Louisiana Books

I ordered the cookbook TALK ABOUT GOOD; as usual with Amazon, it arrived very quickly. The books were damaged in shipping, I read the instructions for returning damaged items, contacted Amazon with e-mail, printed a mailer and gave the package to my postman. A new book was mailed out as soon as Amazon found out about the problem, I had a couple of weeks to get the damaged book returned. I originally did not notice that both books were damaged on the corners so only one was replaced, I'm sure that if the other was reported damaged, I would have another new one. TALK ABOUT GOOD service!!

Oh, by the way, this is an excellent cookbook. I made a carrot cake for my boss, she tasted it and knew where the recipe was from! Amazing!! A friend had given her this cookbook in the mid 70's and my husband brought it back to me from Louisiana in the mid 70's. The recipes are favorites of the Lafayette Junior League. The book has not changed in 30 years except it now has a hard cover! The second book is a Christmas present for my boss - both of us have lost the paper covers from the original 30+ year old book!

This is by far the best cook book ever written!! These are truly "Cajun" based recipes and are tried and true! I highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in Cajun Cuisine. It is THE BEST!!!

This is most likely the BEST cookbook in existence, defiantly if you like Cajun food. The fact that it has a binding that allows pages to lay flat, remain open shows how the publisher intended this book to be used, in the kitchen.
Wife wore out the 1st copy I bought her, literally to torn shreds, this is a replacement, and we got it at a great price.

During my childhood, this was my mother's favorite cookbook - long before it was feasible to access such a wide range of recipes from the internet. She lost the cookbook (and everything else) in Hurricane Katrina, and it has been difficult to replace it. We were so happy to be able to find it on Amazon.com and give it to her for Christmas. Although she has relocated from New Orleans, the cookbook and the recipes that she used from it over the holidays, made us feel at home. The cookbook itself demonstrates authentic home cooking. Each recipe reflects the contributors' individual tastes and family traditions, and the types of cooking and ingredients provide a glimpse into a distinct culture. I find it as much fun to read the recipes and their variations as to cook them.

I've had this cookbook for many years, and it is my favorite.
I'm from New Orleans, and these are authentic Cajun recipes. There are many ways to cook a specific dish, and I find the various recipes reflect these personal touches. You cannot go wrong with "Talk About Good".

Also available in a hardcover edition (0970472986, $24.95), culinary author and chef Carl Walker draws upon his Creole and Texas styles of cooking that made Brennan's of Houston a very successful restaurant. Capitalizing on fresh ingredients, all of the recipes comprising this mouth-watering collection are kitchen-compatible and "user friendly". Enhanced with color photography, the recipes range from Chili-Fried Gulf Oysters; Creole Barbecued Shrimp; and Braised Red Cabbage; to Champagne Fennel Cream; New Orleans-Style Pralines; and Creole Bread Pudding Souffle. A master-piece of its kind, Brennan's Of Houston In Your Kitchen will prove to be an invaluable and popular resource for even the most novice of kitchen cooks seeking to replicate gourmet quality dishes for their family dining table!

Absolutely wonderful southern and creole recipes. I haven't cooked anything from this book that hasn't received rave reviews. You can't go wrong!

This is one of the greatest cookbooks ever produced. Chef Walker's preparation techniques as well as the "Chef's Tip's" throughout the book allow you to make these dishes exactly as they do in the restaurant. Even the recipies that are common in alot of other cookbooks take on a uniqueness in this book that makes it a "must have" book for anyone interest in creating good food. I was fortunate to be able to take a cooking class with Chef Walker called "Breakfast at Brennan's". One of the dishes he prepared was "Eggs Hussard", from page 72 in this book. Wow!The best egg dish I have ever tasted. It even makes the popular Eggs Benedict seem bland with comparison. Using the recipe from this book, I have prepared "Eggs Hussard" for family and friends with the same results and taste as that prepared by Chef Walker. I have also prepared several other recipies from this book with equal success. Chef Carl is truely a gifted chef and he fully shares his recipes, techniques, and tips in this great cookbook.

