The University of Alabama Press has released Alabama's Civil Rights Trail: An Illustrated Guide to the Cradle of Freedom by Frye Gaillard, a companion book to Gaillard's award-winning tome that won the Lillian Smith award for best Southern nonfiction. This new release acts as a guide to the state's numerous Civil Rights sites and monuments, from the slave auctions to George Wallace's stand against segregation on the steps of the University of Alabama.

            Gaillard looks at Alabama as "ground zero" of the Civil Rights movement, a state that moved from the "cradle of the Confederacy" to a moment "where democracy expanded," he said at a Montgomery symposium in early February to kick off the book.

            "We have a lot to celebrate in Alabama," Gaillard told the audience that ranged in age from high school students to those who participated in the movement. "We have a lot of heroes to thank."

            The book features many of the highlights of the Civil Rights era, such as the march from Selma to Montgomery in support of black voting rights and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. But it also contains information tourists will find fascinating when traveling throughout Alabama, such as Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron's boyhood home, Tuskegee Institute founded by Booker T. Washington, the once impoverished quilters of Gee's Bend now famous through Oprah and the infamous trial of the Scottsboro Boys that drew the nation's ire in the 1930s.

            More than anything the book seeks to embrace this sometimes violent history that resulted in positive change to show the world what can be accomplished through faith, perseverance and non-violent resistance.

            "Our biggest story in Alabama is the Civil Right movement," explained Dan Waterman, University of Alabama Press editor-in-chief. "We noticed that people come to Alabama from all over the world because it's the story of freedom and how to achieve it. If there is one place in the world that demonstrates that (the fight for democracy), it's Alabama."

            "Some people are embarrassed by those years," Gaillard explained. "Some people in the country look down on Alabama because of the harsh resistance to justice. I see it as a heroic story."

Weird Louisiana

Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman came up with a fun idea, document all that was weird about New Jersey and condense the photos, anecdotes and strange facts into a pamphlet. The result evolved into a magazine, then a book, which then branched out into a concept.

            Next came Weird U.S., a compilation of strange legends and crazy tales nationwide.

            I'm sure you can guess where this is heading next.

            "When asked to think of a 'weird' state, for most people some likely candidates will spring to mind first: New Jersey (of course), California (naturally), and another that is usually near the top of most people's lists -- Louisiana," the editors write in the introduction of Weird Louisiana: Your Travel Guide to Louisiana's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets (Sterling). "Just saying the name of the state is enough to conjure up all sorts of strangeness in one's imagination."

            Well, for most of us, strangeness might refer to our Aunt Nunu , or why some people put tomatoes in their gumbo -- or not. But for these guys, Weird Louisiana looks at a house sawed in two after an inheritance dispute, the disappearance of Lake Peigneur after a drilling mishap in an underground salt dome, how Bunkie got its name and the day it rained peaches in Shreveport. There's all of our crazy celebrations, Mardi Gras being one, our endless ghost stories, religious oddities and roadside folk art.

            If you're wondering if New Orleans gets the spotlight here, think again. Author Roger Manly grew up in Shreveport and dedicates much of the book to north Louisiana. And if you're also thinking that you've heard it all, prepare to be surprised. The book is full of great weird stories accented by photographs and illustrations that will keep you reading -- and laughing -- for hours.

            Kinda makes you wonder how they manage to keep it to 263 pages.

C.C. "Curley" Duson looked out on to the southwestern prairie known as Faquetaigue, at the end of a 20-mile railroad spur, and saw progress. He and his brothers had founded Crowley, Mamou and other southwestern Louisiana towns but this new venture was set to beat all. 

            Thousands arrived the day of the lot auction and Eunice came into being in 1894.

            Arcadia Publishing creates snapshots of American history in a variety of book series and this month has published an Images of America book on Eunice, filled with old photos of the people, schools, churches and businesses who made up the prairie town.

            Eunice, by Alma Brunson Reed and Van Reed, incorporates early photographs of Tom and George Bevan and other old snapshots to showcase how the town grew from its 19th century inception to one of the Cajun cultural and musical hubs today. The book includes chapters on early businesses, agriculture, education, religion and the pioneers who populated the area. Included among Eunice’s notable citizens are many who served in the military.

