Louisiana Books

Very clearly presents the organization of the Confederate armies and sorts out a lot of the confusion regarding regimental consolidations and duplicate naming. A great tool for genealogists and Civil War researchers

Mr. Sifakis has done an excellent job chronicling the Arkansas and Florida Confederate Armies, citing dates of organization, battles, commanders, mergers, and dispositions. I would highly recommend this book to any serious researcher.

Louisiana Breakdown is an impressively written and thoroughly entertaining novel by Lucius Shepard that blends superstition and lore with faith, potions, and machinations. When a new figure arrives in a small Louisiana because his BMW breaks down, he becomes caught up in the town's tradition of appointing a ten-year-old Midsummer Queen every twenty years. A dark fantasy, Louisiana Breakdown is commended as an imaginative and thought-provoking tale of the fantastic.

Two centuries ago, the townspeople of Grail, Louisiana made a deal with the entity they call the Good Gray Man. The Good Gray Man promised good fortune to the town as long as it provided him with a Midsummer Queen he found acceptable. Accordingly, every twenty years, the town elects a 10-year-old girl to be their Midsummer Queen, the person who draws all of the town's bad luck to her for the next two decades until the next queen is selected, and the Good Gray Man comes to take her away forever.

As this year's Midsummer's Night Eve approaches, the town prepares to choose a new Queen. The reigning Queen, the exquisite Vida Dumars, knows her time is short, that the Good Gray Man will soon come for her. Although Vida has faithfully served as the town's Queen, she's not ready to go-thus, she prays for a champion to appear.

Enter one Jack Mustaine, who blows into town after his BMW breaks down outside of Grail. Vida casts her spells on Jack, and he falls for her like a ton of bricks. But is Jack the champion she seeks? That's a question nobody can answer until Jack comes face to face with the Good Gray Man.

Filled with tension and lurking menace, peopled by fascinating characters, LOUISIANA BREAKDOWN provides further evidence that Lucius Shepard is one of the most original and talented writers working in the field of dark fantasy today. In its first six pages, Shepard creates a living, breathing microcosm, a realistic stage free from cliché. He peoples this world with characters so vivid they threaten to step off the page. He then proceeds to tell a story about good, evil, love, superstition, and destiny, using the traditional elements of dark fantasy to explore his characters' psyches. Told with exquisite compassion, Shepard's novella provided one of 2003's more satisfying reading experiences. Illustrated by J. K. Potter, it's also one of the nicest packages Golden Gryphon has ever offered.

It was a pleasure reading the interviews from the people who have been vital to south Louisiana's cattle industry throughout the years. An accurate and entertaining historical record...one-of-a-kind.

My father had previously met the author a few years back in West Monroe, LA preparing for the Louisiana High School Rodeo Finals. He seemed really interested when he heard about the book because he thought so much of Mr. Jones already. So I ordered it for him. He has loved reading and re-reading parts of the book. Having grown up in rural Southwest Louisiana himself he found many old friend among the pages of the this tribute to these rugged cowboys. I've also read it and I'm adding it to my school library. I plan to incorporate it into some of my library activites with southwest LA history!

Louisiana Creoles: Cultural Recovery and Mixed-Race Native American Identity

As I read this book, I was constantly taking notes. It gave me a more indepth look into my culture as it incorporated the American Indian history and identity of our many, different ethnic backgrounds. I definitely recommend this book to all readers of multiracial background interests.

This book is a must read for all Creoles! Jolivette really gave justice to all the misinformation that has been said of Creoles. Race as it has been applied to Creoles has been nothing more than a political concept that ignored the true culture and Jolivette really explains how culture should be of more importance than race. The book clearly provides evidence why Creoles deserve their own separate ethnic category and why we must preserve our cultural legacy. I think it's very wrong for the government to attach labels to people without letting them self define and we're supposed to be a free country? I once had a dark skin friend from Honduras who told me that I would be considered a Creole in his country! I would hate to think I would get my true identity in a foreign country but not in my own! I also don't understand how the Native American contribution to Creole culture can be ignored when New Orleans always had the Mardi Gras Indians who they honor from their past relationships. I think the Mardi Gras Indians should've been mentioned in the book but overall Jolivette shows how the Native Indians contributed to Creole culture and each ethnicity( French, African, Indian & Spanish) deserve equal attention. I'm more proud to be Creole now because I kind of strayed away from the Creole culture due to society pressure to just think in black and white. And now with the internet I can reach out to other Creoles. I also recommend watching the film Spirit of a Culture: Cane River Creoles.

This is an unbelievable collection of Cajun, Creole and Southern cooking. The menu format is unique and right on. It's no wonder it was chosen as the Official Cookbook for the 1984 World Expo. It's my favorite cookbook. I received it as a gift years ago and I've been giving it as one ever since. Very reasonably priced.

This book has great menus and fabulous, unique recipes for all different size parties. I find it invaluable when trying to estimate quantities of food for different sizes of groups. It is so easy to find a party of the size and type I want to entertain and there is the entire roadmap of menus and recipes planned for me. Half of the work of entertaining is already done!

This book has won a Southern Books Competition Award of Honorable Mention for Book Design from the Southeastern Library Association. This award is given in recognition of the book's aesthetic appeal and design and for fine craftsmanship in its printing and binding. Congratulations to photographer Philip Gould, author Jason Berry, designer Laura Roubique Gleason, printer Dai Nippon Printing, and the Louisiana State University Press.