Brennan's is a famous New Orleans restaurant started up in the 1940s. The family opened up a sister restaurant in Houston in 1967. The cuisine served in the Houston branch has become well known in its own right, and is affectionately known as "Texas Creole"

When a cookbook comes from a restaurant, its important to know if the restaurant is any good. Brennan's is one of the best restaurants in Houston. The food, ambience, service and live music are all excellent and although there is a dress code and the waiters wear suits, it isn't pretentious or snobby. I liked the food there so much that I bought this cookbook so that I could make some of the dishes at home! By the way, it is not diet cuisine - most of the dishes are rich and well seasoned, with lots of nuts, butter, cream and oil. Totally fattening, extremely filling and very satisfying.

The book has a good number of color photos, mostly of the food but also some of the interior. It also includes some information about the history of the restaurant. Some restaurants keep their signature dishes secret, but not Brennan's - in this cookbook you will find the recipes for many well-known specialities such as Creole Bread Pudding Souffle and Bananas Foster. There are chef's tips included with the recipes, and overall the book is very user friendly.

This book is highly recommended, both for its faithful recreation of the restaurant's dishes, and for the overall excellence and originality of its recipes.

LIST OF CHAPTERS:

Introductions
Best of Beginnings - Lagniappes, Drinks& Appetizers
From the Garden and Beyond - Salads & Soups
Breakfast at Brennan's - Creole Jazz Brunch
Chef Carl Recommends - Meats & Poultry
Brennan's Favorites - Seafood
Accompaniments - Sides, Sauces & Seasonings
Grand FInales - Fantastic Desserts
Our Texas Creole Story
Source Guide & Index

SAMPLE RECIPES to tempt your palate and give you an idea of the style of cuisine:

Salmon & Smoked Corn Salsa
Grilled Yellowfin Tuna with Crabmeant Mango-Papaya Relish
Gulf Seafood Pontchartrain
Texas Bobwhite Quail
Jicama Slaw
Southern Pecan Crusted Catfish
Smoked Salmon Cheesecake
Texas Cornbread Pudding
Cajun Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Ancho Pepper and Cumin Sweet Potato Smashers
Spiced Pumpkin Seed Chicken
Bayou Gumbo
Roasted Peanut Soup with Honey-Cajun Shrimp
Risotta Jambalaya
Creole Bread Pudding Souffle (this is to die for!)

This beautiful 192-page book is a triumph for Chef Carl Walker. This eclectic and inventive collection of recipes has been carefully accented with full-color photographs and personal anecdotes. It is a wonderful gift for fans of Brennan's, and even for home cooks who have never made their way to Houston.

The book is organized by course: Beginnings (Lagniappes, Drinks, and Appetizers), Garden and Beyond (Salads and Soups), Breakfast, Meats and Poulty, Seafood, Accompaniments (Sides, Sauces and Seasonings), and Fantastic Desserts.

Each recipe features an expected yield, list of ingredients, paragraph-style instructions on how to prepare the ingredients, and a Chef's Tip. The Chef's Tips include technique suggestions, ingredient substitutions, and reminders on how to prepare the raw ingredients.

The desserts section is especially decadent. For example, the Chocolate Praline Cheesecake is a masterpiece by Pastry Chef Melissa Piper Reilly. This luscious dessert uses a chocolate crumb crust filled with caramels, pecans, and chocolate-laced cheesecake filling.

This beautiful cookbook will be a delight for chefs and bakers alike. Enjoy!

Always a fascinating read, the Benjamin January series opens a window to New Orleans in the 1830s.

Every time I have the opportunity to recommend a book, I recommend the entire Benjamin January series. I've done a lot of research into the period in which the series is set and Hambly's facts are dead-on. January is one of the more interesting characters in series literature and Hambly deftly brings the period to life. Her use of actual historical persons such as Marie LeVo makes it even more interesting and fun. The whole series is really worth the time and money. I hate to get to the end of each book, then find myself waiting impatiently for the next one.
Do yourself a huge favor and read the whole series.

What a wonderful series!! Lots of history and plenty of intrigue. If you've ever been to New Orleans you'll be able to imagine yourself there. Do yourself a favor and read the whole series.

The Benjamin January is an enjoyable read for any lover of New Orleans and historical fiction

I have to start out by saying that I really enjoy this series. Oddly enough, I read the first one while on a trip to New Orleans years ago. This story gets away from N.O. a bit and out into the Gulf. Very enjoyable, very memorable!

