Louisiana Books

This Micky Knight mystery/romance is just sooo good you wont be able to put it down. I kept telling myself that one more page wont hurt and ended up reading till 4 am. Both romance and mystery kept my mind occupied.

Once again Ms. Redmann has out done herself. Micky takes us on a great ride. The twists and turns of her life are entertaining and thought provoking. This book is a great read and I couldn't put it down until I finished it at 2am! You won't be sorry you bought it but it helps to read the first two in the series.

J.M. Redmann has four mysteries to her credit, all dealing with private detective Micky Knight, a New Orleans private eye. Her previous titles are: DEATH BY THE REVIERSIDE, DEATHS OF JOCASTA, and LOST DAUGHTER.

Micky (Michelle) Knight is a private eye, having arrived at that occupation through a series of tough life experiences. Micky is strong and beautiful, but is also vulnerable and sensitive, which makes her the perfect savior for abused children. When her friend's daughter, Cissy, stops smiling and begins having nightmares, Micky is suspicious. Patrick, Cissy's brother, tries to hire Micky with his paper money to find out who murdered little Judy Douglas, a classmate of Cissy's. Simultaneously Micky is working on a case with Karen, a cousin of Micky's girlfriend Cordelia, extricating her from a money lending scheme that stinks to high heaven. Is there a connection between the two cases? "'Someone invests fifty thousand dollars and a month later gets seventy thousand back. Wouldn't that make you curious?

Bill let out a low whistle, then nodded. 'Could it be legit?' I asked. 'Only if I could be the Pope, and I'm Jewish. Drugs, most likely. How did you hear about his?'

In the midst of Micky's own demons haunting her from her hellish past, she manages to not only piece together the puzzle of a grand pornography ring, but also works through her own problems by getting involved with a child psychologist with a penchant for sex, and by actually infiltrating the crime ring. Luckily, she enlists the help of the local police in her adventures. She is working solo, everyone is angry with her, and she is feeling very alone. But she ends up the heroine, after taking on a gang of thugs and saving the day for the women she loves the most.

J.M. Redmann is one heck of a writer. This tale is so gripping that the pages can't turn fast enough. Emotions are taut through most of the novel, and Redmann continually ratchets the action to a higher level. Character development is pivotal, and the plot has lots of twists. New Orleans jumps to life, as does the pain of child abuse, the loneliness of the gay lifestyle. Great!

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

Another terrific Mickey Knight adventure. I enjoyed the plot of "Jocasta" a bit better, but this was still a full, satisfying read. That is what makes the books so good - they have a meaty plot and substance. Too many 'tec stories rely a bit much on coincidence and thin plots.

