticism I might offer is that it is hard to find recipes by type. That is, it's very easy to find recipes for mackerel or recipes from Italy, but it's hard to find all the baked-fish recipes suitable for a dark-fleshed fish.

A great book like this should never be out of print! It's one of my favorite gifts for friends in Greece and Italy....

Just before his untimely death, this year, Alan Davidson received the highly prestigious Erasmus Prize for European culture, for his publications on food. This book, along with his Companion and other publications, is a classic. It is crammed full of useful and necessary information. The fish section describes a species, its latin name, and the names in various other languages in the region. The recipe section deals in an intelligent way with regional knowns and unknowns, such as a sencible discussion on bouillabaisse. Any serious library of cookbooks has to have Davidson's books, including this one.

This is my favorite story of all time. Even though Melitte is uneducated, she shows a greater knowledge of love, bravary, and loyality than of those who are educated. Marie is a strong character, who doesn't judge people by race, wealth, sex, beliefs, or social status, but by what's inside. Fatima Shaik paints a vivid picture of the psychological effects of slavery on the enslaved, slavers, and bystanderds of this dreadful, disgusting period of time. This story is very well researched. And I hope it will be more present on all library shelves everywhere in the furture.

Since she was six, Melitte doesn't remember ever having a loving touch, only physical and mental abuse, rags for clothes, scraps of food, and labor that is beyond her capabilty. She realizes that she is "owned" by Monsieur and Madame Duroux, an unsusessful farmer and his mean, selfish wife. When Madame has a baby, Melitte is forced to care for the child as well as cook, clean, farm, and work in the fields with Monsieur. But Melitte and Marie love each other as equals, sisters; Melitte has finally found love. Only several years apart in age, Melitte teaches Marie a coding system that is sewn into her clothing. When the cabin burns, the family moves to the Preval plantation where Monsieur works as a share-cropper, at 13, Melitte questions her enslavement, an unappreciated orphan, and her fate as being unloved and decides to secretly sew clothes for Madame Preval for money for her freedom. Monsieur becomes become increasingly callous toward the girl, stealing the money she earned to purchase her freedom. Marie helps Melitte escape to a camp of runaways. They will remember each other by heart and memory forever.
This is my favorite story of all time. Even though Melitte is uneducated, she shows a greater knowledge of love, bravary, and loyality than of those who are educated. Marie is a strong character, who doesn't judge people by race, wealth, sex, beliefs, or social status, but by what's inside. Fatima Shaik paints a vivid picture of the psychological effects of slavery on the enslaved, slavers, and bystanderds of this dreadful, disgusting period of time. This story is very well researched. And I hope it will be more present on all library shelves everywhere in the furture.

Melitte is a slave girl. For as long as she can remember, she has been mistreated by a poor Frenchman and his wife on a failing farm in the Louisina backwoods. It is all she remembers, all she knows. Her mother is dead; she has never know love. Then Marie is born. Melitte should despsise her owners' daughter, but Marie treats Melitte as an equal, and they pledge to be "sisters and friends forever." Until Melitte learns some shocking truths: Melitte's owner is her father. Melitte wonders how her father can do this to her, to hold her in bondage all these years and now sell her. Marie risks losing her parents' love by helping Melitte escape slavery. But when they reach a remote Indian village, the Indians will only lead Melitte on, because they fear the white men will plot revenge on them for stealing a white child. Melitte faces a difficult choice: go back with Marie, or go on alone. In Melitte, Fatima Shaik captures the cruelty and horror of slavery through the eyes of a child.

I have prepared many of the dishes in the new book. All were excelent. The recipes were easy to follow. The Authentic dishes take more time to prepare than the quickie recipes from other books but WOW! what a difference in flavor. This book is a must for anyone wanting to entertain guests with Cajun-Creole flavors.

All of the recipes that I have tried in this book, from the staples to the exotic, are wonderful. Some of them (such as the Red Beans & Rice or the Artichoke-Heart Casserole) have become favorites to be prepared whenever I want to impress or just enjoy good eating.

Recipes include background information about how dishes came about, when they should be served and with what. They range from simple, everyday dishes to elaborate, impressive feasts.

If you buy only one Cajun cookbook, buy this one. Its the one to have. I'm buying another one because I wore mine out.