The book, The Smuggler's Treasure is a very good book. I love the characters, Elisabet Holder and Marie. Marie and Elisabet meet each other in the story and become good friends. They both go to New Orleans together because Marie works at a bakery store and Elisabet's Aunt wanted Elisabet to help Marie. Elisabet has no family but her Aunt and Uncle. This book is a really good book. What I really liked about this book was that the character Elisabet was very bright and intelligent. What I don't like about the story was when her uncle died.

This is one of the best mysteries I have ever read!! It never had a dull moment. And it's great because you learn about some of the history of our country while getting an entertaining read. I HIGHLY reccomend this book and other books in the American Girl series (especially the Addy books)!!

The Smuggler's Treasure, Sarah Masters Buckey

Elisabet Holder, is the main character in the novel, The Smuggler's Treasure. She is sent from Boston to New Orleans to live with Aunt, because her dad was captured by the British. This takes place in 1814, when America was fightening against the British. Elisabet forces herself to find the smuggled treasure to earn her dad's freedom. In my attention was grabbed right from the beginning. As the book progresses Elisabet realizes the treasure has been hidden in her own house. This book is a great book for people who like mysteries. I liked this book because every chapter has a mystery to it. I would recommend this book to girls.

An archetypal prince-to-pauper story, The Smuggler's Treasure acquaints the 10-years-and-older reader with a child protagonist whose financial and emotional security change drastically upon the British capture of her father. Opening with Elisabet voyaging toward New Orleans from New England, the book details not only geographical and historical elements of America in 1814, but throws the protagonist into the discomfort of working as a commoner in her aunt's bakery after living the life of a high-society Northerner. Strangely, the novel rushes Elisabet into quick acceptance of her new financial status after a few token days of refusing to give up wearing her thick, hot, woolen dresses of the North. Soon, the heat takes its toll and Elisabet symbolically attires herself in the thin cottons of the South, and immediately the culture shock and grief disappear-just in time for the author to highlight the adventure of pirates, clues, and treasure. Although unrealistic in its character portrayal, and in its speed in tidying away the parental crisis, the book does effectively engage the reader (juvenile or adult) due to the fast plot movement, tantalizing swamp adventure, and the hovering danger.
As the first in Pleasant Company's History Mystery Series, The Smuggler's Treasure serves to entice young readers thriving on excitement. The publishers picked well when selecting it as the heralding book of the series since The Smuggler's Treasure far excels over the rest in the series due to the provocative excitement of Elisabet's struggle against Pirates and her independent ransoming for the freedom of her father.
Sure to be a positive factor with parents, teachers, and librarians, the book's historical "Looking Back" end-section provides accurate photographs, drawings, and facts about Louisiana, the War of 1812, and Pirate Smugglers. Historical documentation provides a framework for the interested child to weigh the difference between fact and fiction and allows teachers an accessible way to frame discussions on history.
The black ink engravings heading each chapter complement the historical nature of the book while the painterly, color illustrations on the cover, frontispiece, and map attract the eyes due to the atmospheric, dramatic, diagonal compositions. It is, however, unfortunate that cover illustrator, Troy Howell, conveys the frightened, scrambling Elisabet with a zombie-like gaping mouth and staring, vacant eyes. If the reader can successfully look past the first cover-expression, and dive right into the intrigue, mystery, and fast-paced adventure of The Smuggler's Treasure, the boy or girl reader is guaranteed to close the book with renewed curiosity about the real-life drama of pirates and the contented satisfaction of an adventure well written.

This is another in the History Mystery series from American Girl, in which a young American girl is confronted by a mystery that will tax her resolve and her ability. This is the story of eleven-year-old Elisabet Holder, an eleven-year-old girl living in New Orleans in 1814. Her father had been impressed into the British Navy, stolen off his own ship, and when Elisabet learns that her uncle had died leaving behind a hidden treasure map, she begins looking for it, so that she can sell it and buy her father's freedom. But, there's someone else looking for the map, and Elisabet is walking into more trouble than she can imagine!

The final chapter is a bit of a bonus, a look at life in America in 1814. This is an exciting story with everything that you could want - pirates, mystery, ghosts, and friendship. My fourteen-year-old daughter has been a fan of the American Girls stories for years, and both she and I greatly enjoyed this story. If you are looking for a great story for your American girl (or for any reader!), then this is the book for you. My daughter and I both highly recommend this book to you.

