Louisiana Books

Very good book the only major problem is that the book fell apart and now I will have to return it for a replacement.

Carl Rowan's account of his travels through the American South in the 1950s brings to life the harsh realities of the racial inequalites that existed in our great nation just a half a century ago. I used this book as a primary source in a US History Survey course. I would reccomend this book to high school and college age students as well as adults who are interested in race relations just prior to the Civil Rights Movement.

Loveland delivers a fairly complete picture of evangelical's effect on southern society. Drawing from the journals and sermons of southern evangelical ministers, Loveland explores firsthand how regenrated preachers felt about politics, society and the cause of Christ throughout the South.
She recounts how the evangelical sermon was a crossroads of politics, society and religion, as ministers often addressed the burning questions of the day from the pulpit. She describes the missionary activity so characteristic of northern evangelists undertaken by their southern counterparts. She shows how southern preachers were involved in a host of benevolent projects, from reforming sailors to caring for the poor. She relates how many southern evangelicals believed in instructing and converting slaves to Christianity but that they differed from their northern contemporaries in that they also upheld and defened slavery.
Overall, one of the best books on the complex and fascinating topic of antebellum southern evangelicalism.

This is a great book, based on archival records from Spain (Archivo Militar de las Indias). Never before have I read a book with so much information about the Spanish activities during the British period in Florida in such a detailed manner and with so much references to the original source.

It has a load of informations on Spanish government spionage on and even the names of the floridanos, Minorcans, and Indians who were involved.

Although the British always suspected that the Spanish goverment had such an activity, they were never aware of its extent at that time.

I wish I have more books like this about early Florida, (1565-1845) there are tons of material waiting to be translated into English and discovered by writers in the city of St. Augustine several historic libraries (St. Augustine Historical Research Library, Flagler College, University of Florida,etc) and much more in the archival records of Spain.
I really thank the author, Light Townsend Cummins for all his efforts in this wonderful and detailed book, I hope others will follow.

I loved this collection of poems- Gibbons' writing is quietly lyrical and never obvious or outright. Through the simple language and subjects, he weaves together a song for the reader based on everyday experiences, observations and moments. I've never read any other collections from Gibbons (except for the prose collection Five Pears or Peaches- which is lovely, too), so Sparrow introduced me to some truly beautiful pieces from an earlier time, such as "Maybe It Was So."-that one is a beauty. This is a collection to savour, it makes me wish his other works weren't mostly out of print!

I have read Louisiana Sportsman magazine for years and have enjoyed Todd Masson's stories. He is truly an excellent oudoors writer and concetrates on the issues that Louisiana sportsman need to hear as well as the fundamentals to maximize each and every outdoor adventure in this state.

Specks is an incredible look into patterns of the speckled trout, one of the finest fish to catch and serve on the dinner table. The book is put together very well including the scientific facts about this fish and the seasonal secrets to catch these fish throughout the state's top ten trout regions. The pictures are of good quality and excellent for seeing what the state has to offer as well as the rigs for catching specks. The maps are of good enough quality to get a general idea of where the action is throughout the year, but shouldn't be substituted for high quality topographic maps and charts. Masson also includes directions to each of the best fishing spots, where to launch your boat and local establishments that can serve the day and weekend angler if they need supplies, refreshments or a quick meal.

Being from south Louisiana and a fisherman that loves catching specks as much as Masson, I have to say that this is an inspiring book that belongs in the tackle box or next to the maps and sea charts. You will maximize your chances of catching quality fish using this handy guide. An excellent read.

The Spiritual Churches of New Orleans: Origins, Beliefs, and Rituals of an African-American Religion. By Claude F. Jacobs and Andrew J. Kaslow. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991 [paperback edition 2001])

