The History Press [new releases]

Louisiana's famous Cajun Country is a place where today's travelers can still experience the rich heritage and traditions that began in the eighteenth century.

From foodways and folktales to music and festivals, Acadiana offers something you can't get anywhere else. Journey through this historic and unique part of the state with travel writer and historian Cher Coen as your guide Experience Cajun Country through its exceptional cuisine, area events, and historic attractions.

In 1945, the Loyola New Orleans Wolf Pack became the city's first basketball team to earn a national championship. The Cinderella season was chronicled in the Times Picayune," the student newspaper "The Maroon" and letters from students and alums fighting overseas. The 1944-45 run to the championship was an amazing boon to the community during trying times. The group of boyhood friends and rivals beat out previous national champions and exhausted opponents. Take a courtside seat as journalist Ramon A. Vargas chronicles the season, including heartfelt personal narratives to tell the story of the championship and legacy of a team that led Loyola to national prominence."

Let the good times roll down in New Orleans! Read the secrets and origins of the beloved Mardi Gras.

New Orleans practically owns Mardi Gras, and you would be hard-pressed to find someone who would deny it. The wild celebration brings thousands of tourists to Louisiana each year, but none of it would be possible without the carnival krewes. The backbone of this Big Easy tradition, different krewes put on extravagant paries and celebrations to commemorate the beginning of the Lenten season. Historic krewes such as Comus, Rex, and Zulu date back generations and have become part of New Orleans' greater history, but today, what was once an exclusive position has widened their reach and new krewes are inaugurated regularly to enrich the flavor of Louisiana's cultural melting pot. Through careful and detailed research of over three hundred sources, author and New Orleans native Rosary O'Neill explores this storied institution, its antebellum roots, and its effects in the twenty-first century.

New Orleans is a city where making sure you have a good meal in your belly and a strong drink in your hand is of the utmost importance. Recently, one drink has been getting more and more attention in New Orleans: beer. The craft brewing revolution of the last 30 or so years has caught hold here, creating what is only the latest chapter in New Orleans's illustrious love affair with boozy concoctions. From old-school breweries like Jax, Regal and Dixie to craft brewers like Abita, NOLA and Bayou Teche, join authors Jeremy Labadie and Argyle Wolf-Knapp to enjoy the first comprehensive history of brewing in New Orleans--a history 287 years long and as wide as the Mississippi.

The hotels of New Orleans have welcomed countless visitors in a history stretching back to the eighteenth century. From humble boardinghouse beginnings to the grand hotels of the nineteenth century and through to the modern properties that stand today, hotel life in New Orleans has reflected the city's own story. From political scandal and celebrity intrigue to events that shaped the landscape of the entire country, the story of New Orleans's hotels is an endlessly engaging one. Travel writer Paul Oswell checks into the great hotels of the past and the present, telling the story of the properties that stood the test of time, as well as those that didn't. Using city records, newspaper archives, vintage travel guides and anecdotal stories in the best New Orleans tradition, he brings each one to life and in the process fleshes out the story of the city's hospitality industry and, by extension, its lively, fascinating history.