Louisiana Books

This is one of the most-overlooked treasures of the vast literature on the campaign and battle of Gettysburg. It details the march of the Army of Northern Virginia (with special emphasis
on Richard Ewell's Second Corps) into southern Pennsylvania. The details of the invasion and the interactions with the people
of Pennsylvania are endlessly fascinating. The book ends with the Second Corps marching to the sound of the guns at Gettysburg on 1 July 1863, so it is not an account of the battle itself.
It is an unparalleled work setting the stage, however. Buy and
read and ENJOY THIS BOOK!

For the American Civil War buff....this is THE book which details Lee's movements with his Army of Northern Virginia from the Rappahannock area to Gettysburg. The accounts of cavalry engagements at Aldie, Middleburg and Upperville, Virginia are absolute with accompanying maps being the best yet. Little has been written about Lee's movement to gather the needed "rations" Commissary General Northrop could not provide. This book details last Lee's invasion of the North - which ultimately led to Gettysburg. This book is a MUST read to enlighten the reader in Lee's Northern invasion.

This collection of stories is far and away the best sampling of his true literary mastery. I have always enjoyed Southern writers (Faulkner,Capote,..), but Wolfe touches a particular vein of the satirical social landscape of the South that is unmatched. His work, I believe, is less about the South than Faulkner's, but Wolfe still has that southern glow of tragedy but with a simple beauty. Though some may find his novels tedious and long-winded, it is difficult to not like this work. Just be patient and let the words come to you. The thing I like most about his short stories is that they often leave you with a feeling of lying in bed on a summer's night listening to the train pass through town or maybe a lone dog barking in the distance, hollow... but thinking that you could live forever.

This is a collection of short-stories. For us who may be heratics in our beloved Southern Literature when it concerns Thomas Wolfe, we contend that he is a very verbose, messy messy author. His first editor had to cut and shape a large manuscript into three seperate novels (I believe that I'm correct in this), of which Look Homeward Angel was the first. (Apparently he wrote them on top of a refridgerator: a tall man.)And that book goes on and on and on--like the bunny commercial. He totally ignores any kind of sembulance of form. That is his problem, he does not brible his passion properly, Look H-- is a good book--but it could have been great--or atleast greater, depending on your view point.

Hemingway said that he was good until he began writing about other places than his home. I have to agree with that.

Now. This book, however, is his best crafted fiction. That simple. Something about the demanding, concise form of the short story works him over well. The first time that I read it I thought--that's it! The Southern author I've been looking for. But, unfortunately, I became all worked up for Look H-- and after reading that it all fizzled. One wonders two things: 1. what if he had lived longer?, he seems to have just become the craftsman that was always demanded for his ferver; and 2. what if he had written Look Homeward Angel, after he had true command of his skills.

This is a great book. In my opinion his best. Read it.

Dan Flores has lived most of his life in the Horizontal Yellow. Another, more historical term for this land would be the Spanish-Mexican Frontier. Florida was not settled from Mexico, of course, and the settlement of California was decades to more than a century later.

Flores explores this land from both the history and natural history points of view, with the historical part generally beginning with the first Spanish-U.S. contact as part of post-Louisiana Treaty boundary negotiations.

Not all Texas is the Southern spillover of Dallas and Houston; get acquainted with the rest of it, and adjacent areas, in this book.

Dan Flores' long-awaited new book once again proves he has few peers when it comes to a deep understanding of his native Near Southwest, a vision for its long term health, and the ability to weave a tale which is scholarly, literary, and deeply personal.

A great subject in the hands of a great writer. Hannusch lets the musicians tell their own stories.

This is one of the books that I look at all the time. Easy to read and great info - great pictures. Better than an oyster po boy. Lots of behind the scenes stuff.

What makes Montemarano's dark world so alchemical is the way in which he creates a mythology out of the broken morality, vicious hate, unrealized dreams, and the many other bleak threads from which our society is woven.

There is a quiet strength that runs through these stories. It is the strength of real self-taught morality. It is the strength of a person who is not afraid to examine the world around him. It is the strength of honesty. There is risk everwhere, and major accomplishment.

This is exceptionally good work. If you are interested in contemporary literature, you should read Montemarano.

Having read both "A Fine Place" and this latest collection, "If the Sky Falls," I'm convinced that Montemarano is the most important new writer to watch. In the tradition of Joyce Carol Oates, Jayne Anne Phillips, Tim O'Brien, and Don DeLillo, these stories hit a nerve and don't let up. He does what the supposed whiz kids of the moment seem to be afraid of doing, writing what risks most without promising redemption, using measured doses of experimentation that, like O'Brien and Phillips, not only serve the story but are necessary to the story, and writing with heartbreaking honesty, an overused term, but one that is more than applicable here. Nicholas Montemarano is not only the best writer to come on the scene in over a decade, he competes with the greatest of novelists and short story writers. This book more than deserves all the buzz surrounding it.