Phillip Gould has been an astute and quirky observer of Louisiana life for a couple of decades. Though a transplant he has established serious and widely respected local roots. He speaks Cajun/Creole French; he speaks to the heart. This finely honed selection of portaits echoes every strophe of Louisiana life. His visages map and mirror what Louisiana is and is about. They stand as a testament to a place and its cultures-- a singular place at that, fiercely individual cultures to boot; a world and its folkways that still tenaciously remain undiluted into the general American homogeneity. Gould's reportorial eye is keen and witty, his pictures are trenchant and lambent and are destined to imprint and remain.

The absolute best book in its category! As a real Cajun (born and raised in South Louisiana), I can't tell you how many times I've gone into a restaurant in the East, West, or Midwest and ordered a "Cajun" gumbo dish and had to gasp in amazement at how "wrong" they got it, and how little it tasted like authentic Cajun gumbo. So, thank God for Floyd and Bea Weber! I know how to cook authentic Cajun gumbo and can vouch for this excellent Cajun Gumbo recipe book. This book contains a treasure trove of the absolute best authentic recipes from genuine local South Louisiana people (many of whom have now passed away), that were passed down over generations of Cajuns. This is REAL DEAL. So, if you REALLY want to cook the delicious Cajun gumbo that my mom and grandma used to make, this is THE book for you. Knowing what I know, I can definitely say that this book would be a steal at $50, but fortunately for us, the price is a lot lower (which means I can order multiple copies and pass them out to friends)!

Well, I was born in Taiwan and raised in Southeast Texas. So I was always very mindful of my surroundings. What I love most about my environment is the people first and food second. And that explains, sort of, my being a sushi chef in California today. One day years ago, after having quite a stomach full of sweet, delicious crawfish, etc. at The Cajun Cookery, next to IH-10 in Orange, TX, I discovered this lovely little Cajun cookbook called The Louisiana Gumbo Cookbook by Bea and Floyd Weber (Acadian House.) Very resourceful, and full of easy to understand, real... down home Cajun recipes. The restaurant was asking for a hefty price for the book, so no buy, but managed to write down the infos on the book on the menu and kept it until today. Finally decided to give it a search today, and BOY!.... was I surprised to see it onscreen @ Amazon.com Wonderful!

A must-buy for all Cajun history, food fans all over the world!

Lawrence Hsu

email me: sushiman007@msn.com

This book is a must for Louisiana Iris growers.
It provides excellent growing information and the graphics are both beautifully done and they provide help in identification of your plants.We also found that Amazon offered a great price value. Shipping was prompt, and the product arrived in excellent condition. Amazon is a great place to buy.

Now in a newly updated and expanded second edition, The Louisiana Iris: The Taming Of The Native American Wildflower covers every aspect of the history, botany, and development of these distinctive flowers, with particular emphasis on the newest hybrids, hybridizing techniques, and horticultural practices. Drawing upon their members' extensive and practical experience and expertise, the Society for Louisiana Irises provides the perfect introduction to these remarkable plants to the gardening public with a beautifully and profusely illustrated volume that is exhaustive and authoritative with information. The Louisiana Iris is an invaluable and much appreciated addition to any personal, professional, academic, or community library horticultural and gardening reference collection.

I stumbled over this book while on a short trip to Louisiana during the Christmas season a couple of years ago. I had been baking some cookies and as I flipped though the pages I came to a recipe (sesame seed cookies) that wasn't just close, it was exactly the same as the one I'd just baked. I turned to a few more recipes and found more and more of them them that seemed like the same as the ones I'd been using for years. I had to buy it. When I got it home and started reading it I noticed and even that not only the recipes but also the names or people in the stories were similar to some of those in my family. This was spooky. It was as if there was an entire group of people with exactly the same heritage, traditions, culture, recipes, etc.

If you are from the western New York area and you neglected to collect your grandmothers' recipes, fear not. This book is your answer.

The recipes work. You need to be careful with then as some of the yields are huge. There are a few errors but for the most part this book is a treasure trove of classic Sicilian-American recipes.

I purchased this book recently at a bookstore in Baton Rouge, LA. I am originally from New Orleans and relocated to TX after Katrina. I am of Italian descent and was saddened when I lost several family recipes in the floodwaters. Reading Nancy's book was like going into a time capsule for me. She gives a wonderful history of the Sicilians coming to Southern Louisiana, followed by several wonderful recipes that she has collected. It brings back some really great memories for me, especially the discussions of the St Joseph's altars. After the storm I found I have become quite reminiscent of the past, so buying Nancy's book was a no-brainer for me.

For those outside of the Southern Louisiana area, I recommend this book to you as well. There are some really good recipes in there!!!! It is definitely authentic Sicilian if that is what you are looking for.

Great cookbook! I am from Louisiana and highly recommend this cookbook if you are interested in cajun cooking. ...

EXCELLENT cajun/creole cookbook. Mr Chachere was a self-taught chef, picking up recipes from many restaurant owners in his area. The recipes are varied, covering a wide range of recipe types. NOTE : The recipe for his commercial spice mix is included in the ccokbook (later printings do not include the MSG included in the original recipe).
One minor distraction is the constant use of his own spice mix in all but the dessert recipes, but it works well in the dishes, so the salesmanship can be excused.