NEW ORLEANS: A Concise History of an Exceptional City, lovely-looking introduction to unique place

NEW ORLEANS: A Concise History of an Exceptional City
CHARLES D. CHAMBERLAIN
LSU Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$19.95 ebook, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Intended for general readers, Charles D. Chamberlain’s New Orleans: A Concise History of an Exceptional City offers a broad, reliable overview of the city’s history. Although many excellent books are available that focus on specific eras in the Crescent City, this book is the first fully inclusive scholarly history that is engaging and easy to follow.

In addition to a general historical narrative, each chapter provides a list of relevant historical sites and a carefully selected recipe to make the city’s history come to life through site visits and culinary pursuits. Chamberlain encourages readers to experience the spirit of New Orleans first-hand by exploring its landscape and interacting with its cuisine.

New Orleans: A Concise History of an Exceptional City is a trusty reference for tour guides and a valuable, interactive resource for general readers interested in the fascinating history of one of America’s most unique cities.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: New Orleans, like New York City, is an alien body inside the US as a whole. Places like LA and Miami are, at heart, very American in spite of being significantly non-white in population. New Orleans does not *feel* American. It's been that way ever since the US incorporated it into the expanding empire in 1815. (There was a battle there, if you don't remember from history class.)

This overview of its history after colonization is thorough, within its limits as a popular text not a scholarly deep dive. If I was heading for the Big Easy for the first time this is exactly the book I would want to read. I was particularly impressed with the author's culinary additions to the history...recipes and food history in with political and other cultural stuff is exactly the kind of information I'd look for in a place new to me. It's especially relevant to any discussion of New Orleans. It's a good tour of the city, too, as the Table of Contents shows:

It's always good to look at the map before getting into the territory, so both pages are here. There are also illustrations throughout the book to highlight what's being discussed:

A central truth of New Orleans is shown in the last illustration, the map. Your compass has little relevance in this place. The directions are Uptown, Downtown, Lakeside, and Riverside, not north south east west. It reflects the real geography of the place; it's also a reinforcing factor in New Orleans' unique, counterintuitive culture.

I recommend this book in either ebook or paperback because it reads as well and has logical formatting in either edition. I recommend it to armchair travelers most especially; as heartily to trip-planners; and to the mildly curious, borrow a paperback from your library. Well worth your time and treasure regardless of format.