The Intersection of Law and Desire
This is a hefty book. I liked the weight of it before I even read the first page. When I finished it, I found that it had another kind of weight. I like books that have a lot going on in them, and this one is very busy. There's the plot: it's involved and twisty and dark, just like a good private detective novel should be. There's the setting: New Orleans, with all its seaminess and hints of things beneath the surface. There's the protagonist: Micky Knight, a character with things of her own stirring under the surface of toughness and independence. There's enough action to get the reader immersed and turning the pages. Oh, and there's a great ending, for those of us resigned to novels that somehow let us down in the final pages.
And there's the author: this is the best thing going on in this book. J.M. Redmann does not disappoint. She writes with great skill and it was a delight to relax and just read this book, knowing after the first pages that all of it, the plot, the setting, the characters, were in good hands. I didn't have to be distracted, wondering when I would first be let down, looking for the first hole, because there isn't one. This book does everything it sets out to do. Because the writer did such a good job, I could do mine, and simply enjoy reading.
Micky Knight is everything you expect from a "hard boiled" private eye. She has a world-weary cynicism, an idealism that balances against it, a hard past she'd like not to intrude upon her present, she has courage and determination, and a fear that what she does is never enough. She has a girlfriend too, a doctor who has more money, more family, more innocence, more of all the things that Micky doesn't have. Micky lives alone in a cheap apartment with a cat. She and Cordelia have exchanged keys and begun to mingle their friends together, but a lifetime of feeling like an outsider makes Micky wary of her own feelings.
Two cases present themselves and get intertwined. One involves Cordelia's cousin, and Micky reluctantly takes it on. One involves the children of a friend. It could be that Micky crosses the line in both these cases, gets too involved, when she might have walked away. When they become entangled, it could be that the complications are convenient for Micky, pulling her away from Cordelia until they are on the verge of splitting up. In an effort to save Cordelia's cousin Karen from herself, and to save the child Cissy, Micky goes undercover and very far into an underworld of drugs, prostitution, pornography, and also finds that all of her problems, the ones with her girlfriend, the ones with the criminal elements, are impacted by her past, complicated by her own confused desires.
I like this woman. She confronts people about issues that most would choose to ignore. She has a fine anger that simmers and sometimes boils over. Micky has a right to anger. Other emotions are less comfortable. She hasn't learned them yet. Her anger drives her to try to save at least those she knows from the kind of harm she has personally experienced. She knows the lasting effects, but knowing doesn't mean she has escaped them herself. Anger fuels her compassion, pushes her toward danger, wrecks her relationships, and finally rescues her from guilt and shame. Anger is a cleansing, simplifying emotion, not murky and fluid like love, which in Micky's mind is a changeable thing, slippery, unwieldy, bound to disappoint and betray.
From seedy, unsettling, dangerous bars where drugs and much worse are peddled, to the ultimate private clubs where essentially the same transactions occur, from her confused past to an even more confusing present where events happen at a terrifying speed, Micky Knight goes on a ride around New Orleans and winds up at an interesting place. Not everyone can be saved. Justice is not always served. But sometimes, just making the trip is enough.
This novel is a good trip to take. It has action, it has atmosphere, it has finely drawn and diverse characters, it has depth and style and it is polished and smooth.

I was pleased to find this book. I've only seen one other that showed the catahoula. This book is a must read if you are thinking about getting a catahoula. It tell's you just like it is. The catahoula is a wonderful breed and a joy to own if you give them the time and exercise they require.

As a first time Catahoula owner, I found this book invaluable. There isn't a lot of information available on the breed (compared to others) and after reading the book I felt I had a better understanding of my dog. Mr. Abney covers a wide variety of topics including healh, breeding, and history. The section I found most helpful was the section on breed traits. The pictures are wonderful, even though they're black and white. Your Catahoula will thank you for reading this book!

Finally, a book that discusses this wonderful dog. I adopted a stray dog 12 years ago. I did not know what kind of dog he was, but he was different from all the other dogs I have owned. My vet informed me that he is a Catahoula. He has been my companion ever since. I have been looking for someing more about this great breed and this book answered many questions about my dog, from why he has glass eyes to his need to please. My Catahoula was diagnosed with liver cancer recently, and has about six months left. If someone looked up the word "dog" in the dictionary, there should be a photo of a Catahoula. They are truly great dogs. Thanks for the great read!!

I recently adopted an 'unknown breed' dog from a no-kill shelter. While at the Grand Canyon last month, a tourist from Louisiana introduced himself, identified my dog as a Catahoula and gave an overview of the history...naturally I went home, checked the web, and confirmed his background. It has now become a hobby finding more and more information about this fantastic breed. Don Abney's book was a great foundation of knowledge for understanding our new family member and also having fascinating background history to tell my friends/family. All I could ask for is more pictures (color) and a list of reputable breeders/clubs...other than that I highly recommend this book! Thanks Don....

The book was very informative. This is a very complex and little-known breed. People need to be aware of what they are getting into when bringing a Catahoula into a suburban environment. This book was very helpful and straightforward. My Cindy is only 4 months old and is already exhibiting some of the traits pointed out by Mr. Abney. Consistency and persistence are very important when training this breed.