            Arcadia has also produced a Postcard History Series book on Greenwood, Miss., and an Images of America book on Biloxi, Miss. They are available from area bookstores and by the publisher online atwww.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling (888) 313-2665.

More new releases (Fall, 2009)

The band members of The Terms, comprised of five LSU students, were living their dream. Their music was hitting the airwaves, their album Small Town Computer Crash made the Billboard Charts in 2006 and they were about to perform on The Megan Mullally show on national TV. On Sept. 30, 2006, heading to Monroe for a gig, a car running a stop sign slammed into the band’s Toyota 4Runner, changing everything. Three members were seriously injured as the Toyota hit a telephone poll, then bounced back into the intersection and flipped on its side. But it was bass player Brandon Young who nearly died when his head hit the telephone poll, causing a traumatic brain injury.

The Terms’s musical rise and their experiences along the way, plus the long road back in recovery, particularly for Young, make up Jacques Lasseigne’s E-Mail Connections: Tragedy and Triumph of The Terms (PublishAmerica). Lasseigne is father of one of the band members, drummer Scott Lasseigne, and the book contains many of the emails sent to fans, friends and family members during the tragedy, hence the title. Above all, it’s an inspiring story.

“Brandon Young was the most seriously injured in the accident, but today is enrolled at LSU-S and is passing his college courses,” Lasseigne wrote me — naturally — by email. “This past spring semester he was accepted into the LSU-S jazz band. Brandon absolutely loves music. That is a far cry from him lying in a coma, then ‘waking up’ and having to learn how to walk, talk and eat again.”

The band has come so far, they planned a reunion concert at the Red River Revel on Oct. 10 in Shreveport. “The band is performing for two reasons,” Lasseigne explained. “One, to thank the many friends who have been so supportive throughout this whole ordeal, and two, to give Brandon a lasting memory of performing with his band mates (the accident erased his memories of his time in the band). It should be a very special evening on the Shreveport River Front.”

Anne Butler, author of several books on Louisiana, offers “the definitive guide” to Louisiana Swamp Tours (Pelican). Featuring photography by Henry Cancienne, the book tackles the entire state, from below Houma to Caddo Lake. Butler examines things such as if alligators are fed or not, price ranges and the abilities of the guides. There’s also a chapter on alligator farms.

        Marcus P. Meleton Jr., who graduated from UL Lafayette, discovered that being nice wasn’t getting him or other men like him anywhere. He wrote a fun book playing on that theme titled Nice Guys Don’t Get Laid. Meleton has recently published the book’s third edition, expanded to include more humorous information on how nice guys finish last.

Gene R. Dark of Lake Charles served in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps and he discusses how the experience transformed him from a carefree young man to a hardened soldier in The Brutality of War: A Memoir of Vietnam, by Pelican Publishing of New Orleans.

Trudier Harris examines a host of African-American authors and their preoccupation with the South and all it represented in The Scary Mason-Dixon Line: African American Writers and the South, published by LSU Press. Included is Louisiana author Ernest J. Gaines.

Alice “Dallas” McNamara, who divides her time between Houston and New Orleans, and Lafayette resident Alyce Morgan Wise, have combined their love of the Crescent City and doing pilates to create a unique 2010 calendar. Models in various pilates poses are captured all over New Orleans, from Bourbon Street the Upper Ninth Ward, in Spontaneous Zest & Pleasure: A Pilates Calendar. Each month focuses on a specific pose and attraction, such as a model in overalls performing the “Saw” in the Musicians Village or the “Tree” in a live oak in Audubon Park. But the calendar also includes dates specific to South Louisiana, such as Satchmo Summerfest or Mardi Gras, and tidbits of New Orleans facts. The photos are lively and fun with the colorful backdrop of New Orleans. You don’t have to love pilates to love this calendar. McNamara is a documentary photographer and working on a project called SKRH (Surviving Katrina and Rita in Houston), a joint project with the University of Houston and the Library of Congress. Wise owns WiseBody pilates studio and is co-owner of Camelia House, a center for alternative health and wellness. You can buy Spontaneous Zest & Pleasure calendar in Lafayette at Wise Body, KiKi’s in River Ranch, In Balance pilates studio and the Rok Haus. Or visit the duo’s Web site at www.spontaneous-zest.com.

