This novel of violence and racial strife set in New Orleans is full of social and physical contrasts. Comiski, a newspaper reporter, descends into an underworld of corrupt policemen, narcotics dealers and black militants in an attempt to unravel a mysterious grave-robbing and find some meaning in his own life. Powerful and compelling. (Originally published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin) St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Grim, gripping, violent and practically impossible to put down." Publisher's Weekly: "The scene is unglamorous New Orleans - decay, dirt, garbage... smell, every kind of filth, human and animal, in a brief, well-written novel of hopeless degradations that has a unique impact." Library Journal: "A short- fast-paced and absorbing novel... that probes deeply into the texture of the contemporary South, and entertains from first page to last."

"A depiction through photo juxtapostions of New Orleans culture: the contrasts, dichotomies, and social ironies of life in a city so richly diverse, often disparate, [covering] approximately the last fifteen years of New Orleans (2000-2015)"--Provided by publisher.

Between the World Wars, New Orleans transformed its image from that of a corrupt and sullied port of call into that of a national tourist destination. Anthony J. Stanonis tells how boosters and politicians reinvented the city to build a modern mass tourism industry and, along the way, fundamentally changed the city's cultural, economic, racial, and gender structure. Stanonis looks at the importance of urban development, historic preservation, taxation strategies, and convention marketing to New Orleans' makeover and chronicles the city's efforts to domesticate its jazz scene, "democratize" Mardi Gras, and stereotype local blacks into docile, servile roles. He also looks at depictions of the city in literature and film and gauges the impact on New Orleans of white middle-class America's growing prosperity, mobility, leisure time, and tolerance of women in public spaces once considered off-limits. Visitors go to New Orleans with expectations rooted in the city's "past": to revel with Mardi Gras maskers, soak up the romance of the French Quarter, and indulge in rich cuisine and hot music. Such a past has a basis in history, says Stanonis, but it has been carefully excised from its gritty context and scrubbed clean for mass consumption.

Halloween in the Big Easy . . . Does evil really exist? Michael Quinn and Danni Cafferty are far too familiar with the question. At the death of her father, Danni inherited his house and shop on Royal Street in New Orleans-and much more than she ever anticipated, including a book kept by her family for generations on how to combat the most unusual forces. As Halloween approaches, Quinn is already nervous-he knows what the season can bring. Even as Danni tries to convince him that very good things can happen as well, a man arrives in their kitchen, seeking their very special assistance. Sean DeMille is a lover of decoration and costume-and all things Halloween-until the body of a murdered man shows up in the midst of his backyard 'cemetery.' With an axe in his head. Could the infamous Axe-man of New Orleans have found his way back after nearly a century? Or is just the insidious at work, a spirit or demon filtering into an object or a person and creating the mayhem all over again? With the help of their odd team, Danni and Quinn must find the truth behind the strange happenings haunting the city-lest they fall prey to that very strange evil themselves.

An enchanting space that’s truly unique calls for a sense of humor, whimsy, and an open mind. From a charmed New Orleans childhood to a successful acting career on Broadway and the award-winning TV show Mad Men to the opening of his popular Big Easy home furnishings boutique, Hazelnut, Bryan Batt has always turned to home design as a creative outlet. To him, the best rooms are unexpected yet refined and, above all, evoke emotion. He doesn’t think twice about hanging oversized decorations from a Mardi Gras float in an elegant dining room or bringing home vintage etchings of sconces when he was actually shopping for real ones. He believes that a vibrant orange wall can be a neutral backdrop for an antique writing desk and earthy accessories, and that an artist’s whimsical bird’s nest sculpture hung in a lavender entryway couldn’t serve as a better welcome into a cozy abode. New Orleans has taught Bryan so much about how to pull together a space that’s fearless and colorful with plenty of panache. With the city as his muse—its strong roots in history, its celebration of tradition, and, of course, the wild festivities of Mardi Gras—he believes that designing a fabulous, livable home that truly reflects a dweller’s passions need not be intimidating. Big, Easy Style showcases rooms that make Bryan smile, with pages of rich photography featuring the work of many designers—and plenty of Crescent City interiors—framed by his own entertaining maxims on color, pattern, collecting, living areas, intimate spaces, and more. Explore rooms he’s personally designed and others that inspire him; from an old-world kitchen imported straight from the heart of France to a luxurious Art Deco media room, these homes are enticing and unique, and through their surprising details, completely inviting. Decorating your home to reflect your personality and taste takes practice and patience and can be a daunting undertaking, but Bryan proposes that we not worry about making mistakes, that any decision we make is better than no decision at all. With Big, Easy Style, learn how to put aside your hesitation and surrender to the wild side of home design for a big statement that’s easy to achieve. "You’ll love his collection of photographs of beautiful New Orleans rooms layered with his design tips and anecdotes of his own design experiences."—Southern Living "[Big, Easy Style] reads like a hard-copy extension of Batt's personality--elegant, gregarious, funny, showman-like. The rooms he's chosen to showcase are painstakingly designed, yet, in that enviable way, appear so easily tossed together."— Susan Langenhennig, The Times Picayune "With great passion and a zest for creativity, [Bryan Batt] and Katy Danos offer thoughtful tips on color, collecting, patterns and much more along the way. Kerri McCaffety captures the beauty of each room in her inviting photographs. I love Batt's unique whimsy style. How many of us would think of placing giant decorations from a Mardi Gras float in a lavish dining room? Or how about hanging an ornate crystal chandelier in the kitchen? Or what about painting a Chippendale-style chair mellow yellow. But they all work!"—Jeryl Brunner, Stylist.com "If you've missed Bryan Batt since he left the set of Mad Men in 2009 (he played Salvatore Romano), catch up with him in a decor ode to his hometown: New Orleans. [In Big, Easy Style], we're treated to his vision of making rooms inviting, festive and ultimately setting the foundation for entertaining, which is what this get-down town is all about."—San Francisco Chronicle "The book is full of Batt's tips. It's like spending an afternoon with someone who you'd like to watch decorate a home."-- Karen Dalton-Beninato, Huffington Post Books

Someone is killing New Orleans street people, and it's hurting the city's tourist trade beginning to recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. More than murder, voodoo is involved, the killer possibly an actual Vodoun deity. Wyatt Thomas, the French Quarter's favorite P.I., is forced to respond, or to die.

Besh Big Easy: 101 Home-Cooked New Orleans Recipes, is a fresh and delightful new look at John Besh's signature food. Besh Big Easy will feature all new recipes, published in a refreshing new flexibound format and accessible to cooks everywhere.