I hosted a Mardi Gras party and lucked-out finding this absolutly wonderful book. The recipes are easy to follow and everything that I have made (at least a dozen or so)has turned out great. I am constantly being asked for these recipes so now I am buying several copies to give to those close family and friends who have mentioned that they would like to buy it. The best of the best: Shrimp in mustard sauce, Sun-dried tomato pesto, Jezebel sauce, Cajun-Country bread pudding w/rum sauce and Chantilly cream, and on and on.

The seafood dishes I've made are delicious with easy directions to follow, and wonderful flavors of New Orleans. The photographs are fabulous and let you see what the dish should look like - something I really appreciate. The little stories with each recipe about the restaurant and the chef make it fun reading even if you're not cooking. I bought one as a gift and enjoyed looking at it so much, I went back and bought one for myself.

My New Years resolution was to learn to cook the wonderful foods of New Orleans. I have purchased many cookbooks and tried many recipes. This is the greatest New Orleans cookbook ever. Kit gives the history of many restaurants and chefs before and after Katrina. You will find it fascinating. The recipes are wonderful. Pictures beautiful. This is a must if you enjoy New Orleans and New Orleans food.

Chefs from iconic restaurants - uptown, downtown, back of town - daily elevate fish and shellfish from basic boiled beauties to traditional (and untraditional) classics. Trout Meunière can make you sob. Soft-shell crabs seem like crispy clouds. Speckled trout, shrimp, pompano, and redfish come blackened, broiled, grilled, sautéed, steamed, sauced and sassy as all get out. These are their recipes refined to be made easily at home.

The recipes in this book demonstrate how the low, the high, and the in-between coexist in a dining world that ranges from blue jeans to black tie. With taste buds to match. The photographs make it easy to duplicate these dishes at home, they are fabulous and lick-the-page wonderful. A must for every kitchen.

I loved it. I lived in New Orleans when some of the "then" was still there, and seeing all the changes is great fun.

The low ranking below must result from something personal. Sullivan is a true authority as he's taught the Crescent City's twisting, multiracial history for years at the University of New Orleans. And when Orleans Parish wanted it's cab drivers to know their own landmarks, City Hall had him put them wise. Beyond this though, it's a fine read. I used to laugh at the architectural damage the developers had done through the decade. But New Orleans has always grasped the modern and this has been its real architectural struggle. This book helps put the changes in perspective.

I found this book to be one of the best gifts I have ever received.Being from New Orleans and looking back at our past and what we have evolved into was simply nothing short of fantastic .It was well composed and the photography was exceptionally well done.Compared to similar books done slightly earlier ,this is a WINNER!I bought these as gifts for Christmas after I received mine.Everyone who got it raved.This author has proven to me, more than once, he is dedicated to authenticity and has the respect for New Orleans that New Orleans deserves.My hats off to you Mr.Sullivan.Great job.Keep up the good work.

There is a wise maturity to the elegiac nature of these poems. The first poem, "Water Dish," for instance, is, on the surface, a straightforward meditation on epiphanies, these beautiful moments that wake us into the present. But look a little deeper, and you will see an elegy for the "now", this present moment, no matter how wonderful. This and many of the other poems here, deeply show that, truly, like a semi truck, the future and the past so often run our lives over. And worse, the very thing we hope can save us, our best words, wall out the real. Nevertheless, courageously, these poems continue to call into the darkness and "lostness" of our lives. The echoes that return make us quiet ourselves and listen. Listen deeply.

Wenthe reinforces the basis of poetry. His poems are some of the best that are being written today. He proves a love of words, and he's a master at creating music with his medium. A beautiful, sparkling book of poems.

Pellucid fragility creates the elegiac yet joyous tone of William Wenthe's second collection, *Not Till We Are Lost.* Rhythmically varied, captured with an eye as unblinking and startling as that of fish ("crewcut lawn," "the rhododendron as a chalice / of shadow"), Wenthe's lines play the literal against the transcendent in a way that invigorates and affirms both. Quiet scholarship ("Goldeneye," "W. H. Auden, Leaving Lubbock. . .") and artfulness (the lovely sonnet sequence "The Mysteries") carry and lift these lyrics on their voyage; tact permits and renders their intimacy. To read the short poem "Gar" is to feel the universe, of a sudden, quiver. The losses that we must suffer these poems create with a candor that will break your heart; yet you will wish for them to break it again and again.