Upon seeing a Louisiana-handmade diatonic accordion for the first time in 1957, a teenage Marc Savoy began a quest that arguably no one has come closer to achieving: to build the perfect Cajun accordion. Told in Marc's own words, Made in Louisiana is the story of the evolution of his Acadian brand accordions--but it is also the story of how an instrument once known as the "German-style" accordion became the iconic image of Louisiana's Cajun culture.

Louisiana's identity is inextricably tied to its famous foods; gumbo, red beans and rice, jambalaya, and touffe are among the delicious dishes that locals cherish and visitors remember. But Louisiana's traditional cuisine has undergone a recent revision, incorporating more local ingredients and focusing on healthier cooking styles. In The Fresh Table, locavore Helana Brigman shares over one hundred recipes that reflect these changes while taking advantage of the state's year-round growing season. Her book offers staples of Louisiana fare -- seafood, sausage, tomatoes, peppers, and plenty of spices -- pairing these elements with advice about stocking one's pantry, useful substitutions for ingredients, and online resources for out-of-state cooks. Brigman equips every kitchen from New Orleans to New York with information about how to serve Louisiana cuisine all year round. For each season The Fresh Table provides an irresistible selection of recipes like Petite Crab Cakes with Cajun Dipping Sauce, Rosemary Pumpkin Soup served in a baked pumpkin, Fig Prosciutto Salad with Goat Cheese and Spinach, Grilled Sausage with Blackened Summer Squash, Blueberry Balsamic Gelato, and Watermelon Juice with Basil. Brigman introduces each recipe with a personal story that adds the last ingredient required for any Louisiana dish -- a connection with and appreciation for one's community.

Illustrations and rhythmic text celebrate edible treats that characterize Louisiana, such as beignets and po boys. Includes facts about the foods mentioned and a recipe for red beans and rice.

STRONGNamed one of the Top 10 Books of 2008 by The Times-Picayune. STRONGWinner of the 2009 Humanities Book of the Year award from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.STRONG STRONGAwarded the New Orleans Gulf South Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award for 2008. New Orleans is the most elusive of American cities. The product of the centuries-long struggle among three mighty empires--France, Spain, and England--and among their respective American colonies and enslaved African peoples, it has always seemed like a foreign port to most Americans, baffled as they are by its complex cultural inheritance. The World That Made New Orleans offers a new perspective on this insufficiently understood city by telling the remarkable story of New Orleans's first century--a tale of imperial war, religious conflict, the search for treasure, the spread of slavery, the Cuban connection, the cruel aristocracy of sugar, and the very different revolutions that created the United States and Haiti. It demonstrates that New Orleans already had its own distinct personality at the time of Louisiana's statehood in 1812. By then, important roots of American music were firmly planted in its urban swamp--especially in the dances at Congo Square, where enslaved Africans and African Americans appeared en masse on Sundays to, as an 1819 visitor to the city put it, &“rock the city.&” This book is a logical continuation of Ned Sublette's previous volume, Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo, which was highly praised for its synthesis of musical, cultural, and political history. Just as that book has become a standard resource on Cuba, so too will The World That Made New Orleans long remain essential for understanding the beautiful and tragic story of this most American of cities.

"'Marshes to Mansions' blends the color of local customs, the magic of jubilant celebrations, and the autihentic recipes of our ancestors together to bring the joile de vive, "joy of life," to your table. Sharing carefully guardee family secrets, old and new, this book will take readers on a unique culinary adventure across South Louisiana. In addition to a collection of delicious recipes, you'll find interesting history, helpful cooking tips, and stunning photographs of our lush and alluring landscape"--Back cover.

With Clifton Chenier's amazing life and career as the centerpiece, this collection of profiles gathered across two decades unites some of the world's most innovative creative forces.

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes a story of discovering who you are — and deciding who you want to be. When Louisiana Elefante’s granny wakes her up in the middle of the night to tell her that the day of reckoning has arrived and they have to leave home immediately, Louisiana isn’t overly worried. After all, Granny has many middle-of-the-night ideas. But this time, things are different. This time, Granny intends for them never to return. Separated from her best friends, Raymie and Beverly, Louisiana struggles to oppose the winds of fate (and Granny) and find a way home. But as Louisiana’s life becomes entwined with the lives of the people of a small Georgia town — including a surly motel owner, a walrus-like minister, and a mysterious boy with a crow on his shoulder — she starts to worry that she is destined only for good-byes. (Which could be due to the curse on Louisiana's and Granny’s heads. But that is a story for another time.) Called “one of DiCamillo’s most singular and arresting creations” by The New York Times Book Review, the heartbreakingly irresistible Louisiana Elefante was introduced to readers in Raymie Nightingale — and now, with humor and tenderness, Kate DiCamillo returns to tell her story.

Everyone in Louisiana knows something about crawfish -- especially how tasty they can be when boiled with just the right combination of spices. Yet these small crustaceans -- known as "crayfishes" by scientists and "mudbugs" by many fishermen -- offer more than a delicious meal. In Crawfishes of Louisiana, Jerry G. Walls identifies the state's thirty-nine types of crawfishes, explains their biology, and explores their importance in Louisiana's history, culture, and economy. Walls briefly describes each species and subspecies of crawfish currently known to live in Louisiana, as well as their natural history and complicated breeding biology. Detailed illustrations depict pertinent taxonomic features, color photographs of living specimens aid in identification, and maps indicate species distribution throughout the state. Two identification keys further assist users in classifying any crawfish they encounter. Drawing on his experiences collecting crawfishes over the past fifty years, Walls explores changes in their populations and in the environmental health of their habitats. In the early part of the twentieth century, many Louisianans thought eating crawfish outside of Lent was an embarrassing admission of poverty. Now crawfish is a celebrated delicacy in restaurants and at festivals offering crawfish boils, crawfish races, crawfish cook-offs -- even the election of a crawfish queen and court. Crawfish provide recreational fishing opportunities in ditches and lakes across southern and central Louisiana, and commercial fishermen net roughly 70,000 tons of crawfish each year and process them in a fishery employing over 2,500 people. Walls offers insights into all of these areas along with cooking tips and recipes and, at the other extreme, instructions for keeping crawfish as pets. Crawfishes of Louisiana is an invaluable and enjoyable resource for all fans of this famous Louisiana crustacean.

Ghosts of Good Times: South Louisiana Dance Halls Past and Present examines a world of Cajun dance halls, Zydeco clubs, Chitlin' Circuit R&B night clubs, Swamp-Pop Honkytonks and other venues that at one time were prevalent throughout the region. Photographs by Philip Gould blend architectural imagery of buildings still standing with historic photographs of the clubs that he took in their heyday. Herman Fuselier and other writers provide a rich selection of historic accounts and essays about their personal experiences in the clubs. The book also examines the dance hall scene today and how the venues have changed. The music following remains strong and people still come to dance. The surviving old dance halls and newer venues are still in full swing. Old or new, they are icons, a proud south Louisiana legacy of Good Times.

The flavors of Louisiana come alive in this collection of down home country recipes for everything from appetizers to dessert with even some extras for beverages and preserves.