Deb hadn't flown in over 20 years. In 1989, at the age of 22, Deb was enrolled at Griffiss Airforce Base to become a commercial pilot. Somewhere between dating her yuppie fiancé and planning their wedding in Chicago, Deb developed claustrophobia--a fear of enclosed spaces. I blame the yuppie. Deb couldn't get on a plane for love that day, but she could do it 20 years later for money. Money was worth dying for.

Explore the recipes and history behind an array of sweet treats from the Sugar State with help from the author of Classic Eateries of Cajun Country. Louisiana is famous for its culinary delights, and the state’s rich medley of treats and confections proves its sweet tooth. Creative bakers improvised traditional recipes during days of rationing to create gateau de sirop (syrup cake) and bread pudding. Early customers of Lea’s Lunchroom’s pies in central Louisiana included outlaws Bonnie and Clyde, who dropped by while they were on the run. During the 1950s, singers Hank Williams Sr. and Elvis Presley hung out at Shreveport’s Southern Maid Donuts after performing at the popular Louisiana Hayride country music broadcast. Author Dixie Poché dives into the recipes and history behind such beloved regional specialties as Mardi Gras king cake, flaming Bananas Foster, Cajun Country’s pain perdu and many more. “Desserts Past, Present, and Future are the stars of Dixie Poché’s new book, Louisiana Sweets: King Cakes, Bread Pudding, and Sweet Dough Pie. The Lafayette-based travel writer gets rather Dickensian (but trade that tacky soot for powdered sugar) as she lays outs a picture of the state’s love affair with sweets through history, anecdotes, recipes, restaurant profiles, and more.” —Country Roads Magazine

Arriving from France in the Spring of 1831 on a mission to learn about America and its unique new government, a young Alexis de Tocqueville future world renowned writer and philosopher found many things to excite and inspire him, especially in its third largest city, New Orleans. At the time, the Crescent City was the most wide open of Americas cities. It was a thriving melting pot teaming with creativity, intrigue, and heavy on personality. Blood was shed nearly every day beneath the huge spreading oaks of City Park. When war came, New Orleans assumed the mantle of largest city in the Confederacy and the Unions Number One Military Target. Secretly accompanying Tocqueville to America was his brother, Hippolyte. In December of 1831, the two accidently separated, never to see each other again. Alexis returned to France and fame as a world renowned social commentator, Hippolyte stayed on in America and accomplished even more in his own way. This is Hippolytes story. It is also the story of Abraham Lincoln, steamboating, the pirate Jean Lafitte, a slave named Tom Armstrong, a host of other famous American heroes, of the birth of technology, and of Americas Civil War. It is also the story of Longfellow, Louisiana, Huey Long, and a love affair so intense it is commemorated in one of Americas most famous pieces of classic literature.

A Rare Snowfall Leads to a Christmas to Remember Three heartwarming, interconnected stories of faith, love, and restoration, brought to you by three Louisiana-native authors. Will a rare snowy Louisiana Christmas bring restoration and hope to the hometown and hearts of three women from the town’s founding family? In A Louisiana Snow by Morgan Tarpley Smith, meet Mattie: A passionate visionary who learns to forgive and finds love in unexpected places… In Restoring Christmas by Betsy St. Amant, meet Jolene: An artist and prodigal daughter who discovers love exists in the very place she once called home… In A Christmas Reunion by Lenora Worth, meet Adale: A beautiful widow who finally dares to love again… And don’t forget Granny, whose feisty spirit, blunt dialogue, and quirky ways play an important and endearing role.

The Dictionary of Louisiana French (DLF) provides the richest inventory of French vocabulary in Louisiana and reflects precisely the speech of the period from 1930 to the present. This dictionary describes the current usage of French-speaking peoples in the five broad regions of South Louisiana: the coastal marshes, the banks of the Mississippi River, the central area, the north, and the western prairie. Data were collected during interviews from at least five persons in each of twenty-four areas in these regions. In addition to the data collected from fieldwork, the dictionary contains material compiled from existing lexical inventories, from texts published after 1930, and from archival recordings. The new authoritative resource, the DLF not only contains the largest number of words and expressions but also provides the most complete information available for each entry. Entries include the word in the conventional French spelling, the pronunciation (including attested variants), the part of speech classification, the English equivalent, and the word's use in common phrases. The DLF features a wealth of illustrative examples derived from fieldwork and textual sources and identification of the parish where the entry was collected or the source from which it was compiled. An English-to-Louisiana French index enables readers to find out how particular notions would be expressed in la Louisiane .

"A delectable showcase of the Big Easy's matchless art and cuisine, New Orleans Kitchens includes specialty recipes such as po'boys, etouffee, gumbo, jambalaya, and oysters on the half shell, as well as art from the most prominent local galleries and museums"--Page 2 of cover.