Louisiana Books

The third novel about the bunch of excentric characters living in the fictional, but oh-so-real, Tula Springs, Louisiana.
Funny and sad. And very intelligent. Wonderfully written.
"Mr. Wilcox has real comic genius. He is a writer to make us all feel hopeful" said Anne Tyler.

Imagine yourself at a particles accelerator at CERN.

First, assemble the ingredients. Mrs. Olive Mackie, her husband Duane and her teenage son Felix. Uncle L. D., age 91, who depends on various females of this story to keep him going. Dr Martin Bates, student of dentistry, so helpful and charming... Assorted women of the neighborhood, who all went to school together. And, of course, Miss Undine, the retired schoolteacher of them all.

Now, mix them all together and accelerate. Gossip and rumors start spinning, congealing into delicious back biting. Wait for it to stop spinning, to see whose life and reputation is still in one piece.

A delightful book, full of humor and sharply etched pictures of life in a small southern town.

Most gardening books are not relevent to our climate- Gill's writing is cogent and intelligent

Creating a garden and keeping color in Louisiana is difficult. The heat and clay soil don't make it easy for plants or gardners. This book offers really great advice on making the most of your garden inspite of the problems the state's climate poses.

I read this book slowly, for I'm 80 years old. The plight of the young boy raised by relatives and mistreated is a heartbreaking fact of life. I felt his rejection, for the author has a way with words, creating such a connection to her characters, I could not put it down. The end was amazing and rewarding, confirming that with God, all things are possible. I would recommend this book, for it is inspiring, touching. The beautiful poems only added to my enjoyment, for I could plainly see what it cost the author emotionally to write such words. Only someone who had been there could possibly describe such feelings of pain as Mrs. Lewis has done. I loved it! Wish she would write a sequel!

Although newly published, the author exhibits amazing skill in her ability to involve the reader in the passions and pain of her characters. The young boy, Matthew Carlisle, portrayed as a victim of his environment, seems unable to understand his own anger and hatred. Does a child necessarily exhibit such ingrained hostilities as an adult due to influences from childhood? Is it possible for the dark side of a personality to be affected by prayer and faith in God? The reader must decide this for himself, for the theme of this book points to that conclusion. As a man, I enjoyed the smooth, flowing, poetry of this book. Possibly considered a woman's preferred reading, based on the author's personal experiences as the wife of the character of Matthew Carlisle, I nevertheless was caught up in the struggle between the dark side of his character and the light. This is a book of fiction, but the events are true to life. There is a message of determined comittment to marriage, which is not too popular today. Also, the character of Amelia, the long suffering wife, could be labeled a fool by feminists. Its all in the perspective of the reader's view of God, faith, prayer, and real, tough, love. I rated this book five stars because I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Whether as fiction or fact, it is deeply moving, invoking sympathy and empathy.All in all, a good read.

An outstandingly well written account of what it was like to grow up in an extended German family in 1900 in St. Louis.

An outstandingly well written account of what it was like to grow up in an extended German family in 1900 in St. Louis.

You don't have to agree with Richard Chase & company's "romance thesis" to find this thoroughly researched and well-informed book valuable. It is a careful and insightful look both at the 19th century debate over the romance and current perspectives on the movement.

This is the book that anyone interested in nineteenth-century fiction or the Romance has been waiting for. The product of extraordinarily thorough research, and written in a lucid prose that is accessible to all, the book sets forth the historical record on romance fiction: what the authors thought they were doing, what they did, and how scholars have viewed their premises and aesthetics. The book is a crucial corrective to all the silliness that now passes for scholarship, a-historical so-called scholarship that has denied the existence of a romance tradition and tried to understand these writers and their previous critics through the distorting lens of the Cold War. Thompson and Link counteract this with a careful rendering of the historical record, an account that makes the self-styled "New Americanists" who claim to be "intervening in the canon" look like mosquitoes standing on the shoulders of such giants as Matthiessen and Chase. Given the current presentism and shallow self-fashioning that currently prevades the Modern Language Association, I doubt this fine book will get its fair due, but it is the first place I would send any student interested in the Romance, which was and still is the defining tradition of American fiction.

I really love this small book. The pictures let you write your own story. Who owns the bike with the full size rocking horse or black raven on the handle bar, and who attached an old vaccum cleaner as a tailpipe? Who secures a 3lb, 15yr old bike with a 50lb chain? The beautiful photography, design, and writing showcase the quirky, weird underside that makes New Orleans unique.

This small scale but very heady book published by the always excellent firm of Mark Batty Publisher is not only an entertaining, beautifully designed and produced series of images of bicycles, but it is also a cultural study of a city antiquarian in nature and hanging on to a rich past by its fingertips. Photographers and writers Nicholas Costarides and Mary Richardson wandered this great mecca for bohemians for a year and a half - before Katrina's heinous visitation - falling in love with the city's preoccupation with the bicycle, the primary mode of transportation in this flat and poverty stricken lady of a city. They discovered that not only were bicycles a proven means of peripatetic survival but that they also became symbols for the people who owned them, people whose pride and idiosyncrasies flavor the appearance of these timeworn bi-pedals, releasing torrents of information and fantasy to the searching eye and mind.

Mary Richardson opens the book with a comment 'On Spinning Wheels' which reads like an extended poem. 'These are not just bicycles, they are extensions of personalities, tainted with the grime of the city. And they are individuals in the rawest sense'...'It's a life that can't exist outside the schizophrenia of unlimited limitations. New Orleans bicycles: the crippled potential, the lust to keep pushing down the same old streets, the looks of peace as they're chained and bound to their city, and the knowledge that it's just a short distance to their destination, but lack of motion can be paralyzing.'

