No city in America knows how to mark death with more funerary panache than New Orleans. The pageants commemorating departed citizens are often in themselves works of performance art. A grand obituary remains key to this Stygian passage. And no one writes them like New Orleanian John Pope. Collected here are not just simple, mindless recitations of schools and workplaces, marriages, and mourners bereft. These pieces in Getting Off at Elysian Fields: Obituaries from the New Orleans “Times-Picayune” are full-blooded life stories with accounts of great achievements, dubious dabblings, unavoidable foibles, relationships gone sour, and happenstances that turn out to be life-changing. To be sure, there are stories about Carnival monarchs, great philanthropists, and a few politicians. But because New Orleans embraces eccentric behavior, there are stories of people who colored way outside the lines. For instance, there was the doctor who used his plasma to make his flowers grow, and the philanthropist who took money she had put aside for a fur coat to underwrite the lawsuit that desegregated Tulane University. A letter carrier everyone loved turned out to have been a spy during World War II, and a fledgling lawyer changed his lifelong thoughts about race when he saw blind people going into a Christmas party through separate doors—one for white people and another for African Americans. Then there was the punctilious judge who got down on his hands and knees to edge his lawn—with scissors. Because New Orleans funerals are distinctive, the author includes accounts of four that he covered, complete with soulful singing and even some dancing. As a popular, local bumper sticker indisputably declares, “New Orleans—We Put the Fun in Funeral.”

Sheriff Dave Robicheaux returns to New Orleans to investigate the beating of a controversial Catholic priest and murder of three teenage girls in this intense, atmospheric entry in the New York Times bestselling series. For Dave Robicheaux, there is no easy passage home. New Orleans, and the memories of his life in the Big Easy, will always haunt him. So to return there means visiting old ghosts, exposing old wounds, opening himself up to new, yet familiar, dangers. When Robicheaux, now a police officer based in the somewhat quieter Louisiana town of New Iberia, learns that an old friend, Father Jimmie Dolan, a Catholic priest always at the center of controversy, has been the victim of a particularly brutal assault, he knows he has to return to New Orleans to investigate, if only unofficially. What he doesn’t realize is that in doing so he is inviting into his life—and into the lives of those around him—an ancestral evil that could destroy them all. A masterful exploration of the troubled side of human nature and the darkest corners of the heart, and filled with the kinds of unforgettable characters that are the hallmarks of his novels, Last Car to Elysian Fields is Burke in top form in the kind of lush, atmospheric thriller that is “an outstanding entry in an excellent series” (Publishers Weekly).

Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2013. * Winner of rare "double crown" of starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. * Publishers Weekly Featured Fiction selection. Simpson Weems is a 36-year-old aspiring poet whose life has been on hold -- to the breaking point. All he needs to fulfill his potential is to move to San Francisco, but he's torn between his long-held dream of being a great artist and obligations to his aged, ailing mother and his emotionally volatile brother, the all-demanding Bartholomew. Will someone in his family have to die before he can get to California? And how might that be arranged?Written "on location" in New Orleans and set shortly before Hurricane Katrina, Elysian Fields combines menace, the comic strangeness of Flannery O'Connor, and hints of magical realism to convey vivid, original characters and a Crescent City that is both recognizable and more offbeat and seductive than visitors usually see.PRAISE FOR "ELYSIAN FIELDS""A wholly involving story with Faulknerian characters in a fully realized setting. [A] tale of brotherly love and menace. . . . LaFlaur's descriptive talent shines. Fertile imagery drips like Spanish moss: the old buildings collapsing, 'as though the humidity-sodden bricks were returning to mud,' while 'cloud stacks glowed like the battlements of heaven.' [Main character] Simpson's mental landscape is equally vivid, drawn with such empathy and depth that readers will forgive his perpetual indecision and may even root for him to carry out the removal of his near-deranged brother." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"[R]eaders will find the author's portrayal of New Orleans convincing and his characters fascinating and fully developed. . . . Life in the Weems family of 1999 New Orleans is anything but Elysian in this engrossing Southern Gothic snapshot." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)"A stunning debut . . . shades of Tennessee Williams, Faulkner and John Kennedy Toole. . . . LaFlaur gently and expertly pulls readers along with his characters, never flinching in the face of their foibles . . ." --Antigravity magazine (New Orleans)"[A] wonderful debut novel, a southern gothic that is at times comedic, at times heartbreaking . . . In places Elysian Fields is as heavy as summer air in New Orleans, but it most definitely has a sense of humor. . . . [A]n impressive debut that will leave readers looking forward to LaFlaur's next offering." --Self-Publishing Review

