Louisiana Books

Review: She walks on Gilded Splinters by Gene Dwyer.

The book is about Marie Laveau, a Voodoo "queen" who devastates the New Orleans community every twenty-five years, committing a series of sensational murders.

It is an intriguing combination of fantasy and violence set against the backdrop of the history and consequences of the slave trade in New Orleans. The author has written a gruesome thriller with moral implications, both a reminder of the inhuman practice of slavery and the cruelty inflicted on an innocent people, and that the results are still with us. Must we answer for the sins of our forefathers? Is compensation due to the descendants of those who were so abused? Can anything wipe out the consequences? Can the past ever be forgiven? Has it been forgiven? Will it ever be forgiven? One need only glance at what hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans and its largely black population to be forcibly reminded that problems connected with race still exist in America

These controversial issues, which may offend many, were not what made me read the book avidly from cover to cover. Whatever is in the mind of the author, an American judge, he has produced an absorbing and exciting story with a lurid historical background. It is not a religious sermon.

In the first pages I was sceptical about the absurd concept of magic, invisible monsters and the living dead, but soon became involved in the STORY, that Marie Laveau, whose tomb may still be visited in New Orleans, is still alive and taking revenge on the descendants of anyone who had taken part in the American slave trade. Voodoo, in a horrible and disgusting fashion, is real.

Once you have got into the book you will find that the author has managed a strong degree of verisimilitude and you find yourself living in the pages of the narrative with real people, in spite of the impossibility of what is being portrayed.

This is an absorbing, fascinating suspense story which will at times disgust, but which will ultimately compel the reader to follow it to the final nail-biting conclusion.

Light relief is supplied by policeman Marvin's dog, Yorick, and his fishing, a real Man's dog.

Although not for the oversensitive, this is a thriller with a difference which is definitely worth reading and which could make a successful horror movie with plenty of scope for special effects.

Although Marie Laveau the person will never be captured, Gene Dwyer has successfully captured her essence in his remarkable book, "She Walks on Gilded Splinters." As we learned during 911, one tragic event can unleash simultaneously the forces of good and evil. "She Walks on Gilded Slinters" recalls events that depict the worst suffering man can inflict on man and thereby unleash forces of revenge that take their toll over generations. You will not forget Marie Laveau. As the author states, "Getting an education makes people so skeptical they don't believe what is right in front of them. . ." If you can suspend your intellectual beliefs for just a moment, you will believe not only in magical, miraculous things, you will also discover the true meaning of immortality.

Gail Cawsey

SHE WALKS ON GILDED SPLINTERS is not so much the story of Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau, as it is an unexpected mystery. Mr. Dwyer artfully blends a combination of blood, gore, sex, mystery and history into a Louisiana gumbo you can smell and taste. You will not want to put this book down as you near the end. It is truly a "page turner."

Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands is the best single book on the often-overlooked Gulf Coast Theater of the War of 1812. Well written and researched, Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands brings to light several little understood aspects of the War of 1812. First, it illustrates the previously overlooked interrelation of the Creek War and the bearing it had on the outcome of the War of 1812.

Secondly, it details all military and political actions on the Gulf Coast leading up to the Battle of New Orleans. Most books focus only on the events of the battle, ignoring the many actions that had a direct influence on how the Battle of New Orleans was fought. Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands describes these events so one can understand thier impact on the outcome of the battle itself.

Lastly, Struggle for the Gulf Borderlands brings to light the divergent Southern opinion that the War of 1812 was a great military victory. From the Southern perspective, victory was nearly complete; the Creeks had been destroyed (opening more land for settlement); the Mobile territory had been annexed; and a major British invasion had been decisively stopped. The book contrasts this Southern perspective to the typical Northern view that the War of 1812 was at best a draw, which is the general view put forward by the majority of books on this subject.

Overall, the book is readable and informative. It is important for the new ideas and information it brings to the history of an area and a period. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in either the Creek War or the War of 1812.

