Covering the lively; even raucous; history of Louisiana from before First Contact through the Elections of 2012; this sixth edition of the classic Louisiana history survey provides an engaging and comprehensive narrative of what is arguably America’s most colorful state. Since the appearance of the first edition of this classic text in 1984; Louisiana: A History has remained the best-loved and most highly regarded college-level survey of Louisiana on the market Compiled by some of the foremost experts in the field of Louisiana history who combine their own research with recent historical discoveries Includes complete coverage of the most recent events in political and environmental history; including the continued aftermath of Katrina and the 2010 BP oil spill Considers the interrelationship between Louisiana history and that of the American South and the nation as a whole Written in an engaging and accessible style complemented by more than a hundred photographs and maps
#1659546 in Books 2014-06-05 2014-03-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .94 x 5.51l; 1.16 #File Name: 1107658764416 pages
Review
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great Book!!!By Arunas UrbonasGreat book. I wish you had more this type6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A must have for any historianBy CustomerI heard people praise S. C. Rowell for this book; but spending $100 on a book that dealt only with 50 years of Lithuanian history seemed way too much. However; eventually I bought it -- and that's the best history book I have ever read.Most histories are just chronological narrative of wars; battles; and other events. What Rowell did was taking extremely scanty historical sources and piecing together a full view of history: wars; diplomacy; succession disputes; religion (paganism vs Catholicism vs Eastern Orthodoxy); culture; etc. and how everything inter-relates. His scholarship is rock-solid and you just pray for a sequel.It is very different from usual over-generalized histories that are available. This one takes down to the very core of such claims as "Gediminas arranged shrewd marriages for his children." While you can easily find a list of these marriages elsewhere; the real appreciation comes only after reading Rowell's analysis. You can actually start understand what it was like to be sent over to an enemy's son to establish Lithuanian interest in some far-away region. Amazingly; it is done using not empty rhetoric but historical facts and documents.So go ahead any buy this book. Hopefully; you will also learn how to write histories and conduct academic research.35 of 36 people found the following review helpful. The best English language study of the subjectBy Glenn R. UrbanasThis is an extraordinary scholarly work. It clarifies the obscurities and subtleties of the Lithuanian situation in the last decades of official paganism when the Lithuanian state rivaled in geographic extent and ethnic diversity the greatest European nations ever known. The book primarily covers the rise and reign of Gediminas; the grand duke who was most responsible for Lithuania's astonishing growth in the fourteenth century. The subject in English has been covered only in popular and inaccurate general histories by Lithuanians influenced by the politics and mythologizing of the nation's first independence period. The author wrote the book while serving as Professor at the Centre for West Lithuanian and Prussian History at the University of Klaipeda; and it represents the first fruit of Lithuania's second independence in this century. The chapters include information on the importance of the region's peculiar landscape; the economic situation; pagan beliefs and their diplomatic usefulness; the role of Lithuanian princesses in forming marital alliances with Rus'ian and Polish principalities; the exploits of Lithuanian arms in expanding the realm; Gediminas's brilliant campaign in conquering Western Ukraine; its Rus'ian allies against the growing threat of Muscowy; and the attempt to develope a Lithuanian Orthodox Church in Vilnius are fascinating. One can only hope that S. C. Rowell will publish a sequel on the next sixty years of Lithuanian history to include the rise of Gediminas's grandson; the controversial Jogaila Gediminaitis; who became King of Poland-Lithuania; the first federated state in Europe and the largest in its history; Christianized his pagan people; despite their notorious (and admirable) cultural conservatism; and managed; with the help of carefully nurtured alliances first developed by Gediminas; to defeat the Teutonic Order; the military superpower of the day; using a NATO style army; Oriental strategy and technology; and Lithuanian ambush tactics. This book lays the groundwork for understanding the roots of the Jagiellonian dynasty of Poland-Lithuania and its political and philosophical accomplishments; fondly referred to by the present Pope John-Paul in the text of his speech to the UN a few years ago. The book's extensive footnotes; maps; geneological charts; and huge bibliography; to say nothing of the densely informative text; make the book worthwhile to anyone seriously interested in East European history.
