Local reads for your gift list

Just in time for that mad rush for last-minute gifts, here are a few titles that offer insights into Louisiana’s culture and history, and make you feel good about buying local.

Out in the field
Sure, there are plenty of travel guides out there to help you figure out where to stay, where to eat and where to shop when road tripping around the state. But this one is special, not just for its cast of authoritative contributors (including 225 contributor Maggie Heyn Richardson, LSU professor Michael Pasquier and filmmaker Zack Godshall), but its interest in the smaller details.

How Cajun speakers have developed a Cajun vernacular English (dis, dat, dese, dose), the symbolism in our carnival themes, authentic versus inauthentic depictions of Louisiana culture on film and more all get ample breathing room in this book’s information-packed chapters.
It’s a great find for the Louisiana history aficionado. lsupress.org

Luck of the Irish
Many of us might know a little about how Irish immigrants came to New Orleans in the 19th century and how the Irish Channel neighborhood got its name. But rarely has there been an opportunity to delve into the stories, the harsh truths and the lasting traditions as in this book.

Loaded with historic photographs and illustrations, Laura D. Kelley’s book covers everything from Lt. Gen. Alejandro O’Reilly’s entrance into the city (he was known as “Bloody O’Reilly”) in 1769 to the rise of longstanding charitable organizations run by Irish residents, and even the story of Finn McCool’s Irish Pub in Mid City. ulpress.org

Mural man
Robert Dafford is an internationally known artist who has painted iconic scenes on the sides of buildings in several south Louisiana towns and across the globe. The Lafayette resident has painted more than 400 murals, including the “Blues Harp” in downtown Baton Rouge last year.

This gorgeous coffee table book focuses on the murals Dafford has painted along the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys—as well as the towns surrounding the murals—depicted through vivid photos and text by photographer Philip Gould. ulpress.org