Dr. Owsley tells the story of the Gulf area during the War of 1812 in a very readable manner. His work is quite thorough and includes a lot of detail about the skirmishes and battles. I recommend this to anyone with an interest in the War of 1812 and the Creek Indian War. The research done was well documented and any student of history will find this a great source.

For decades to come this will be the standard reference work on this topic. Superbly researched utilizing not only the usual American sources, but the previously untapped archives of Spain and Great Britain. Owsley has integrated the Creek War into the larger framework of the War of 1812 causing the reader at some point to pronounce "Eureka" as you begin to acquire a whole new perspective on Andrew Jackson and the conflict with Great Britain.

This may easily be the best history on the Creek War of 1813-1814. What could have been a completely altered history of the United States - if Andrew Jackson had not been in command, if he would have hesitated only weeks from the crucible campaign concluding at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, if the British would have landed the state-of-the-art muskets, artillery, military advisors/trainers, and cavalry accoutrements several weeks earlier than they did, if the Spanish had been more pro-active than they were for the Creeks, etc. - would have prevented us from our Manifest Destiny! I never before have read all of this with such fervor, explanation, and detail. Owsley makes the point that too many of our historians have belittled our accomplishments in these two interrelated wars and downplayed their significance. Often we have been led to believe that the War of 1812 was a "draw." He makes the point that it was on balance a resounding victory.

Jackson's being in the right place at the right time for the Battle of New Orleans would not have occurred but for his role in the Creek War and the overwhelming victory achieved. We would not have had the experienced and trained troops in place under his command but for the Creek War. And, inasmuch as the British did not recognize the validity of the Louisiana Purchase, if they had won the Battle of New Orleans then the Treaty of Ghent signed in December 1814 would not have applied to any claims that they would have asserted over New Orleans, Louisiana, and their planned buffer states under the Creek Indians and their allies. The frontier would have been inflamed and we would have had strong buffer Indian states with which to contend and two mutually supportive European powers. All of this was prevented by Andrew Jackson and his juggernaut victory at Horseshoe Bend. The sheer quantum of international intrigue taking place at Pensacola and throughout the Gulf area is enlightening.

This book is highly recommended by this reviewer. You will receive a whole new perspective on Andrew Jackson and his brave Tennessee and Georgia troops in the Creek War.

This book is very good for adhering to the glycemic index while allowing one to enjoy good food. A must for any healthy gourmet!

This sugar free cookbook has terrific information blended with easy to make recipes. Reference material on the glycemic index is the best I've seen. I am cooking more interesting dishes now thanks to this book.

Sugarfree New Orleans has taught me a whole new way to cook! Healthy recipes without sugar are right in line with our new diet! I feel like I have learned the secrets of great New Orleans chefs since we now enjoy New Orleans style cooking at home. The information about the glycemic index is easy to understand and has been very helpful. Recipes are easy to follow. The book even has New Orleans food terms explained. But the best thing about the book is the recipes!! Sweet potato chips is one of my family's favorites. I am cooking more often and enjoying the outcome thanks to this book.

When I was a young boy growing up in Oklahoma, I was told of my great-great grandfather being hung in Texas during the Civil War. I never knew much about the circumstances surrounding the event other than that, except that his name was Nathaniel Miles Clark, and that I was named for one of his sons, James Lemuel.

While looking up ancestors, I came across Mr. McCaslin's historical account about a mass hanging in Gainesville Texas in 1862. Believing that this could be an account of the event about which I had been told, I ordered the book, and read it through in one day. It was a most enlightening account.

Since then I have read accounts from other sources of the same events, but Mr. McCaslin's well documented study is the most complete and impartial account that I have read of the entire episode. Mr. McCaslin does much to reduce the historical obscurity of the circumstances surrounding the Great Gainesville Hangings, especially to the descendants of the victims of that episode, which by now must be a great number of people.

I would like to see a movie made based on this event.