From the creator of the popular rock 'n' roll true crime podcast, Disgraceland comes an off-kilter, hysterical, at times macabre book inspired by true stories from the highly entertaining underbelly of music history. You may know Jerry Lee Lewis married his thirteen-year-old cousin but did you know he shot his bass player in the chest with a shotgun or that a couple of his wives died under extremely mysterious circumstances? Or that Sam Cooke was shot dead in a seedy motel after barging into the manager's office naked to attack her? Maybe not. Would it change your view of him if you knew that, or would your love for his music triumph? Real rock stars do truly insane thing and invite truly insane things to happen to them; murder, drug trafficking, rape, cannibalism and the occult. We allow this behavior. We are complicit because a rock star behaving badly is what's expected. It's baked into the cake. Deep down, way down, past all of our self-righteous notions of justice and right and wrong, when it comes down to it, we want our rock stars to be bad. We know the music industry is full of demons, ones that drove Elvis Presley, Phil Spector, Sid Vicious and that consumed the Norwegian Black Metal scene. We want to believe in the myths because they're so damn entertaining. Disgraceland is a collection of the best of these stories about some of the music world's most beloved stars and their crimes. It will mix all-new, untold stories with expanded stories from the first two seasons of the Disgraceland podcast. Using figures we already recognize, Disgraceland shines a light into the dark corners of their fame revealing the fine line that separates heroes and villains as well as the danger Americans seek out in their news cycles, tabloids, reality shows and soap operas. At the center of this collection of stories is the ever-fascinating music industry--a glittery stage populated by gangsters, drug dealers, pimps, groupies with violence, scandal and pure unadulterated rock 'n' roll entertainment.

The story behind the creation of Tennessee Williams's iconic play is partially drawn from interviews with surviving live performance cast members, shares insights into the connection between Vivien Leigh's personal life and the role of Blanche, and traces the history of the play's adaptation to film.

From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World "A Tourist's Best Friend!" --Chicago Sun-Times "Indispensable" --The New York Times Five Great Features and Benefits offered ONLY by The Unofficial Guide * Hotels, motels, and inns ranked and rated for value and quality -- plus proven strategies for getting the best deals * Everything you ever needed to know about Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest * Witty and informative walking tours of the French Quarter, Arts District and Garden District * The straight truth on all the attractions, from City Park to Aquarium of the Americas * The best plantation home tours * Detailed restaurant reviews and tips on the hottest nightspots Sample Rating City Park ***** Appeal by age Preschool *** Grade school ***** Teens *** Young adults ***** Over 30 ***** Seniors *** 1 Palm Drive off I-10 (City Park/Metairie exit); # 504-482-4888; www.neworleanscitypark.com Type of attraction Municipal park with a variety of recreational and cultural attractions. Admission Park free; museum, botanical gardens, and some recreational centers have fees for out-of-state visitors. Hours Sunrise to sunset. When to go Anytime. Special comments An unrivaled family venue, with attractions for kids, jocks, picnickers, nature-lovers, and general romantics. How much time to allow 1-4 hours.

Experience the buzz of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter. Savor midnight mystery and simple pleasures. • A personal, practical perspective for travelers and residents alike • Comprehensive listings of attractions, restaurants, and accommodations • How to live & thrive in the area—from recreation to relocation • Countless details on shopping, arts & entertainment, and children's activities