It takes you to an unknown world...

As a proud owner of literally hundreds of cookbooks, it's always a wonderful surprise to discover a terrific book that I've never seen or heard of before. The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook is just such a book. This book was recently used as the basis of two recipes in a gourmet cooking class I attend once a week, and the results were outstanding, to say the least. We started the meal with Commander's Garlic Bread which was served with Creamy Tomato Bisque with Lump Crabmeat and a Chiffonade of Fresh Basil. The main course, grilled salmon and barbequed mouth watering smoked spare ribs, were simply out of this world ... with a sauce inspired by this book's suggestions. But when we got to the dessert! We made Bananas Foster, a favorite dessert in New Orleans, and one of the most rich and wicked desserts you'll find anywhere - flambéed with banana liqueur and rum, and served over vanilla ice cream. This recipe alone will transport you to another world... a world that will have your taste buds swirling for days and leave you hankering for a trip to New Orleans to visit the Palace yourself.

This is your "one-stop shop" for every single one of Kate Chopin's published works. Large and cumbersome but well worth the weight, it contains all of her fantastic local color stories from her books "A Night in Acadie", "Bayou Folk", and all of her other short stories (including her very first written in childhood), plus the novels "At Fault" and "The Awakening". Most of her work was buried for years and it is difficult and expensive to get all of her wonderful creations, so this is the way to go for the ardent Chopin fan, the Chopin scholar, or anyone that just loves great American literature.(Note:it is also very uncommon to find a place that sells this!)

When I lived in New Orleans I met the women that wrote this cookbook, and let me tell you - this is true "Nawlins" cooking. It has the best and easiest recipes for gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish etouffe and more. Yummy food, with great little stories and comments accompanying each recipe. You can't go wrong buying this - but don't expect any leftovers!!!)

Creole New Orleans is an excellent account of the shaping of the city of New Orleans, from its early days as a colonial city of the French and Spanish, through the modern city. The book focuses on the gradual americanization of the city and the implications this had for its residents, using the unique race relations in New Orleans as measuring stick.

The editors and co-authors Arnold Hirsch and Joseph Logsdon compiled a series of six essays, broken into three sections of the book. The first section focuses on colonial New Orleans, and the development of the French assimilationist ethos in the policies of French and Spanish Louisiana, especially with regards to slaves, free people of color, and native americans. Part Two deals with The American period. It traces the slow Americanization process of the city. It also explains how different groups, like the Foreign French helped, to stave off the rising tide of Americanization. And finally, Part Three focuses on New Orleans' black community. Attention is given to the rifts developing between Afro-Creoles and Afro-Americans and their struggles over Reconstruction. And it ends with New Orleans in the twentieth century. They explain how the Creole protest tradition in New Orleans was continued in the modern political and social arenas.

This book was extremely informative and thoroughly researched. It did a marvelous job of explaining why New Orleans, often thought to be an exotic and un-American city, is in fact, extremely American. The authors are able to give a convincing account about how the city of New Orleans, through its unique development, has maintained its heritage while adapting to the ways of the rest of the United States. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in American History, Black History, or Louisiana History.

Creoles of color in the bayou country, by Karl Brasseaux, is a very informative piece of documented history. I am bias for this book because it hits closer to home, making reference to my grand father generations ago. I have always known a rich but loosely knitted and sometimes confusing history of my family. Karl have given me the tools to dig much deeper into my ancestry. Now I can piece together better my past. Merci vraiment Monsier Brasseaux de me presenter a mon grand pere, Zenon Rideau. Those who call creoles the lost people, are obviously lost themselves.

Crescent City Collection is the latest cookbook by the Junior League of New Orleans. It contains some recipes for dishes fundamentally identified with New Orleans, but it also reflects the trend in restaurants and kitchens throughout New Orleans to experiment with new tastes and combinations of flavors. The recipes for traditional dishes like red beans and rice all seem to have a twist that successfully compliments and expands upon what is tried and true. All the recipes I've tried and tasted have been excellent, notably the Crawfish Cheescake, the Curried Chicken Salad, the Madras Salad, and the Chicken Parmisan with Apricot Sauce.

In addition to the excellent recipes, Crescent City Collection is so gorgeous it is worthy of being displayed on a coffee table. The photographs are of historic New Orleans residences. In addition, throughout the cookbook are vignettes on subjects related to New Orleans and cooking. When I don't want to cook out of it, sometimes I just enjoy reading it.

The memoir Crossing Border Street by Honigsberg is an excellent look into the life and times of a man committed to civil rights. Coming from NYU Law School, Honigsberg did more than legal matters, he got involved in marches and demonstrations, risking his life on several occasions. The memoir also includes interactions with the Deacons for Defense, which were the originators of the Black Panthers. Few people have ever heard of the Deacons, or of civil rights marches outside of MLK. This is a fascinating book, and I can't recommend enough!

Although one might expect the profile of this book to be a light read, it readily renders a comprhensive essay on Dave Treen.

A compelling and provocative look into the womb that gave birth to a radical movement of bravery during turbulent times. The prophet of peace as he was the advocate for the non-voilent movement, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, was a paralleling reminder that peace does not mean absence of conflict.

The Deacons for Defense and Justice were a reminder that the kingdom of God suffers much violence, but the violent take it back by force (or by any means necessary). While voilence is never an advocacy for peace, in times of oppression to defend a home, a community or a nation taking up arms is the route to that peace. Just ask the founders of this nation. The Boston tea party was not served with dessert. It was best served with revolt.

Dr. Gray's look into that womb had to be ordained by God to give revelation of what can and did indeed happen to the people of Bogalusa, LA who were oppressed by racism and the violence that evil had given its birth from the womb of hatred.

As a man of God, Dr. Gray's portrayal of the events were bold and courages. He was not afraid to step down from his pulpit and embrace the reality of the African-American community. He told the story! He gave the Deacons a place in history that all spirited human beings can find revelation in truth and spirit...