New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History

There is no more compelling nor more spiritual city than New Orleans. The city's Roman Catholic roots and its blended French, Spanish, Creole and American Indian populations heavily influenced the rites and rituals that West Africans brought to Louisiana as enslaved laborers. The resulting unique Voodoo tradition is now deeply rooted in the area. Enslaved practitioners in the nineteenth century held Voodoo dances in designated public areas like Congo Square but conducted their secret rituals away from the prying eyes of the city. By 1874, some twelve thousand New Orleanians attended Voodoo queen Marie Laveau's St. John's Eve rites on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. The Voodoo tradition continues in the Crescent City even today. Rory Schmitt and Rosary O'Neill study the altars, art, history and ceremonies that anchor Voodoo in New Orleans culture.

Arts & Photography

Schmitt, Rory O'neill, Ph.d.

O'Neill, Rosary Hartel, Ph.D.

Photography & Video

History PR

Napa Valley is known for its wine and winemakers, but just beneath the fertile soil lies another, more complex version of its history. Uncover the story of Napa's first Chinatown--once home to nearly five hundred immigrants--that dwindled to fewer than seventeen residents before the last buildings were razed in the early twentieth century. Meet the small but determined group of African American farmers and barbers who called Napa home and the indomitable May Howard, a successful businesswoman and brothel owner. Learn about the Bracero Program that kept many of Napa's wineries, including Krug, Beaulieu and Stag's Leap, thriving during World War II. Join author Alexandria Brown as she explores these lesser-known stories of the ordinary people who helped shape modern-day wine country.

Hidden History of Napa Valley

Brown, Alexandria

A jewel in the hills above Berkeley, Tilden Park is one of the premier recreational centers for the San Francisco Bay Area. Spread across more than two thousand acres, the property's thirty-nine miles of trails, two lakes and nature area offer an escape from urban life. Entertaining amenities include a golf course, a carousel and a miniature steam train. The rich history of this special place features native tribes, eucalyptus growers and secret military operations. Author Richard Langs presents the stories and the people behind the development and preservation of one of the oldest and most beloved regional parks.

Tilden Regional Park: A History

Langs, Richard

Memphis is equal parts music and food--the products of a community marked with grit and resiliency. The city's blues and soul music have lifted spirits, while barbecue has been a serious business ever since pork first entered the culinary landscape of Memphis with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, who brought the New World its first herd of pigs. Succulent pulled pork and ribs have become part of the fabric of life in the River City, and today they are cooked up in kitchens ranging from the internationally acclaimed, like Corky's, to the humblest of roadside dives. Told through the history of its barbecue is the story of the city of Memphis, from legendary joints like Leonard's Barbecue, where Elvis Presley hosted private parties, to lesser-known places like William's Bar-B-Q in the West Memphis, Arkansas neighborhood where wild, late-night blues juke joints served as a red-light district across the river from Beale Street in the 1950s and '60s. Sink your teeth into this rich history chock-full of interviews and insights from the city's finest pitmasters and 'cue gurus who continue the long tradition of creating art with meat and flame.

Memphis Barbecue: A Succulent History of Smoke, Sauce & Soul (American Palate)

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Meek, Craig David

Outdoor Cooking

Lost Ski Areas of Tahoe and Donner (Sports)

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Lake Tahoe and the Donner Summit region became California's first developed winter sports areas. Plentiful snowfall and newly built highways opened up the summer playground for visitors year-round, and skiing flourished. The Sierra Ski Club formed in 1925, attracting members eager to experience everything the mountains had to offer. People flocked to the slopes, visiting places like Clair Tappaan Lodge in Soda Springs, boasting one of the summit's earliest ski tows, and the Yuba Gap Lodge, a pioneer in night skiing. Join Ingrid P. Wicken, award-winning author and ski historian, as she recounts the fascinating beginnings of this celebrated ski hub.

Lost Ski Areas of Tahoe and Donner

History

Wicken, Ingrid P.

Americas

Classic Restaurants of Chapel Hill and Orange County (American Palate)

Once upon a time, Chapel Hill, a town synonymous with the University of North Carolina, offered little more than simple caf s. In recent years, it has developed a diverse restaurant culture and today is home to some of the country's most creative chefs. From legendary student hangouts to one of the South's most famed barbecue joints to the birthplace of shrimp and grits, all of these establishments helped earn the area recognition as a top dining destination. Local authors Chris Holaday and Patrick Cullom profile longtime establishments that helped shape the dining scene in Chapel Hill and the neighboring towns of Carrboro and Hillsborough.

Holaday, Chris

Cullom, Patrick

At 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, the Trinity Test explosion of the first atomic bomb changed the world forever. The dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan followed soon after, but it was the first blast in what is now known as White Sands Missile Range that marked the beginning of the end of World War II. In southern New Mexico, although the Manhattan Project was still top secret, everyday people witnessed the test, experienced its light and power, felt the earth move and knew the world had changed. Author Elva K. sterreich shares the stories of their experience and how their lives were transformed.

Manhattan Project Trinity Test: Witnessing the Bomb in New Mexico (Military)

Österreich, Elva K.

Cajun Pig: Boucheries, Cochon de Laits and Boudin (American Palate)

Southwest Louisiana is famous for time-honored gatherings that celebrate its French Acadian heritage. And the culinary star of these gatherings? That's generally the pig. Whether it's a boucherie, the Cochon de Lait in Mansura or Chef John Folse's Fete des Bouchers, where an army of chefs steps back three hundred years to demonstrate how to make blood boudin and smoked sausage, ever-resourceful Cajuns use virtually every part of the pig in various savory delights. Author Dixie Poch traverses Cajun country to dive into the recipes and stories behind regional specialties such as boudin, cracklings, gumbo and hogs head cheese. From the Smoked Meats Festival in Ville Platte to Thibodaux's Bourgeois Meat Market, where miles of boudin have been produced since 1891, this is a mouthwatering dive into Cajun devotion to the pig.

Cajun Pig (American Palate)

Poché, Dixie

Cooking by Ingredient

Classic Restaurants of Louisville (American Palate)

The stories of Louisville's best-remembered restaurants are chock-full of legendary locations, huge personalities and well-loved recipes. Find out how a silly joke about Hillbilly Tea became an international sensation. Discover the origins of Casa Grisanti and why there would be no Queenie Bee without it. Enter the World of Swirl surrounding the rise and fall of Lynn's Paradise Caf . Enjoy menus, memories and more of favorites found across the Derby City through the decades. Author Stephen Hacker serves up this history and more, complete with photography by Dan Dry and John Nation.

Hacker, Stephen

Regional & International

Historic Tales of Territorial Tucson: 1854-1912 (American Chronicles)

Tucson was originally settled in 1775, and the Gadsden Purchase brought the tiny settlement on the Santa Cruz River into the United States in 1854. In the decades leading up to Arizona's statehood in 1912, the territory's largest city was rife with excitement. A seven-headed, four-hundred-foot-long sea serpent prophesied to the townsfolk. Lady bicyclists caused an uproar with their divided skirts. The new railroad brought three presidents to town. From the city's brief time in the Confederacy to its crusades against drinking and gambling, from bullfighting rings to sanitariums, author Dave Devine relates stories of the little-known, sometimes lighthearted and often unusual events and personalities of Tucson.

Devine, David

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