E’Deana Bosworth Elmer, whose family owned several towboat companies, took it on herself to record the history and status of Louisiana lighthouses in a self-published hardback, Lighthouses of Louisiana. The comprehensive book includes inland lighthouses such as Point Defer (Point Au Fer) in Atchafalaya Bay and the Tchefuncte River and those along the coast. She even includes lightships and the Hibernia Bank Building in New Orleans, whose light at the top helped guide ships up the Mississippi and the tower used to search for aircraft during World War II.

Tom “Tuffy” Fields of Farmerville wrote a biography of the late Harvey Fields, his grandfather and a Louisiana activist and law partner of Huey Long, titled I Called Him Grand Dad, currently available on www.BarnesandNoble.com and www.Amazon.com.

Robert Blossman, former director of Emergency Services at Chabert Hospital in Houma, has written Puzzles, Poems & Proper Nouns, a compilation of facts, quizzes, and trivia (Xlibris).

We Were Merchants (Louisiana Book News for Sept. 27)

Until department stores lost footing to WalMarts and Targets and corporations took over what remained, Louisiana was home to many family-owned stores, some that became national treasures. Goudchaux’s in Baton Rouge, and its later purchase of Maison Blanche, was one example. Both were favorites of locals, a required stop during Christmas, especially to see Mr. Bingle and the elaborate window displays, and its owners solid members of the community.

What’s most interesting is the story behind the stores. Hans Sternberg, son of the owners who bought the Goudchaux store in 1939, explains the history with LSU journalism scholar James E. Shelledy in We Were Merchants (LSU Press). Erich and Lea Sternberg fled Germany during the height of Nazi terror, taken their 18-month Hans and siblings to Baton Rouge. Their story, brought to vivid life in this book, examines both the horrors Jews experienced before the war and their tenacity to survive.

In the early 1930s, when Erich Sternberg realized the harassment would increase and not turn back to their favor by “clear-thinking Germans,” he smuggled out his savings in pieces, then left for America in 1936. He visited family in various places, hoping to renew his business as a storeowner of clothing — their merchantile heritage goes back five generations to a shop in 18th century Germany. Eventually, Sternberg found Goudchaux’s and slowly made enough money to bring his family to America, then purchase the business.

Hans later entered the business, they purchased Maison Blanche and expanded, becoming the largest family-owned department store in America. The store they opened in Lafayette has a particularly funny account. When the computers went down a team of experts flew into New Orleans and headed west, only the techies enjoyed some of the city’s libations before they set off. Traveling across the Atchafalaya they thought the surrounding trees were next to the bridge, stopped the car to relieve themselves and crossed over the guard rail, not realizing the drop. When one disappeared, the other one followed, leaving one bewildered computer guru in the car. A policeman happened by and they were rescued, unharmed.

Of course, the days of Louisiana’s department stores have ended, but We Were Merchants offers a fascinating glimpse into the rise of the Sternberg business, when customer service and friendly, attentive ownership meant all the world to its patrons. 

Book of Paradise

Charlie Hohorst Jr. grew up hunting ducks and doves in the abundant wetlands of Acadiana, one of the largest accumulations of migratory birds and waterfowl in the United States. And because of his love of outdoors photography, Hohorst would later develop a talent for shooting these birds, but this time on film.

The Lafayette native first spent morning hours photographing the various birds of the Lake Martin Rookery near his home, but then moved into the art of capturing animals in motion. Now, Hohorst travels the world as a nature photographer, from Alaska to Africa.

Closer to home Hohorst has assembled a brilliant collection of Louisiana wildlife in Wings of Paradise: Birds of the Louisiana Wetlands (LSU Press). And if gorgeous shots of colorful songbirds, teals in flight, the rare reddish egret with its shaggy plumes and birds of prey with victims in their claws and beaks weren’t enough, Marcelle Bienvenu of St. Martinville offers various recipes in the back, such as “a wild gumbo” and roasted duck.  There’s even a handy map in the front to point visitors to the great duck hunting and birdwatching areas of South Louisiana.