In Louisiana in Words, Joshua Clark celebrates his home state, and especially New Orleans, with prose snapshots arranged to take us through a day in the life of the city. Some of the pieces are flash fictions, others describe places and events. All have literary quality. This collection does not invite us to pity New Orleans for Katrina's devastation, and in fact I don't remember the hurricane being mentioned at all. Instead, the book celebrates life in one of our country's richest and most vibrant cities.

You don't have to know Louisiana to love this book. Joshua Clark is a genius at putting words on paper and assembling other writers' works in a unique format. In this post Katrina time we are all interested in Louisiana. This is a book everyone should buy to own and to share with others as gifts. It is a truly beautiful book from the cover to the introduction and throughout every minute.

This book is so rich, so diverse, so mesmerizing; it's hard to believe we all live in the same state! The vignettes are so on-target the reader feels he is there: visiting a traiteur, cleaning old graves for All Saints Day, watching street performers in Jackson Square, eating boiled crawfish, reciting a rosary in French. It all makes up who we are as Louisianans--native or transplanted. Kudos to Joshua Clark and his crew!!

When we are young, we look breathlessly to the "big moments" that mark our passage to maturity: the first "real" date; the first day of high school; the driver's license; high school graduation day; college; the first day on the job.

As the years pass, we learn that real joy is not in passing highs of happiness, but in each individual moment as we come to live them, know them, appreciate, and treasure them along the way.

Living in Louisiana means living with stories. They are told while you post your mail; sung to you in check out lines; shared while you do your banking. Living in Louisiana means living with conversation, and conversation means sharing stories.

Joshua Clark--who edited this collection of Louisiana moments with the same loving care he gave French Quarter Fiction: The Newest Stories of America's Oldest Bohemia--has allowed us to paint the canvas of a vast wealth of stories, histories, and peoples coming together in an incredibly lush and beautiful environment to create a state, cities, and a town and country life unlike any others in the country.

Pass some time with us on our front porches, in our living rooms, in the bayous, on our boats, on our streets, in our backyards, and on our waterways. Get to know us.

The lagniappe we are giving you this time is our hearts.

Louisiana in Words is simply a don't-miss look into the soul of the Pelican State. Reach out for us, and we will honestly touch your heart.

I had the honor of being one of the authors in the book, but it also gave me the opportunity and the desire to share in other's "minutes". The book is rich in imagery and full of powerful storylines. Mr. Clark did a fine job at putting together these wonderful "glimpses".

As a producer for two national talk show hosts, I can honestly say this is one of the finest and most thought provoking books I've read. Ed Haslam's book is a major dot connector. Think about it. We already know thanks to A & E's Investigative Reports that Oswald did NOT kill Kennedy, but that's not the big jist of this book. What needs to be understood is that the polio virus vaccine all the baby boomers received via shots and sugar cubes in the 50s and 60s was contaminated with SV-40 Simian Monkey Virus...the results...an epidemic of soft tissue cancer. And SV-40 shows up in autopsies of cancer victims. However, even more horrific is that the SV-40 contamination does not end with those of us that received the polio vaccine. It is passed to our children and grandchilren even though they have not received the vaccine. Who is responsible? Ed Haslam's fabulous research was given to us in this book in 1995, and five years later, in the February, 2000 issue of Atlantic Monthly, it is finally discussed by the "regular" media. Stop and think about this...Plutonium experiments from 1936 through the cold war on unsuspecting Americans,radiation experiments on military men, the Tuskegee, Alabama syphillis experiments, the depleted uranium issues from Desert Storm, and countless others...this book exposes another form of deception and coverup. If this book doesn't make you think and do even more research, then you're in denial and have your head in the sand. There are countless other books that should be on the suggested reading list after reading Ed's fabulous work, but Amazon hasn't listed them. Please read Pulitzer Prize winner, Eileen Welsome's book, THE PLUTONIUM FILES, then read Martin A. Lee's THE BEAST REAWAKENS, and if you can find a used copy, get Borkin's THE CRIME AND PUNISHMENT OF I.G. FARBEN.