Mr. McCaslin has opened the murky pages of the past with this outstanding accounting of the Hanging at Gainesville. Even today there are strong feelings on both sides regarding the right or wrong of the situation, although, there can never be any doubt that the system broke down badly. It is a image of controlled and ordered hysteria. I have no doubt that the Southern sympathizers felt justified in their actions. I also have no doubt that their actions was an abuse of power, regardless of how justified they felt.

His book has helped me reconstruct the events in the life of my ancestor, Alexander Boutwell, who was the executioner at the majority of the hangings.

Mr. McCaslin does an outstanding job portraying both sides without condoning the actions of either. His book, which is dog-eared and full of notes, holds a welcome spot in my library.

Books like this should be required reading for libertarians who think that if you just removed government from peoples' lives, that everything would just sort of work itself out for the best. This would also be good reading for any Southern apologists who would argue that the Confederacy just wanted to be left in peace and that the war was all about Yankee aggression.

The story of this book is what happens when central authority breaks down and people are left to their own devices. When people take the law into their own hands, they tend to do what furthers their own interests. In this case, the interests lay primarily with the Confederate sympathizers in the Gainesville region of Texas, who proceeded to take about 40 Unionists and execute them during October 1862. Not coincidentally, many of the Unionists and Confederates had other bones of contention between them, and these hangings settled a number of scores unrelated to Civil War itself. Some men faced reprisals, but in large part most of those who participated never were brought to any sort of justice.

This is a cautionary tale, especially in these times when civil liberties seem to discarded all too easily in favor of national security. The Unionists, though few had actually spoken out against the Confederacy (some were not even Unionists!), were charged with treason & conspiracy to insurrection. Under the guise of protecting the security of the region, the suspects were rushed to justice & summarily executed. These were all people, on both sides, who had been model citizens for the most part only a few years previously.

Events like this were not restricted to North Texas. Out in frontier communities, a lot of people took advantage of the breakdown of authority to settle scores with their enemies, often under the guise of protecting the security of their region. After reading a book such as this, one is left with a very unsettled view of man's capacity for lawlessness, even among the most respectable of citizens, if given a chance to break the law without consequence. It has happened before, and it could happen again.

This is a great book that depicts the entire 2006 New Orleans Saints football season. The pictures are wonderful and the story was written very well. I bought it as a birthday present for my husband and he LOVED it.

Excellent book. Great item to remember the Saints amazing 2006 season for years and years to come. I look forward to next year's book about the Saints Super Bowl Championship.

This book was awesome!!!! I have been a Saints fan for many years, through the good and the bad. The 2006 season was awesome. This book is a great recap of a wonderful season for the New Orleans Saints. It has a week by week analysis of each game of the 2006 season. This is a great gift for a New Orleans Saints fan.

Geaux Saints!!!!!

After reading some of the reviewers, both Amazon's and the blurbs, I decided to give a lesser known poet a try. I was stunned. The packaging of Belitt's phrasing is definitely from the Hart Crane linneage, as Bloom pointed out. His diction and precision is as full as it can get. The negative at least for me personally is there is not really any conversational tone, which makes the voice of the poet harder to reach, but when reached is lush. Belitt is as good of a poet on a per poem basis as other of the well known poets in our anthologies. There is just not the output there to call Belitt a major poet, but then again Bishop has only a handful, but she is a permanent poet.

This collection has been a long time in coming and it is very much worth the wait. This Scribe will be remembered long after the likes of Henri Cole, Paul Muldoon, Louise Gluck (the list could be reasonably long) disappear beneath the patina of the passe. Here we have some permanent poetry. The School of the Soldier is great literature -- this is the first time I read it. Who knew?

Indeed, Bellit has been a forgotten - or atleast neglected - master of this art. His intricate poems strike us by virtue their enormous depth and move us in ways that few poems can. This collection should be a staple of any serious poetry-lovers collection - a book of poems to read and then read again.