I have read both of Ms. Blacks books. WoW! I can't wait to read her next book! They were worth every penny!! A nice unexpected extra...she autographs every book!! Thanks Ms. Black and keep'um coming! :)

Read this book in a day. Couldn't put it down it was so hot! When I started reading it and it started out being in a swamp, I was like what is this? Then OMG!!!!!! My heart was racing and I was quite aroused (not sure if that is the proper word to use or not?). Incredible story, well written with imaginative erotica events that would just.......

Make sure to read this book when you are in bed next to your lover. Enjoy, deserves more then five stars for sure!

You won't want to put this book down once you start. This is a great read!! It's very stimulating, there are parts in this book that you'll want to read over and over agin.

CAJUN HOT is a tremendously entertaining comedy of a romance. I was enthralled from page one right on through to the end. The story is hot and sexy as well and I was either fanning myself from the heat or chuckling over the antics of the characters. The general plot is pretty straightforward, but the route to get to the happy ending has some outrageous moments. The story keeps your interest and I was very disgruntled anytime I had to put the book away and do something else. Ms. Black's characters are rich and well-rounded. Sahara has some serious career goals and is not in the mood to take a detour for love; she is fun, likeable and amusing. Jacque presents himself as a laid-back, sexy Cajun, which he certainly is, but there is a lot more to him as well. The secondary characters really add to this story, both in humor and outrageousness. The sex scenes are explicit, extremely hot and contain elements of ménage, bondage and exhibitionism. I truly enjoyed CAJUN HOT and highly recommend it if you are looking for a fun, amusing and extremely sexy read!

This book left me breathing hot and feeling an insatiable wetness. I WOULD NOT recommend reading this in public... and make sure you have easy access to your lover!!! Cajun is HOT HOT HOT

Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave is a great read for anyone with the slightest interest in early American history. Northup's tale is intriguing and informative. Not only will the reader get a very interesting story from this work, but will also get a close look at the institution of slavery from the slaves' perspective like few other sources can. One important question Northup seems to be addressing is the reasons why slaves did not just run away. Why did they put up with such harsh treatment? Northup admits to having held these sentiments before being kidnapped and sold into slavery - but his attitude rapidly changes.

Not the typical slave narrative. This book was assigned for a class. I expected it to be much like the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, but Solomon Nortrup's experiences were much different. He was born free, and then kidnapped into slavery. This twist on the typical plot gives the reader new insights on slave/master relations, particularly since Northrup had previously experienced freedom and was educated at the time of his enslavement.

I, like another reviewer, read this about 8 years ago when in a college Civil War course. I never sold mine back because I knew I would want to read it again. I also immediately bought copies for my mom and a friend that is a descendant of Caribbean slaves. I can't believe this book isn't more widely known; in fact, it saddens me because Solomon Northup's story is so riveting and deserves recognition.

I was glued to the story from about the third chapter to the end. It was almost like a thriller or mystery because you want to know what happens! Much of it was heartbreaking, though. I had tears streaming down my face when he describes Patsey's predicament. The unending hope and love from his family really touched me, too.

I think this account is even better than Uncle Tom's Cabin for 2 reasons. First, the plot is not as disjointed. Second, and most importantly, everything in the account is true. What's even more amazing is that the author, despite being stolen from his family and forced into servitude, remains somewhat objective about his ordeal. He is a natural storyteller. You can tell Northup was extremely intelligant and observant. His prose is beautiful and easy to read despite being written in the 1850's.

Anyone with even a remote interest in American slavery or Antebellum/Civil War history should read this book.

I had to read this book for school and was very suprised because the story takes place in and around my hometown. I had always saw the "Northup Trail" signs but never knew what they were about until I read this book. I grew up in Avoyelles Parish so this story really hit home. It is an awesome but tragic story everyone should read.

While browsing thru the Boston Public Library in 1970 I accidentally came across this book. I have read it at least ten times over the years, have kept in touch with the editor, Sue Eakin, an expert on the South and cultural matters of this kind. This book is an inspiration to everyone. You will be amazed at the tenacity and sheer courage of Northup as he makes his way thru 12 long years on the plantation, and remember that he did not KNOW it would be 12 years. Every Jan 3 or 4th I wake up and think to myself, this is the day Solomon was set free! This book is clearly a treasure that is relatively unknown. You will not read this book only once-----

I had met Loraine through our alumni club and heard her read from the book. She said it was about her grandmother's era and her family is from the South. I bought the novel and was enthralled with the story from the beginning. It has strong female characters, however it is not idealistic--it portrays the good and the bad of being a woman in the South in the 1920's. Definitely worth a read!