Ed's book is superb and written in a style that is easily assimilated. Buy it, buy two, give one to a friend, loan your copy, but get it out...and connect the dots!

An eye opener. I was loaned this book by one of the reviewers on this site and then ordered one of my own. I had to fight to get the book back from anyone I loaned it to.

I knew many people who were associated with the Kennedy assassination. Worked for Willard Robertson, when he funded the Garrison investigation. Know people who employed Oswald as a numbers runner in New Orleans, know people central in the book "They Killed Kennedy", and knew people in the Cuban resistence movement who were in training on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain in the late 50s until the mid 60s.

One friend whose father was in the Cuban movement pointed out David Ferrie's house to me on Louisiana Avenue Parkway a few weeks before he died and said at that time that Ferrie was a part of the Anti-Castro group.

So, it was with interest that I read this book. My interest got peaked the more I read and this is one story that should be made into a movie and it will be thought of as fiction, because it will be almost too strange for people to believe, though it comes closer to the truth than anyone would like to admit.

So, when I think of the 60s I remember the CIA people I met through others and the strange characters in the once international city of New Orleans and can only hope that the truth can be allowed to be seen and read.

I give it a five star rating and hope that everyone gets a chance to read this strange and interesting book.

Ed Haslam has written a landmark book of investigative journalism. It is a well-written page turner that is a "must read" for anyone interested in what has really gone on in this country in the last 40 years. I have lived in New Orleans since Mary Sherman was murdered here, and personally know many of the people mentioned in this book. As far as I can tell this book is completely truthful. Mr. Haslam tells you when he is speculating and when he is giving you facts. This book has my highest recommendation.

Growing up in the same home as Edward Haslam, I remember so many of these events as they happened -- an apparent series of unrelated and bizarre events, the significance of which would only become clear to me years later when I read an early draft of my brother's book, years after my diagnosis with breast cancer at the age of 39 (as mentioned in the book.) If you are a thinking adult whose life or loved ones have been touched by cancer, you need to find the courage to read this book. A new edition is about to be published under a new name and you can pre-order it from Amazon at an attractive price.(I have 5 copies on order myself to share with friends.) The new title is "Dr. Mary's Monkey: How the Unsolved Murder of a Doctor, a Secret Laboratory in New Orleans and Cancer-Causing Monkey Viruses are Linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, ... Assassination and Emerging Global Epidemics". I have no financial interest in the book, only a belief that the time has come to reveal this information to a wider audience.

This investigation into the unsolved murder of Dr. Mary Sherman is a well-crafted and original expose, arguably of one our nation's worse mistakes. But also perhaps of one of its best-kept secrets.

Over a period of nearly 30 years, the author juxtaposes and correlates a collection of disparate medical facts, police reports, and related events with the activities of an assortment of characters in an around the environs of New Orleans during the Garrison investigation of the JFK assassination. The main characters include a world class Orthopedic Bone Specialist (Dr. Mary Sherman) and an eccentric washed-up CIA operative implicated in the assassination of JFK (Dave Ferrie), and Lee Harvey Oswald, no less.

The question that animates the investigation is why should a world class Medical Specialist like Dr. Sherman be running in the same circles as a self-taught egomaniacal misfit like Ferrie? The book is the author's search for an answer. From these elements, he weaves together a very plausible story about how medical experiments at a secret run underground government medical facility, may have gone awry -- resulting in Dr. Sherman's death and in the current silent epidemic of soft tissue cancers. There is even a hint that what went on in that secret facility may also be implicated in the inadvertent creation of the current AIDS pandemic.

Far from being the convoluted and speculative machinations of a conspiracy crackpot, the author's fiercely logical approach and resourcefulness would put some of our most seasoned investigators to shame. To say that it reads like a novel would be an understatement. Five stars.

William Greiner is definitely an artist to watch! This book is wonderful! The color photographs are haunting and the presentation honors a most memorable subject - graves and memorials to dead. Not just any dead people - but those quirky graves of New Orleans and vicinity are photographed here. The setting often combines the commonplace with the ethereal. A brillant theme photographed by a genuis at capturing the unusual around us. It's really a wonderful book to own and display.