I was given the original hard back by my father Richard W. Walton Sr. (Great Grandson of Col. J.B. Walton, Commander in Chief of the Washington Artillery). Once I started reading the book, I could not put it down, finished it in the same afternoon. I would have enjoyed reading it over and over through the years, but could not due to the age and condition of the original (copyright, 1885) I have read everything that I could get my hands on involving the American Civil War. After reading this book, I feel that I owe thanks to William Miller Owen for taking me back in time. I felt the experience as if I were there. As I came to know the men of the Battalion from day one upon their depature from New Orleans enroute to Richmond VA., I felt remorse in reading of the death of so many of them.

Very well written account of the Washington Artllery's engagements during the Civil War. Describes all major actions from the First Battle of Bull Run to the final surrender at Appomatox. You feel so close to the lives of the troops; makes you marvel at all the struggles and hardships that were endured. A must read for all Civil War buffs. First published in 1885 by Ticknor and Company of Boston. Reissued in a limited edition that is an exact reproduction of the original, with a few additions (an Introduction by Kenneth Urquhart, three additional illustrations, and the list of present-day officers) by The Pelican Publishing Company of New Orleans, June 1964.

If you like to cook and enjoy delicious food, you will love this easy-to-read, cookbook, "In the Kitchen with Papa Wiltz." The recipes are very easy to follow, and written in a very organized manner on each page. Every recipe in this cookbook is a favorite of mine, and there are many . My mouth watered upon reading about the Pork Chile Verde, the Shrimp Creole, the Bananas Foster, and the Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce, to name a few. Each recipe is tried and true, by the author himself, who learned how to prepare these dishes from his mom, while growing up in Louisiana. This cookbook is a treasure, and I am so thrilled with it. I plan on buying an additional copy or two, to give as gifts--especially to some newly-wed family members and friends!

This cookbook presents the classic recipes of Cajun/Creole and Mexican/American cultures. The recipes are easy to follow with several tips and helpful hints on how to prepare these recipes. Historical and humorous comments are sprinkled throughout the cookbook.

This is a must for any Gilchrist fan. It's her first collection of short stories everyone will be delighted to read about the beginning of Nora Jane, Rhoda and other fabulous characters. All the stories are wonderful, but my favorite is the short wistful piece, "1944." It's not really a story so much as a beautiful fragment of memory.

The final story in this book is the best short story I have ever read anywhere. Hands down.

Gilchrist is a writer of rare grace and absolutely flawless ear for the language and foibles of upper-class women from the Delta, viz, Mississippi, Southeast Louisiana, Memphis, and, on occasion, Fayetteville. Most of them have lived in Uptown New Orleans at least some of their lives.

All are spirited, overindulged, bright, lonely, and infinitely memorable. Gilchrist writes of them with compassion and verve, and absolute pinpoint accuracy, right down to the stuffed crab they buy at Langenstein's deli. Most fall prey to substance abuse for part of their lives, and all are have big powerful men in their lives who just don't listen or pay attention.

But Gilchrist's characters are not whining closeted feminists. They do claim their own power and space. And they make the reader love them.

Whenever I read Gilchrist's books, I find myself wondering if she ever gets invited to lunch in New Orleans anymore. She is just too too acurate and skewers too well the pretentions and aspirations of Uptown matrons too accurately for her to have any friends left in the Crescent City.

If you're an outsider and plan to visit deep Delta Dixie, read this book first unless you only want to see the superficial.

The unexpected and sharply tragic ending of this book's final short story will grab you by the throat, and never let go.

This is a gorgeous book--filled with Grey Guirard's lyrically haunting photographs and complemented with poignant stories from past and contemporary Cajuns. It's the best book I know of on the Atchafalaya, and I own most of them.

This book is absolutly beautiful in that it captures the rich and important history of this amazing area. Text is easy to absorb and even locals of the area will most likely be enriched by the wonderful documentation and photography available in this book

The Insiders Guide to New Orleans is a giant step forward in the city guidebook field as well as the best guide I have found to New Orleans. The authors put history in its true place as an introduction to one of the world's most fascinating cities and then present the destination in fine style as experts on the city, its attractions, its almost embarrassing riches in restaurants, its quirkiness and more. As a resident of the Big Easy (who also happens to be a professional travel writer) I found fifty things I didn't already know. Unlike many guidebooks which are either on-paper cheering sections or, alternatively, a drab presentation of facts, open hours and prices, this guide is a delightful and informative must-read for anyone every thinking of escaping to what can be considered almost another country. Five stars for The Insider's Guide to New Orleans by Becky Retz and James Gaffney.

If New Orleans is a city that easily evokes the utterances of Tennesee William's Blanche Dubois , the New Insider's Guide New Orleans by Gaffney and Retz certainly is a kindness to strangers visiting to city. Written in a lively and fun to read style, the authors take you on a lively tour of the famous and infamous aspects of the Big Easy. Locals will find the book a way to explore the underpinnings of a city they may have too quickly come to take for granted. Like the city itself, this guidebook is an easy read to curl up with (to paraphrase Blanche) on a long rainy afternoon when an hour isn't just an hour, but a little piece of eternity dropped in your hand." I highly recommend this guidebook. --Candace