Love it, love it, love it. Despres does it again. She captures the south and sets the reader right down in Gentry, Louisiana to experience the story set in post WWI south firsthand.

Lucy Adams, author of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny

I loved Loraine's first novel, "The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc", and this book did not disappoint. Set in the south, two generations prior to Sissy, Loraine's female characters present strength, perserverance, and mettle. Belle teaches us to follow our dreams and what we feel is right in our hearts. A entertaining book for both men and women.

I was assigned this book for my company's book club and I really enjoyed it. Not only does this book give us an entertaining read but it also gives us a lession of society during the 1920's. After reading about how the KKK terrorized people over a reason they had no control over, all I can imagine is how terrifying it must have been to live during that time and be of a non white non Christian "race". I also found myself truly engaged in the life of the characters, and the so called relationship between Belle and Brouee - at one point during the book I wanted to scream "kick him in the nuts!" during an altercation between those two. (I'm not a violent person - really!)
And don't think of this book as a chick book - I think men would also get a kick out of the humor of the story.

This is an excellent novel written by a cleaver woman who obviously grew up in New Orleans. I enjoyed it emensely and highly recommend it.

Wiley's The Life of Johnny Reb is on just about every American Civil War reading list you'll ever encounter. As well it should be. Sixty-five years after it was first published it is still in print. Wiley's research through thousands of letters and diaries has paid dividends to generations of Civil War enthusiasts, and will long continue to do so.

Although nothing in the last six decades has improved upon Wiley's magisterial profile of the average Confederate soldier, there has been recent scholarship on the historical-cultural milieu from which Johnny Reb emerged. Fischer's Albion's Seed, McWhiney's Cracker Culture, and even Webb's popular history of the Scots-Irish, Born Fighting, can be read with profit by anyone seeking to understand not only Johnny Reb's day-to-day travails, but his place in a larger historical context and how he got there.

Few books are written of the common soldiers of the wars. Most are written of the battles they faught in and the generals they served under. This is a nice exception.

A most insightful and highly informative study of the common soldier of the Confederacy. Well written and very well reseached.

A must have for anyone interested in the Civil war.

Well-researched and well-written, this book looks at just about every aspect of the southern soldier: recruitment, messing, billeting, leave, camp life, etc. An excellent book and one that has remained on my shelf ever since I read it. Useful as a reference and entertaining as a good read... how many books can say that?

Bell Irvin Wiley (1906-1990), a scholar of the American Civil War, is best known for his two early books describing the lives of common soldiers in the Union and Confederate Armies. His book, "The Life of Johnny Reb" appeared in 1943 and was followed in 1952 by its companion volume "The Life of Billy Yank". At the beginning of his career, Wiley tended to concentrate on the Confederate War effort and wrote his book on "Billy Yank" as a result of the fascination he developed from writing his initial work with the common soldier. Ironically, Wiley's book on "Billy Yank" is the stronger of the two in terms of detail, organization, factual material, and analysis. His book on the Confederate soldier remains an important effort, essential to understanding the Southern Civil War experience.

In the Preface to his book, Wiley points out the fascination that the campaigns and personalities of Lee, Jackson, Stuart, and other Southern leaders exert (and continue to exert) on students of the Civil War. He aimed in his book to discuss the life of the soldier "as it really was" including among much else "how the hungry private fried his bacon, baked his biscuit, smoked his pipe". His book succeeds in that aim. Wiley's book gave me a good picture of life in the Southern Army with all its privations and hardships. He does not romanticize his subject or, for all his affection for the Southern soldier, fall prey to "Lost Cause" mythology.

The book opens with a discussion of the enthusiasm of the Southern soldier during the early stages of the War -- largely resulting from the conviction that the War would be short and that the Yankees would go home. He discusses how the dream of a short, decisive conflict quickly faded and how the troops were left with the dangerous, boring, and dehabilitating business of soldiering. Some men continued througout with their convictions and enthusiasm but for most the War became something that could not end soon enough.