To capture the ironies, poignancies, and soulful idiosyncrasies of the grave sites pictured in this book, William Greiner spent several years traversing the cemeteries of New Orleans and South Louisiana....Despite Greiner's obvious debt to William Eggleston, who is often cited as the father of modern color photography, his photographs stand out as originals. The compositions are provocative, and he renders garish colors into a lushly seductive palette..... Mr. Greiner's small, Louisiana-style models of the barren earth combine with Thomas Lynch's elegant foreward to make The Reposed a fascinating book. Nov/Dec 1999

William Greiner's first monograph is a welcome selection of photographs from his many years of work in color. Greiner's view of the world, mainly in his native Louisiana, is alternately witty, tender and rhetorical. THE REPOSED is a book that the viewer will want to look at again and again.

-- Deborah Bell, Private Dealer of Photographs, New York City

If one picture is worth a thousand words, then this book is worth sixty two thousands words to describe the surreal photographs. Definitely not enough room here to convey what I think is a remarkable look at cemeteries in and around New Orleans. William Greiner is a genius with a camera,who has taken the cemetery photograph and made it into a haunting, beautiful work of art.

If you only buy one photography book in your lifetime, this is it. Nobody has ever said so much with pictures about a dead subject.

I love this cookbook. Great recipes that are both EASY and delicious. I have made several of the receipts and all were wonderful. I have purchased several since for gifts for family, friends and teachers!

I love this cookbook and use it at least once a week! Terrific and different recipes that reflect south Louisiana cooking. Too many wonderful recipes to list, but favorite are the Crawfish Monica and the crawfish bread, and muffaletta pasta!

This is a great cookbook and it is easy to use!
I have made 10 or so items in this book and people always ask ...How did you make that? It was great!! I just smile and tell them about "Roux To Do"
The salads, chicken cakes and the Pralines French bread to name a few are perfect...A beautiful book that can be displayed on a book holder in your kitchen too.

Not just from New Orleans, al-though a food lover never has to leave the Crescent City for good eats, Roux to Do serves up Louisiana fare that is easy to prepare and delicious. The simple recipes strike a balance between meat and fish, while the central focus is roux-that easy to prepare, easy to ruin base for so many southern dishes. Big name chefs lend a hand, but the charming festival art and sidebars will win you over. Cooks from the Deep South to Novia Scotia can find a roux or two in these pages to color their table.

What a Fabulous Award Wining Cookbook. Hardcover book is excellently illustrated. Easy to prepare and extremely tasty recipes. It is the 2005 WINNER OF THE HOME SECTION OF THE WRITERS NOTES BOOKS AWARDS as well as the HONORABLE MENTION - "BEST BOOKS 2004" COOKBOOKS from USA Book News. A must be in any cookbook collection, especially if you collect Junior League Cookbooks.

A Season of Night is a wonderfully written story of the author's love affair with New Orleans and his personal account of his deliberate decision to move back to an abandoned neighborhood, to embrace his city and refuse to leave her. This is not a story of blame for any government agency, but rather a story of unsung heroes, like the pub and restaurant owners, the reconstruction workers and people like Mr. McNulty himself, that brought New Orleans back to life after the Katrina disaster. I would highly recommend this book and look forward to the author's next book.

Kate O'Riordan
Seattle, Wa.

This book, more than any newspaper article or tv spot, gave an indepth, personal and heartfelt look at the disaster of Katrina. Highly recommended. It covered a range of emotions, love, loss, anger, fear, comraderie, humor............don't miss it. Can't wait for Ian McNulty's next book whatever the topic.

This book will touch you in many ways; it is funny, poignant, enraging, but most often a very graceful book. It is clear that the author values the human experience and has artfully captured the human side of post Katrina. He even attempts a canine perspective of life after the storm with humor and great observational skills. The dark side of the aftermath is evident, but hope is woven through out the pages of this very readable book. When you start it, you won't want to put it down. When you finish it, you will feel like you know the author well and will probably want to read the book again! I highly recommend this book. I am giving it to all my close friends as a way to say I care about them.