Wings of Paradise is both a lovely coffee table book and a gorgeous guide to the magnificent birds that call Louisiana home. It’s the perfect gift for the hunter in the family, but also a great homage to the wildlife that share our state.

An inside glimpse into ghost hunting, Louisiana style

Brad Duplechien, the founder of Louisiana Spirits Paranormal Investigations, not only offers up great ghost stories in his self-published book, Paranormal Uncensored: A Raw Look at Louisiana Ghost Hunting (iUniverse), but explains how he got into the business and his travails along the way. Part spook fest, part tell-all, it’s a wonderful look into the world of ghost hunting.

Duplechien starts the book with his first paranormal experience in a notoriously creepy cemetery in central Louisiana called Fort Derussy, near the remains of the Civil War defense along the Red River. His description of the cemetery visits are enough to give ghost lovers a great thrill, but it's only a taste of what is to come. After Duplechien discovers ghost hunting from the popular TV show, he realizes he wants to learn the trade and begins by hooking up with other investigators via the Internet and having his own investigation fall into his lap.

His first job (these are all volunteer) goes against Louisiana stereotypes, occurring on a piece of property with an abandoned home and two trailers — no plantation here. What Duplechien discovers on this job gives him encouragement to continue even when politics, personalities and competition among paranormal groups flare up. While recounting the paranormal experiences of this household, for instance, he also describes the "sensitives" who tag along, two people Duplechien doesn't trust and who eventually work against the legitimacy of the group.

The author doesn't hold anything back, exposing the nasty backbiting of paranormal groups trying to establish themselves in the wake of the popularity of ghost hunting, and he's not scared to name names. Although I found the whole story of establishing himself as a ghost hunter fascinating, I would have preferred a bit more ghost stories. Let's hope there's a sequel.

 Public sites that Duplechien visited include Oak Alley, the Joseph Jefferson Mansion, Marland’s Bridge in Sunset and Deridder Jail.

            Summer 2009 Releases

Journalist and former Louisiana Senator Bill Keith investigates the murder of media and advertising persona Jim Leslie and discovers the corruption in the Shreveport police in The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death, a Pelican book.

Thibodaux native Maria Hebert-Leiter pens Becoming Cajun, Becoming American: The Acadian in American Literature from Longfellow to James Lee Burke by LSU Press. “The study of Cajun literature is the study of the very movement from assimilation to differentiation that mimics the path Cajuns took from their Acadian identifications to an all-American, yet different, notion of self,” she writes in the introduction.

Sam Wyly, who spent his early years in Louisiana, has published 1,000 Dollars & An Idea by Newmarket Press.

            Patsy Dillard of Bastrop, a former model and deputy probation officer who now lives in California, has written Do You Really Want My Life?

           James Stoner, a professor of political science at LSU, has published Common Law Liberty: Rethinking American Constitutionalism with the University Press of Kansas.

Are we there yet? From the July 26 Daily Advertiser

The popularity of automobiles, the cheap price of gas, the interstate highway system and the two-week paid vacation started what we know of today as the great American family vacation. Not too long ago Americans were told to “see the USA in a Chevrolet” — and they did. By the 1970s, when gas prices rose along with family budgets, which both discouraged driving and encouraged more elaborate vacations, the family road trip lost popularity. Susan Sessions Rugh, a 20th century tourism history expert, relives these golden days of motor courts, motels and travelogues in Family Vacation, a book filled with classic advertisements, photos, maps, postcards and more. She examines planning for the trip and purchasing the right car, seeing the country by road, Disney’s early years and the lure of beaches such as Florida and Hawaii. There’s also a fascinating section on African American travel and having to find suitable hotels during segregation. Tourists would research accommodations in specialty guides geared toward blacks to avoid confrontations. Still, Rugh explains, many had to sleep in their cars.

You would think a state with the rich culture and history of Louisiana would have numerous books written about its women. Or that the general public would be able to count the many famous women born of the Bayou State. Janet Allured, associate professor of history at McNeese, uses an example of how little Louisianans know about the women who helped shaped this state as co-editor of Louisiana Women: Their Lives and Times (University of Georgia Press), a collection of essays on 17 women.  She cites the LSU women’s study class of Emily Toth, who begins by asking her students to name famous Louisiana women.