While at times the book is difficult to read it illustrates an important point you cannot just draw a line in the dirt and expect everyone on one side to be loyal to this country or that country. There were people in the south that supported the Union a lot of people and the same holds true for Confederate sympathizers in the north. The Civil War is not and never was a crusader like story of armies of light from the north and soldiers of darkness from the south it is the story of incredibly human people who had to make an incredibly difficult choice. Also as the narrative will show America during the time of the Civil War was not nearly as romantic as everyone wishes it was.

The tragic part about the course of history and the passage of time is that none of those people thought to write an account as Captian Dennis E. Haynes did.

Overall-I would like to thank the captain for his account and Arthur W. Bergeron Jr. for preserving it for future generations.

It is well known that during the Revolutionary War there was a substantial portion of the population that remained loyal to England. Even though I was born and grew up in Louisiana I did not know that there were 'Unionists' in the area that remained loyal to the United States.

Captain Dennis E. Haynes was one such individual. Born in Ireland in 1819, he came to the US sometime in the early 1830's. This makes him a 45 year old man by the time the enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1864. By the standards of the time, he was an old man. By the standards of an Army he was an old man.

Besides the shock of seeing the names of towns near where I grew up (and where I thought nothing had ever happened), I was surprised to see how much and how far Capt. Haynes traveled. He was always on the move, going hundreds of miles to New Orleans or Texas. In one case, trying to get to Port Hudson (near Baton Rouge) he walked in a little over a day and a night 52 miles having had only one small meal.

This book is reprinted from the original which was published in 1866 and of which only two copies are known to exist. As such it is written in the style of the time and reads a bit differently than a current book. Still, it is one of the very few personal memoirs from a southern Unionist, and the only one known from Louisiana. To the Civil War reader, this is a book on a little known aspect of the war.

A Thrilling Narrative: The Memoir Of A Southern Unionist is the memoir of Captain Dennis E. Haynes, and a rarity indeed - the true tale of a Southern unionist. Few Southern Unionists wrote of their experiences after the American Civil War, and A Thrilling Narrative is the only publication of Louisiana Unionist, and the only account of the First Louisiana Battalion Cavalry Scouts, a unit that existed for less than three months and only saw action during the Red River Campaign of 1864. In A Thrilling Narrative, Haynes speaks of how he opposed the secession of Texas and became a hunted man for it, his terrible journey to reach Union troops in Louisiana, and the cruelty that he and other Union sympathizers suffered at the hands of the Confederates. Notes and an index round out this powerful glimpse at the harrowing difficulties of taking a stand that is unpopular to one's neighbors.

This guide is not only helpful, it's absolutely hilarious. The writing is of a much higher level than you'd expect in a standard guide. It's smart, it's brutally honest (when they don't like something, they let you KNOW), and it doesn't pull any punches. New Orleans is a strange and wonderful place, and all guidebooks to it should be this good. But since they aren't, buy this one.

I have been an eternal fan and grateful reader of the Time Out series for years. From their books to their magazines (NYC, Amsterdam & London), they have made my visits quite enjoyable. In Time Out New Orleans they have offerred invaluable choices from food to music to where to get a good cup of "joe." I can't emphasize enough how much one would benefit to heed their suggestions. I just returned from NO in early Dec '98, lucky me that the book came out in time.

Travel guides are always a hit or miss affair: who can tell whether the editors came to town with the same mentality as you? Too many are geared for the lowest form of tourist: the pathetic sheep following the herd. Not so with this guide to New Orleans, which has been our touchstone on four separate trips to the Big Easy.

Thorough, up-to-date, and above all HONEST. Strongly recommended for anyone visiting for the first time, and especially for anyone returning for a more "refined" visit to the city.l

`The Top 100 Cajun Recipes of All Time' from the editors of `acadiana profile' and `The Justin Wilson Cookbook' are two excellent little sources for Cajun (Arcadian) recipes. Their primary value lies in both their relative authenticity and in their low cost. For a more complete source of `relatively authentic' Cajun recipes at a slightly higher cost for over twice as many recipes, I suggest `Cajun Cuisine' from the Beau Bayou Publishing Company.