Just finished "Season of Night". Too much to savor and process in a capsule review, but a funny, absurd, sad, beautiful and moving work... Fantastically written: serious, simple, unadorned but elegant, clear, precise, emotional but without cloying sentiment or maudlin nonsense, a lucid prose analysis of an impossibly comlex series of crises, personal and universal at once... LOVED it and am in awe of the accomplishment both as a piece of writing and the reality of the story itself... Thank you, Mr. McNulty

Ian McNulty's debut is a must read for those who wondered what New Orleans was really like after Katrina once you go beyond Jazz Fest and the Mardi Gras floats and the sporadic coverage that the recovery has received in the last few years. With a true feel for the grittiness and beauty peeking out from the rubble, McNulty captures a sense of New Orlean's anguish and struggle to rebuild. Most of all, he imparts to the reader a sense of how lonely, sad, depressing and desperate life was for the year following Katrina, and how ordinary people faced with extraordinarily daunting circumstances can huddle together in the dark and share some small piece of happiness. I guarantee you will read it in one sitting and laugh and cry while you do.

I was a life-long resident of St Bernard Parish who longed to know what exactly happened to my hometown. From learning the details about the destruction, to reading about the Fire Department's courage and faithfulness, I've been left in awe. Anyone who calls or called "the Parish" home must read this book.

I read this book and it was one of the best books I have ever read. And I don't really read that much but I couldn't put this book down. I was born and raised in Chalmette and finally there is a book about my people and what they went through. My family and I did evacuate and later my Dad passed away in the hotel. I lost a home and a Dad. I did eventually move away after 6 months of trying to live there again. Every time I went to my house I got disgusted. But anyway, I think it was a fantastic book and recommend anyone who is interested in it to buy it immediately. I will cherish this book the same way I cherish the few items I saved from my home. Everyone who was involved with helping people that day will forever be Heroes to me.

A must read for anyone who lived or has lived in St. Bernard Parish. I read this book in one day. Could not put it down. Brings back memories like it happend yesterday.

Michelle Buuck did an unbelievable job captivating The St. Bernard Fire Departments heroic actions. I started to read the book and 2 days later I was finished. It was very hard to put down once I began to read about the men who were responsible for saving an entire Parish of people; especially without any State or Federal assistance. The personal day by day trials & tribulations of each St. Bernard Fireman is a must read by all. Hurricane Katrina, the World's largest natural disaster, made History along with the Fireman in this book. All are & always will be Heros that will never be forgottten.

MS Buuck has captured the events of this untold story in riveting detail through interviews with the men who were there. These stories of dedication, unselfish acts and heroism, while faced with the greatest natural disaster to hit our nation are a must read. While St Bernard, just minutes from downtown New Orleans, was basically ignored by the press, federal, and state government these men did what firefighters do - get the job done under the most adverse of conditions. Thank you SBFD for doing what you've done and Ms. Buuck for capturing and telling the story.

I am amazed by her power. In her hands, words spring to life and life springs to words. Her mind plants the living experience in a kiss on the hand and flings it to her audience like affectionate royalty waving to an attentive crowd.

She was born in Hamburg, Germany and the "Curriculum Vitae" poem in this volume beautifully articulates her immigration to the United States and her life here. Mueller was recently awarded one of the largest prizes in literature, the 2002 Ruth Lilly Prize -- $100,000.00. Her poetry is worth that, and more.

Her Mother's death "hurt" her into poetry, she writes here, and yet the observations she gives through these poems are pure redemption. What she experiences is what we all know, and she offers it to us with reverence and respect in sparkling language of pure gold.

When she stumbles on the fact of aging: "One day," she writes, "on a crowded elevator, everyone's face was younger than mine. . . .The brilliant days and nights are breathless in their hurry."