Wiley gives good pictures and stories of the tedium of life in the camps during the winter and during the long periods when the armies were not in combat or on the march. He describes the bad food, shoddy clothes, and low pay that were the lot of the Confederate soldier. He discusses the various ways the troops spent their time. ranging from the sins of gambling, drink, and vice to the repeated attempts at religious revivials. Wiley is sensitive to the instances of cowardice and fear in the Confederate war effort but he rightly praises the valor and courage, overall, of the Confederate soldier. They fought tenaciously and hard. Wiley discusses the loneliness of soldier life as the men in the lines went to great efforts to write letters home and thought of their wives and sweethearts.

I thought Wiley's discussion of the unsanitary conditions of the camps and the toll taken by disease and poor medical treatment among the best sections of the book. He also discusses well the ambivalent relationships that frequently developed between Johnny Reb and his enemy in blue. Although it became a total and brutal combat, the Civil War was marked by attempts at fraternization, and what later writers have termed the "brotherhood of men at arms." The feelings the combatants developed for each other became important in the reconciliation efforts following this devastating conflict. Wiley also offers a good discussion of the various types of shoulder arms used by the Southern troops during the war, their manufacture, and their limitations.

There is a great deal of anecdotal material in this book. The text is repetitive at times. But this book and its companion volume remain essential Civil War reading and will give the student a feel for life in the lines.

I read this book for a military history class and came away very glad I did. The book really lets you know what it was like to be a common soldier in a Confederate army. I agree with another reviewers sentiments that the book reads very much like a research paper, but a well written one at that. You won't always feel like you are right there, but you will come away knowing exactly what these men did, how they did it, and why. To understand the common Southern soldier in the Civil War, start here. Other books have been written since Wiley's, but this is still the place to start.

This is probably one of the best lesbian characters ever written. The problem is we haven't had a Micky Knight fix in years. Where oh where are you JM??....Please give us more Micky Knight and Cordelia!!!

I have all of the Mickey Knight series and i am hungry for more. As an avid reader of true crime, authors like Ann Rule, Roy Hazelwood etc, i was surprised at how well written these books were. I couldnt put them down.
Come on Ms Redman when is the next one coming out ???
Mickey Knight is brilliant. The storyline typical of the deep south and its age old mystery and the book seems to drag you willingly into the depths of its darkened corridors. The women appear real, not wishy washy like most lesbian heroines. The plot seems to easily weave its way through the book yet it keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to see just what is about to happen next. I have spent many a sleepless night reading these books. I just couldnt put them down once i started reading them. Oh for the tardis to take me to New orleans.

I only recently discovered Micky and have devoured all 4 novels over a span of 3 weeks. I adore hard-nosed Micky with all her foibles and weaknesses. Add to that an amazing cast of characters and you can't go wrong with this book or any of the previously published in the series. I recommend them all! I only pray that Ms Redmann keeps churning out more Micky Knight adventures. I, for one, am hooked! Bravo!

Finally this book is back in print. I read a friend's hardback copy, thinking the paperback would be out in a year or two. That was over five years ago. I was introduced to Micky Knight when
I picked up a mass market copy of THE INTERSECTION OF LAW AND DESIRE about ten years ago and looked for more books. Since the first two books were out of print, I waited for the next book in the series.
This excellent book about mothers and daughters kept me reading until my eyes wouldn't stay open. I finished it the following morning. Micky Knight has been described as "hard-boiled" by some reviewers, but I think that tough-veneered is a better description. In fact, she is extremely vulnerable. what I like most about Micky is that she doesn't just tackle ordinary crimes and shoot people and kick butt. Yes she does shoot a time or two, but it is usually not an easy thing for her and is almost always in self-defense and when she kicks butt, she doesn't bother to take names. Without giving away the plot, let me say this book is about daughters looking for their mothers -- including Micky.
Redmann writes complex plots and well-developed characters. There is a cast of friends beginning with Micky's lover Cordelia, and her ex-lover assistant DA Danielle Clayton (and her life-partner, Elly) Police Sargent Joanne Ranson and her life-partner Alex, Micky's cousin drag-queen Torbin and his life-mate Andy. We were introduced to them in the first of four mysteries and we learn a little more about them as the series progresses. There are some less likeable recurring characters, especially Micky's Aunt Greta and her despised cousin Bayard.
Micky Knight is a complex, usually likeable woman who cares deeply about others. If you haven't already read this book,do so. And read the three other Micky Knight books.