It's interesting that all these books come from very local sources. In this regard, they share a characteristic of some of the best Pennsylvania Dutch cookbooks. This is easily understandable, as unlike `Southern' cooking and `Tex-Mex' cooking, Cajun and Pennsylvania Dutch cooking both come from just a few counties in just one state (Louisiana and Pennsylvania respectively).

While both of these books are inexpensive and `kitchen friendly' (will lie flat on the kitchen table while you cook), there are some important differences. The `Top 100' book is simply recipes and nothing but recipes. Justin Wilson's book has fewer recipes (and NO INDEX!) but lots of homey observations so familiar to anyone who saw him on his PBS cooking shows. Another big difference is that in spite of the fact that Wilson was an `amateur' cook, he was an `amateur' in much the same way as Julia Child was an `amateur', in that they did not cook in professional (restaurant) kitchens, but they knew a whole lot about cooking technique and their technique did show a lot of professional touches. To be sure, Child was a much more accomplished teacher and literally a more accomplished researcher into her chosen field than Wilson, whose primary attraction was not `technique', but `bon hommine' (sic).

Two things which set Wilson apart from `The Top 100' is his use of stocks and his cooking with wine. Wine certainly appears in some `Top 100' recipes, but it appears in almost half of Wilson's recipes and many recipes are named for their use of wine (even the French have just a few recipes named for their use of wine).

The biggest question I have about `The Top 100' is whether this means the best recipes of the 100, or the 100 most distinctively Cajun recipes. Since the latter is much less subjective, it would be much more valuable than the former, as one can always use the book to find the most distinctively Cajun recipes and feel free to improve on them. The introduction suggests that the editors had both objectives in mind. I will concede to them the claim that these are the 100 most typical Cajun recipes, as no one should be in a better position to know than a local publisher of local recipes which has been in the business for many years.

On the question of quality, I remain agnostic, but I will do a little survey on my favorite recipe, the turtle soup, to see if there is a chance that `The Top 100' does have `the best recipe'. First, a look at the recipe itself reveals that it is truly a recipe for the amateur cook, as it does not use a prepared stock, unlike both Justin Wilson, Emeril Lagasse (see `Emeril's Delmonico'), and Paul Prudhomme (see `Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen'). Thus, it reflects a home kitchen that does not have the resources to prepare stock in advance or a nearby supermarket with ample supplies of chicken stock. It's interesting to see the progression of complexity from the home recipes to Lagasse to Prudhomme to the ultimate classic French recipe in `The Escoffier Cookbook'. On the basis of this little survey, I have to believe that one should qualify the book's title to be `The Best 100 HOME Cooked Cajun Recipes of All Time'. This is evident from the fact that almost all recipes have a source of a local Louisiana home cook! It's also interesting to see the progression in this series from no stock to chicken stock (Wilson and Lagasse) to combination of chicken and turtle stock (Prudhomme) to pure turtle stock (Escoffier).

One thing I notice in both books which simply has never come up in all the hours I have spent watching Emeril on the Food Network. This is the common use of `oil' rather than either butter or pork fat in many recipes. Wilson goes further to specify olive oil, and this is well before we all became familiar with how good olive oil and the whole `Mediterranean diet' was for us. It would be the ultimate irony to find that Justin Wilson's red wine and olive oil recipes were `healthy'.

To make up for this, there is also a fairly common use of `prepared' staples here, such as `American cheese', Worchestershire sauce and Lea and Perrins sauce. (What is surprising is to see Emeril use `A1' sauce also in his Turtle Soup). `The Top 100' uses a bit less of the prepared stuff, but does use `oleo' more often. Please replace `oleo' with real butter. It's actually better for you.

Both books fully embody everything I ever heard about `Cajun' cooking, most especially the use of the trinity of onions, celery and sweet peppers (replacing the French carrots in the classic mirepoix). Even where the three are not used together, celery and sweet peppers seem to find their way into just about everything, especially given the high number of braised and casseroled dishes using lots of aromatics.

I confess that like Jean Shepherd's writing, Justin Wilson's Cajun accent and wry expressions simply don't come across as well in print as they do on the screen, so the extras in his book have limited value.