            “The students almost always come up with the same three, all of whom are still alive: Anne Rice, Britney Spears, and either Kathleen Blanco or Mary Landrieu,” Allured writes.

            Louisiana Women is an attempt to change that, providing biographies of influential women of all economical levels and ethnicity. Patricia Brady discusses Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited her husband’s business, the New Orleans Picayune, and decided to run it for 20 years. Shannon Frystak shows how Oretha Castle Haley juggled fighting for civil rights in New Orleans while raising two children. Lee Kogan recounts Louisiana’s most famous self-taught artist, Clementine Hunter.

            There are well-known names such as Marie Laveau and Kate Chopin next to lesser-known individuals such as Coushatta native Louisa Williams Robinson, her daughters and her granddaughters. And some, such as Dorothy Dix who penned a nationally syndicated column, Dorothy Dix Talks, who have fallen out of the public spotlight. Dix attracted more readers than any writer of her day for more than 50 years.

            Authors Kevin S. Fontenot and Ryan Andre Brasseaux visit Acadiana to showcase Cleoma Breaux Falcon, who helped commercialize Cajun music while pushing the boundaries of male-established society. Hopefully, when Toth asks the questions to her students again, the answers will include many of these incredible women.

Now that green things are popping up all over, ever wonder what they are? Two new books can answer plenty of gardening questions. Ray Neyland, professor of biological science at McNeese, has compiled a comprehensive guide to wildflowers of the Lower Mississippi River Valley, Gulf and Atlantic coastal states in Wildflowers of the Coastal Plain (LSU Press). This handy field guide offers information and color photos on 535 species of herbaceous plants, vines and shrubs from Texas to Florida and upwards to southern Illinois. There’s erythrina herbacea L, known in Acadiana as Mamou and otherwise as coral bean. Neyland offers a photo and explanation of its fruit, seeds, blooming schedule and more. And if you get confused by the scientific names and botanical references there are keys in the back, including drawings of leaf and flower structures and a glossary.

            If you’re wondering about the larger plants growing in your backyard, try the Arbor Day Foundation’s What Tree is That? with illustrator Karina Helm. Like the tree publications members receive once they join the Foundation, this guide gives readers a groundwork of identifying, planting and caring for a tree. The book contains information to 250 of the more common trees in North America, but it begins with the basics. In an easy-to-understand format, readers decipher what hardiness zones they live in and then go to the section that’s either east or west of the Rocky Mountains. Using a handy code system with botanical illustrations of leaves, needles, nuts and pine cones, readers can discern which tree is located in their back yard. To order the book or learn more about the non-profit Arbor Day Foundation, visit arborday.org. 

Naturally Clean Home

Spring cleaning

            With spring comes the desire to open the windows and do some deep cleaning. With all the talk about green these days, why not true out some non-toxic, natural ways to clean your home? Karen Siegel-Maier has come up with 150 “super-easy” ways to scrub down just about everything in The Naturally Clean Home. She explains how to produce herbal cleaners in minutes by mixing a spray bottle of vinegar and water with a few drops of herbal essential oils. It’s inexpensive, natural and smells good too. You can buy the essential oils or grow and dry the herbs yourself. Other supplies to have on hand include borax, baking soda and castile soap, among others. Here’s how it works: Certain herbs have cleansing properties, such as cinnamon being antiviral and hyssop antifungal and antibacterial. There’s a valid reason why those old wives’ tales about herbs were told. Have a problem with fleas? Baking soda mixed with sweet orange, citronella, mint and lemon oils will do the trick. For pests that plague plants, Siegel-Maier suggests a mixture of onion, garlic, cayenne, water and castile soap. “As a bonus, simply omit the soap from this formula, and you’ve got a great seasoning for a Cajun meal!” she writes. It’s a small book with lots of possibilities and fun to test out her recipes. I can vouch for the cayenne mixture. It worked wonders destroying aphids. As for the seasoning, I’ll stick with Tony Cachere’s.

Spring 2008 Titles

Winter 2007 Titles