Anthropologists Claude Jacobs and Andrew Kaslow undertook their study of the black Spiritual churches of New Orleans between 1980 and 1983. Since the initial publication of Spiritual Churches of New Orleans in 1991, I have turned to it frequently in the pursuit of my own work. The book has now been re-issued in a more affordable paperback edition. Even though the research is twenty years old, it remains the authoritative work on a subject that is of great fascination to those interested in African American religious practice. Jacobs and Kaslow's highly readable text is augmented by the outstanding photographs of Michael P. Smith.
New Orleans' Spiritual churches are a unique combination of Roman Catholicism, Spiritualism, Pentecostalism, and Voodoo. The Spiritual churches honor God the Father, Jesus, and an array of saints, ancestors, and spirit guides--particularly the Native American chief Black Hawk--by whom worshipers become possessed and through whose power they heal and prophesy. The interior of a Spiritual church is dominated by elaborate altars dedicated to the saints and the spirits. Services are characterized by ecstatic music and dancing, and spiritual "work" may include the use of candles, incense, oils, baths, and herbs. Many Spiritual congregations are led by female ministers and bishops, positions denied to women in some mainstream Christian denominations.
While the Spiritual churches were ostensibly founded in 1920 by Mother Leafy Anderson, a black minister from Chicago, the components of the belief system had long existed in New Orleans. Most of the city's downtown Creoles of color were Catholic; some members of this group were also attracted to Spiritualism. Pentecostalism was popular among uptown working -class "American Negroes." While virtually all New Orleanians of African descent were Christian, many were also devotees of Voodoo, an African-based religion heavily influenced by Catholicism; others dabbled in hoodoo, a system of magic by which individual "workers" serve their clients.
Jacobs and Kaslow provide valuable historical background on the formative years of the Spiritual churches, using newspaper articles from the African-American Louisiana Weekly, as well as interviews with early church leaders conducted by fieldworkers from the Louisiana Writers' Project under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration. The authors also report on the many church events they attended as participant-observers. In addition to regular worship services, they describe baptisms, Holy communion, ordination of ministers and consecration of bishops, and feasts in honor of various saints, the Old Testament Queen Esther, and Black Hawk. There is a detailed examination of spirit possession, prophecy, and healing as it occurs in church services. Also included is a discussion of the practices of ministers known as "workers" who address clients' difficulties with rituals and charms that resemble hoodoo. The final chapters provide a statistical analysis of the clergy and membership of the Spiritual churches by birthplace, religion of origin, gender, age, and occupation.
The Spiritual churches are other worldly in their outlook; they do not attack the social and economic problems that plague a congregation that is black, predominantly poor or working class, and overwhelmingly female. Jacobs and Kaslow conclude that the Spiritual churches, like other African-based New World religions, allow ordinary people such as these to transcend these difficulties by experiencing direct communication with the Divine, achieving the ideal balance of the body, mind, and spirit, and harmony with the human community and the dead.

Carolyn Morrow Long
Research Associate, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Author of Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic, and Commerce, University of Tennessee Press, 2001.

I RECENTLY READED: THE STAR CREEK PAPERS AND WAS NOT SURPRISE OF THINGS THAT WENT ON BACK IN THE DAY, FROM READING HISTORY, I'M 47 YEARS YOUNG AND ALSO THE GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF ISOM WILSON, MY FATHER MOTHER WAS OPHELIA WILSON, ONE OF ISOM DAUGHTER, I STAY WITH HER FAR ABOUT TEN YEARS AND SHE WAS A STRONG BLACK WOMAN, THAT I LOVED AND I WISH THAT SHE WAS STILL HERE IN MY LIFE, I OFTEN WONDER OF HER. BUT WHO GIVE PEOPLE THE RIGHT TO DO SUCH THINGS TO OTHERS, THERE IS ONLY ONE MAN THAT JUDGES ONES PATH.I RATE THIS BOOK A 10 AND SHOULD BE IN SCHOOLS ACROSS THE USA, BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE HATE START. SANDRA MANNING BOLTON

Still Waters is a book full of incredibly beautiful photographs that touch your soul. You find yourself turning each page then gazing out into space with a small smile on your face. I found myself going "...this one is my favorite, no! this one!" In the end I knew I had to own this book. The author writes a lovely introduction that enables you to visualize and feel the process and circumstances behind some of the photographs. It is page after page of magic.

I was loaned this book by a friend who is a direct descendent of the author.
The book is full of details about life in the ante bellum South; the family is not a wealthy but they are survivors in a very rural area. The author tells of his early life, as he becomes an adolescent, the War between the States begins.He enlisted in the Cofederate Army and was in active duty until the end. A fantastic story developes after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders, and the author and his fellow soldiers from La. make their way back home from N.C.
With minimal formal education he becomes an advanced mathematician winning many awards and involved in the formation of L.S.U. The book is easy to read and contains many historical aspects that are not readliy avaible. It would make a great movie. I highly recommend the story. Lowell Kepp