The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square Hardcover – 1 Jan. 2008

I bought this book prior to traveling to New Orleans for the first time. The book turned out to be a gripping encyclopaedia of one of the most interesting cities in North America - full of historical facts but still drawing on the present. When I visited New Orleans I recognised many of the places that were described in the book as well as the cultural and musical influences. Other historical books make for dry reading, but it is obvious that this one was written with a lot of love.

A brilliantly written history of a fascinating city. The author's style is very accessible and easy to read but it is well-referenced and well-researched. An excellent introduction to the unique culture of New Orleans but also very informative on general European and North American and Caribbean history too. Highly recommended.

interesting and well written, what can one ask more? New Orleans, one of the few real cities in the USA, shines in a different light

This book is truly entertaining and very readable. Full of interesting detail it nevertheless provides an excellent overview of its subject.

The first page drew me in. I love the city.I feel the author spent far too much discussing Cuba and the Caribbean Islands. The slave trade was more than comprehensively covered but was also mentioned in nearly every chapter. It was an important part of history but other parts of New Orleans history were brushed aside. For example, The Battle of New Orleans barely got a mention and the Yellow Fever epidemic was almost ignored.I enjoyed the book. I learned tons but it was more drawn out than I expected.

Item was as expected and arrived quickly and in good condition. Thanks!

I bought this book for some background on my first visit to New Orleans expecting to get some perspective on the city. I got that and then some. The writing is clear and passionate. The information is incredibly well researched with many references and excerpts. Some of the info was eye opening and surprising (Lincoln wanted to deport all the freed slaves?!). This book illuminates not only the history of a fascinating, beautiful, and unique city, but it also offers a solid footing for understanding a large portion of American history. I want to pass this book on to friends, but I am not ready to give it up yet.

Um mehr über Louisiana und seine Geschichte zu erfahren,ist dieses Buch ultimativ!Es gibt unglaublich viel Information über die zahlreichen Einflüsse der verschiedenen Besetzer und ihrer kulturellen Einflüsse während der unterschiedlichen Epochen ,sodass man plötzlich vieles am heutigen Zustand nachvollziehen kann.Die Art der Schilderung ist nicht trocken sondern faszinierend und man kann jederzeit auch wieder auf einzelne Kapitel zurück gehen,wenn man beim Lesen von Büchern über die Region sich nochmal erinnern möchte.Die Geschichte Louisianas ist unglaublich vielfältig und sämtliche Einflüsse sind heute noch zu spüren.Das Buch ist sehr zu empfehlen für Menschen,die sich für diese Gegend interessieren!

Great historical romp through New Orleans of past

Ned Sublette has captured the cultural history of New Orleans in a way that connects the present to the past in some fascinating details for anybody familiar with the city. His explanation of the Chef Mentor Highway as derived from local Native Americans is accurate and yet hilarious. Mr. Sublette has carefully integrated several elements of culture from the racial inputs and how they developed and the national inputs of France and Spain, but he continues through detail such as the music we all revere and the origins in Africa as well as Santiago, Cuba. If you have any curiosity about how New Orleans came together as a unique city, this book will satisfy you and do it in a way that is entertaining as well as enlightening. While Ned Sublette does not hold anything back from the politics and economics of slavery, he does provide the nuances that are often missing from ideological versions of slavery and he shows the cultural connections with specific African locations as well as the Caribbean sites and the power of Virginia in the economic changes exported to New Orleans. I recommend this book highly for its detail and easy readability. It is a truly great history.George Giacoppe