"Toward the end of the 19th century, journalist Field traveled by boat and buggy around Louisiana, writing columns under the name of Catharine Cole for the New Orleans Daily Picayune. Her work spread to other papers, and she was read widely throughout the South. This collection details her journeys around the state in the 1890s. With evocative and adjective-filled prose, she describes the beauty as well as the practical aspects of Louisiana life, including shrimp drying, levee building, and the cost of land. Field conjures up vivid images of the places she visits, such as the town that "lifts its comb of roof and gray gable and soft-colored adobe chimneys from out the clumps and clouds of the chinaberry tree." The editors, both retired professors of English at Clemson University, add brief introductions to each piece. Although Field's travel adventures depict a time without modern convenience, when women were not expected to journey alone, her enjoyment of travel for its own sake resonates with readers today. Recommended for Louisiana libraries and for academic libraries with a Southern history collection.-Janet Clapp, Athens-Clarke Cty. Lib., Athens, GA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information." --Library Jour.

When nature exudes in a swamp in Louisiana it is rich, tropical, juicy, dark, verminy, repellant and lovely all in one, wrote Catharine Cole in 1889. It is like a coffin crowned with flowers; a death trap baited with roses. Writing under the pseudonym Catharine Cole, Martha R. Field (1855-1898) became the first full-time newswoman for the New Orleans Daily Picayune in 1881. For more than a decade she was the woman's page editor and wrote a Sunday column, Catharine Cole's Letter, that established her as one of the most popular writers in the South. Cole wrote fiction, essays, editorials on women's issues, and travel pieces. But her accounts of journeys through Louisiana's rural parishes by rail, steamboat, carriage, buggy, and on foot brought her writing to the state's working men and women as well as its plantation aristocracy. Louisiana Voyages: The Travel Writings of Catharine Cole gathers these travel writings for the first time. Touring most of Louisiana's parishes, taking in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, Morgan City, and Grand Isle, Cole revealed in her journalism much about an exotic, unspoiled Louisiana and the Gilded Age South as a whole. A punishing 1,800-mile buggy trip through forests, swamps, bayous, and along the Gulf Coast made her a celebrity writer who, according to her contemporaries, knew more about Louisiana than any other person alive. Joan B. McLaughlin is a retired associate professor of English at Clemson University. Her work has appeared in Contemporary Literary Criticism, Concerning Poetry, Arizona Quarterly, South Carolina Review, and other periodicals. Jack McLaughlin is a retired professor of English and humanities at Clemson University. He is the author of Jefferson and Monticello: The Biography of a Builder and To His Excellency Thomas Jefferson: Letters to a President. Learn more about Catharine Cole at http: //www.catharinecole.com/

Louisiana, a state in the southern part of the United States, is a place full of cultural, historical, and natural treasures. With its famous cities such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge, its pristine natural areas and its rich musical tradition, Louisiana is a unique destination. Facts and figures: Louisiana has an area of about 135,659 square kilometers and a population of around 4.6 million people. Most of Louisiana is made up of swampy landscapes, including the world-famous Mississippi Delta and the Atchafalaya Swamps. The capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge, but the most famous city is undoubtedly New Orleans. Louisiana was ruled by the Spanish, French, and Americans, so it has a rich and diverse history and culture. Louisiana residents often speak a unique dialect based on a mix of French, Spanish, and English, known as "Creole." Known for its unique blend of Creole and Cajunian influences, Louisiana cuisine includes dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, and po' boys. Louisiana is famous for its musical traditions, especially jazz, blues, zydeco, and Cajun. Louisiana is a place full of history, music, and culinary delights. The many cultural influences that have come together here over the centuries have created a unique culture and identity that attracts visitors from all over the world. Louisiana's landscape is just as impressive as its culture. The vast swamps and rivers that crisscross the state are home to an incredible variety of animal and plant species, including alligators, pelicans, heron, and many others. The Atchafalaya Basin, the largest wetland in the U.S., is a popular destination for nature lovers and provides a stunning backdrop for boating, fishing, and bird watching. Louisiana is also known for its many festivals and celebrations. Mardi Gras, the annual carnival festival in New Orleans, is world-famous and attracts millions of visitors every year. But there are also many other events throughout the state, including the French Quarter Festival, the Jazz and Heritage Festival, and the Zydeco Festival. In summary, Louisiana is a unique destination with a fascinating culture, rich history, pristine natural areas, and delicious cuisine. Whether you want to immerse yourself in the swamps, visit historic sites, or just enjoy the music and food, Louisiana has something for everyone.

Winner • Pulitzer Prize for History Winner • Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction Finalist • National Book Critics Circle Award (Nonfiction) A New York Times Notable Book of the Year Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post, NPR, Library Journal, and gCaptain Booklist Editors’ Choice (History) Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence In this “cri de coeur about the Gulf’s environmental ruin” (New York Times), “Davis has written a beautiful homage to a neglected sea” (front page, New York Times Book Review). Hailed as a “nonfiction epic . . . in the tradition of Jared Diamond’s best-seller Collapse, and Simon Winchester’s Atlantic” (Dallas Morning News), Jack E. Davis’s The Gulf is “by turns informative, lyrical, inspiring and chilling for anyone who cares about the future of ‘America’s Sea’ ” (Wall Street Journal). Illuminating America’s political and economic relationship with the environment from the age of the conquistadors to the present, Davis demonstrates how the Gulf’s fruitful ecosystems and exceptional beauty empowered a growing nation. Filled with vivid, untold stories from the sportfish that launched Gulfside vacationing to Hollywood’s role in the country’s first offshore oil wells, this “vast and welltold story shows how we made the Gulf . . . [into] a ‘national sacrifice zone’ ” (Bill McKibben). The first and only study of its kind, The Gulf offers “a unique and illuminating history of the American Southern coast and sea as it should be written” (Edward O. Wilson).

French colonial Louisiana has failed to occupy a place in the historic consciousness of the United States, perhaps owing to its short duration (1699--1762) and its standing outside the dominant narrative of the British colonies in North America. This anthology seeks to locate early Louisiana in its proper place, bringing together a broad range of scholarship that depicts a complex and vibrant sphere. Colonial Louisiana comprised the vast center of what would become the United States. It lay between Spanish, British, and French colonies in North America and the Caribbean, and between woodland and eastern plains Indians. As such, it provided a meeting place for Europeans, Africans, and native Americans, functioning as a crossroads between the New World and other worlds. While acknowledging colonial Louisiana's peripheral position in U.S. and Atlantic World history, this volume demonstrates that the colony stands at the thematic center of the shared narratives and historiographies of diverse places. Through its twelve essays, French Colonial Louisiana and the Atlantic World tells a whole story, the story of a place that belongs to the historic narrative of the Atlantic World.

An analysis of the French colonies in North America that is central to the historical study of the United States.