and it's a crying shame that they are not kept affordably in print--for one thing, it deprives Redmann of some very well earned revenue. In many ways, this 4th installment of Micky's adventures reads like the natural conclusion to the cycle of investigations opened by the first volume in the series, when we were introduced to a tough and beautiful lesbian babe-magnet with a smart mouth and endless compassion for those in trouble. She's physical (and even promiscuous--but the series is about how she gets tamed), she's achingly vulnerable, she's noble, she's got demons. Only in Lost Daughters do we meet her settled into a proper relationship, so the angst quotient is considerably lower than in the other books. Still, the conclusion to her search for her mother is unbelievably touching, and handled with just the right measure of reserve. Much as I'd love to see more of her, I wonder whether Redmann (whose website, ominously, appears to have vanished from cyberspace) is finished with her adventures. If she is, I just pray that she has another heroine in reserve for us to cheer on. Like the Meg Darcy books, with their lovingly depicted St. Louis locales, the Mickey Knight stories set us in a believable New Orleans, with its social strata, its weather, its flavors and smells.

I recently had the privilege to attended a workshop with Robert. The experience left me with a desire to know more about him and his work. I purchased his book and could not put it down. Robert's personal journey to follow his calling and heartfelt relationships are inspiring. This book allowed me to look deep inside myself, explore my biases and feelings about humanity in general. This book is a must read and will change the way you view our prison system.

When I first participated in one of Bob's community building workshops I left wondering what potential the process held in other situations. It all makes sense after reading this book. A simple idea -- be vulnerable and take ownership of your opinions and your past, don't judge, listen intensely, and don't be afraid to grieve for your past failures, sufferings and pain ... and those of others. This process has changed the lives of so many individuals that the rest of society has given up on too easily. You won't look at innmates and former convicts the same. You hopefully won't look at yourself the same either. Read it and it will open your eyes and heart. Thank you Bob!

I found this book by accident when i was searching for more infos about life in Americas prisons. I got this book with the intention to read sometimes a few pages because my time is very limited . it turned out that I had to run to work for to be not too late because always when I spent my time with this book I forgot everything else around me.
That's just how interesting this book is. Fascinating to me was the fact that with each page I read, I found my own thoughts or a proof of the things I already knew .
I spent the last 6 years with communicating with prisoners in America. Often it is hard to believe what's going on in these places. Some people may find it hard to believe what Mr Roberts has to tell within this book but I can assure everybody that everything you read is true and based on real life .
Mr Roberts changed his whole life for to bring some changes to a few people .I hope everyone who reads this book gets an idea of how serious the criminal and justice problem in America really is and starts to help to make a change
PS: For everyone from Germany , you can order the book by amazon.de.

Heartbreaking in its simplicity and insight, Dr. Robert's journey is one every tax-paying American should take. From his personal committment, establishment of Project Return which pushed his career in radically different directions, to his work with indiginous populations, Dr Roberts casts himself as very much the student. This is a position very few 'civilians' have experienced. I know. I'm just finishing my 30th year in law enforcement.. This is must reading for professionals and citizens alike. You will finish this book as a changed person.

A moving account of one man's search for a path to truth, a path by the following of which society as a whole can benefit. While this book is subtitled: An Unlikely Journey Behind the Walls of Justice, it is so much wider in its applicability than to the insitutions wherein it was born. In his exploration of 'community building', Mr. Roberts has written a remarkable prescription for society as a whole to adopt and apply to heal the profound wounds caused by the segregation of its members into disparate islands of fear, hurt, and hate. As for the application of this process to both the incarcerated and returned prison population itself, truly remarkable results have resulted from so doing. Mr. Roberts has addressed a core concern: "Without proper support, however, transformation is a long hard road. Because most of (the incarerated) are unprepared, most of them fail [become recidivists upon being paroled or pardoned]." Robert's combination of community building and techniques developed from his insights into the human social condition garnered while studying prisoners directly should be seriously examined by all states concernd with reformation of those who offend its rules. The results from so doing offer a path to real freedom, the transformation of a person rather than the brutalizing perpetuation of antisocial behavior consequent from incarceration as it is currently administered. Finally, this is a remarkable and inspiring read.