The book is then graced with the formal foreword by Andrei Codrescu, the author 'New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty years of Writing from the City' which segues into countless photographs of some of the strangest, most humorous, sentimentally stained bicycles imaginable. Costarides and Richardson have photographed panoramas of sidestreets, bicycles chained to posts, intimate details of the decor and personality imposed on these time honored modes of transportation, and the peculiar accoutrements that offer such strong personalities to the bikes and their owners. The photographs are richly colorful and immaculately reproduced on quality paper. The design of the book is by Costarides and is not only of the highest quality of concept and execution, but it also uses some fascinating imprints on the pages of writing that subtly introduces the grime of the city we are about to visit.

The book ends with an Epilogue entitled 'On Katrina' and leaves the reader with the sense of resilience that New Orleans will never die but will prosper BECAUSE of the tragedy. It is as moving as the book is entertaining. This is a superb character study presented in the top of the class manner. Bravo! Grady Harp, January 07

Thanks to Phil Sandusky, we have a pre-Katrina record of New Orleans seen through the appreciative eye of an artist. The design and execution of his plein air work fits perfectly the appealing clutter and humidity-laden atmosphere of the aging city. His choice of subject matter represents everything from uptown's residences to mid-town breweries and includes the above-the-watertable tombs, Jackson Square monuments, lakefront marinas, riverfront industry, city park views, and more.

Besides this rich array of images, the text is worthwhile reading for its account of life in the city and his discussions of painting technique. From one artist (originally from Louisiana) to another, thanks, Phil!

Phil Sandusky, in the tradition of Claude Monet and other French Impressionists of the late 19th century, insists on painting outdoors, on location, in order to capture the visual experience of the imagery and light of the "fleeting moment" in the life of his subject. The subject in this case is pre-Katrina New Orleans, and this book is a wonderful collection of 150 of Sandusky's works from 1987 to 2002.

I was born in New Orleans, and lived there for twenty-one years, and so I am familiar with many,if not most, of the locations he has captured on canvas. He has done a marvelous job of recording not only what specific sites look like: buildings in the French Quarter, homes in the Garden District, above-ground tombs in the cemeteries, Audobon Park lagoon,scenes of City Park, and much much more . He has I think captured the spirit or feel of the city as I remember it. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who has an attachment to New Orleans, and to anyone with an interest in Impressionist painting. I understand that Sandusky will be coming out with a collection of post-Katrina paintings, and I for one am looking forward to that.

This is THE book about the heart and soul of New Orleans druming styles.

JIM KELTNER: A great feast, the music and the players from New Orleans, a subject so near and dear to my heart, beautifully presented with lots of details and great pictures.

JOSEPH "ZIGABOO" MODELISTE: Even growing up in New Orleans it was difficult to get this information. This book is a solid piece of work and I'm glad to see these influential players getting the recognition they deserve.

STEVE SMITH: New Orleans is the foundation of all drumset playing period! In this well researched and clearly presented book, are the roots of modern day jazz, blues, R&B, and rock drumming (to name a few). Check it out!

ADAM NUSSBAUM: This is not just a book about licks--it's about people. A great source from a deep well, New Orleans.

CHRIS PARKER: Finally an informal, astute, and insightful look at the global and perennial influence of New Orleans music, especially its feel as originated and expounded on by its drummer/composers/arrangers. These are great men. What's not to love?

ROYAL HARTIGAN: This work is a major contribution to the study of African-American heritage, New Orleans traditions, and the soul of 20th-century drumming. Through the photographs, conversations, transcriptions, and the CD, you feel the spirit of New Orleans music, from ragtime, brass bands, and gospel, through funerals, street beats, funk, rhythm and blues, to the modern scene.

VAL WILMER: Just as the unsung denizens of Congo Square used the drum to remind them they had a past and a future, New Orleans music continues to be both historic and contemporary at the same time. Ideas of personal liberation that began with a reminiscence of an African homeland still inspire the city's drummers. Some are featured here. An invaluable and committed book.

JEFF POTTER (Modern Drummer): More than a book/CD of transcriptions and patterns, this is a volume about history. Its two halves are based on videos from DCI's New orleans Drumming series: Herlin Riley's Ragtime and Beyond and Johnny Vidacovich's Street Beats: Modern Applications. Riley guides us through the evolution of New Orleans jazz drumming styles from their riverboat and brass band beginnings to swing, and Vidacovich demonstrates how he blends local traditions into his modern jazz and R&B drumming.

Although writer Dan Thress receives second billing, he deserves equal praise for his knowledgeable interviews and well-researched articles on important Crescent city drummers such as Vernel Fournier, Baby Dodds, Ed Blackwell, James Black, Joseph "Smokey" Johnson, and David Lee.

Also included are discographies and a pullout poster charting the lineage of influential and notable N'awlins drummers from 1873 to the present. Great to play through or just read, this is a cultural mini-encyclopedia.

It's fascinating to re-read my ancestoral history from a historian's perspective. Having heard the "filtered" versions passed down through my family, it was wonderful to get a different account of the events. It's a great read, well put together and was definitely enjoyed!

Sometimes is the truth is stranger than fiction! This is certainly the case with Notorious Woman: The Celebrated Case of Myra Clark Gaines. This book had everything I wanted -- scandalous family secrets, an heir fighting for legitimacy, a struggle through the courts, even a murder -- AND, it's all true! The author re-tells the drama as it unfolded in the courtroom and lets you come to your own conclusion: Was Myra Clark Gaines the true heir to a New Orleans real estate fortune worth millions? You decide.

I don't know how I missed this when it came out.

As the best novel of the Civil War was written by Stephen Crane, who wasn't there, so this brilliant exploration into the aftermath of war comes to us from an author who, at the time he wrote the book, had never been outside the continental United States. It is a novel that John Gardner said was "the kind of novel Hemingway might have written, had he lived to see the way we make war now."