For the price, I recommend both; however, `The Top 100' may have a longer shelf life.

My wife and I are avid fans of Cajun and Zydeco music, and we take trips to Louisiana as often as possible to go to festivals and dance. On one of our trips we stopped by The Cajun General Store in Lafayette to do some souveneir shopping. I spied "The 100 best Cajun Recipes of All Time" on a book rack. It was a humble little pamphlet and very reasonably priced. I figured that any book that made that boast for so little a financial risk was worth a try. That gamble paid off with years of great eating.

I haven't tried all the recipes, only about 20. Not only have I not been disappointed, I have eaten some of the best food of my entire life. You won't find Paul Prudhomme in this cook book, but you will find Manning "Pete" Broussard of Lafayette Parish. Never heard of him. Well, don't feel bad, no one outside of his family has probably heard of him either. You see, these recipes were collected by Acadiana Magazine over a period of 20 plus years. The were sent in by true Cajuns who probably learned the recipes from their family members who had been perfecting them for generations. Most of the recipes are very simple. For example, there is a chicken stew recipe that I frequently make, and most of the time, I only need to buy chicken to have everything I need to prepare it. If you follow the instructions, you really do not need to be a great cook to prepare great Cajun food. But you do need patience, because most of the recipes require several hours to be prepared right.

I can't emphasize enough what a great buy this book is. If you like to eat great comfort food, you will be forever grateful that you purchased it. If you don't believe me, try this recipe and see if you are convinced.

Chicken Stew

2 tablespoons butter - 1/2 cup flour - 1 onion, chopped - 1 bellpepper, choppped - 1 rib of celery, chopped - 1/2 cup of chopped parsley - 2 cups of water - 1 chicken, cut up - Salt and pepper to taste - 1 teaspoon of garlic salt.

1. Make a roux by blending butter and flour in a sauce pan and continuously stirring over medium high heat until dark brown. Stir vigourously and don't burn.

2. Add everything and cook until the chicken is boiled off the bone. Cull out all the bones, cartiledge and skin. Serve over rice.

Mrs. Mary Colar Franklin, (St. Mary Parish)

I am so glad I bought this recipe book. There are so many wonderful recipes and I've tried a few already. I love Cajun cooking and I wanted an authentic "on the bayou" recipe book to keep on hand for inspiration. I am so delighted with this book and have recommended it to friends and family. For me, there's nothing better than cooking a meal steeped in love and tradition, and one that is truly tasty for sure. I grew up on similar recipes that took hours to make, that is the essence of comfort food. I love to prepare and then be near a pot of Cajun goodness simmering away on the stove top for hours, having some wine or beer, and enjoying the company of my family or friends while the promise of good food scents the air, rich with savory meats, seafood, veggies, and spices. Top 100 Cajun Recipes of all time - Heaven!

The entire Cheney Duvall Series is excellent reading. This book in particular was fun. The characters had a good time, and yet it was unpredictable as always. I especially enjoyed the historical element of our nations history that is wrapped up in this book.

I couldn't put it down. The characters will "own" you.

I thought that the book was descriptive and greatly recommended for women to read and men will ebjoy iy too.Dr.Cheney Duvall and nurse, handsome Shiloh Irons set out to overcome the trials of a female doctor in 1865.I thought that this was one of Morris's best book series. I will treasure it forever. I love the series so much a made a webpage for it. http://www.angelfire.com/mo/blondgirl/cheney.html The Cheney Duvall sereis is higly recommend from me and my friends.This book series is good for anyone old and young.

Gilbert Morris, much to his credit, refuses to stereotype his characters with one of the two most frequently found attitudes of Southerners in Civil War Era fiction: those that believe slavery is the best way to deal with African-Americans and those that want to set all slaves free and live in some sort of communal bliss. His characters fall all across the spectrum between these two extremes. The book is a fast reader, a good story of Reconstruction Charleston, and a good witness to the saving grace of Jesus Christ