I love everything she's written and eagerly wait for more.
One short poem just to treat you to an example of what poetry can be:

"EX MACHINA
"My word processor does not know Shakespeare.
It balks at ripeness, stops me at Othello
and Desdemona. They are not
in its vocabulary. On the other hand
it does not question arrogance and power,
accepts betrayal, jealousy and grief,
uncomprehending. They are on the list.

"I am reminded of the face
of the young killer on the screen
the other night. He knew the words
gun and crime and prison.
He even knew the word guilty,
but when he said it, his eyes were blank."

Buy this book -- and all her books if you can find them. Keep them nearby so you can reach into a poem when you need to be reminded what living is for.

This book of poetry won the Pulitzer Prize. She writes about a variety of topics, which makes her writing so easily accessible depending on whatever mood you're in or what you want to read.

Her poetry about birds is particularly detailed and lovely. As is the poetry about her mother, about death, abuse, about relationships...I can't imagine you'd be disappointed. Support POETS, support your own imagination and dreams - buy this book -- add this to your collection or give it as a gift. The title poem, Alive Together, is superb. Some other favorites: The Blind Leading the Blind, Why I need the Birds, When I am Asked, Things, Mirrors, Missing the Dead, and JOY.

here's a bit of When I am Asked:

when I am asked/how I began writing poems, I talk about the indifference of nature.

It was soon after my mother died, a brilliant June day, everything blooming.

I sat on a gray stone bench/ringed with the ingenue faces/of pink and white impatiens/and placed my grief/in the mouth of language,
the only thing that would grieve with me.

RECOMMENDED!

I treasure this book. It is beautiful, clear, and profound. Mueller's words and perspective awaken me with each reading. Robyn Johnson

If you are looking for one poem about relationships, "Alive Together" is the one. And with the rest of the poems in this amazing collection you'll find more truth, beauty and life. Get this book. Read this book. Send "Alive Together" to your significant other.

Lisel Mueller is hands down one of the contemporary masters of the free verse form. In her second language she writes of exile, reclamation, home, beauty. She excels at the persona poem, writing devastating sequences on (among others) Hellen Keller, Patty Hearst, Monet, Schumann, Bach, Brendel, and Mary Shelly. This New and Selected will lead your straight to Mueller's individual collections, worth every penny.

After watching Leah and Ron on the Discovery Channel, I had to own this book. The receipes are the same as I use in my kitchen, but with a little more finesse. Just love it.

I loved both of Leah Chase's companion cook books, but particularly enjoyed the prints of her invaluable pieces of art work which adorn her spectacular restaurant. The receipes in the two books are mostly duplicative, but they are simple and excellent! She is a Queen in her own right and an outstanding mentor to so many in our country.

It has some wonderful recipes that sound mouthwatering! I would really like a copy of this book! Most of the recipes are fairly easy. Even the vegetable loaf sounds good and I tend to stay away from foods that sound like meat replacement.

I just ordered this book and if it is anything like her restaurant, then this should be a great book. I visited her restaurant in May 2005 and I had the best catfish po'boy, red beans & rice, and jambalaya. Her husband "Dookie" was there and he asked me where I was from. I told him Chicago and he told me stories about Ramsey Lewis and when he use to tour with different bands. He was the most pleasant person to talk to and he walked me out to my car when the order was complete. I will not go back to New Orleans until they rebuild Dooky Chase. The food is worth the drive to New Orleans and the hospitality is among the best of any city that I have traveled.

As an official honorary citizen of New Orleans, I have enjoyed many a meal at Dooky Chase. Since I live in Los Angeles I was delighted to be able to get some of Mrs Chase's wonderful recipes. They are practical, easy to read, and absolutely delicious--though of course no one can duplicate her particular genius by themselves.
I also loved reading her anecdotes of the restaurant and the stories behind some of the recipes. I think the "culture" around a cuisine is a major part of the pleasure.

Leah Chase is major figure in our country's heritage. I mean it. The book is a delight.