Customer Reviews

Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children and Other Streets of New Orleans

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There's no place like New Orleans! John Churchill Chase eloquently chronicles the origins and development of this most fascinating of American cities in his humorous masterpiece "Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children."

Learn why the "French Quarter" isn't French (p. 58).

Learn why "Craps Street" was renamed "Burgundy Street" to save the reputation of three New Orleans churches (p. 85).

Learn why "Bourbon Street" wasn't named after "bourbon" whiskey (p. 19).

Learn why New Orleans was the scene of the first "American Revolution" (p. 55).

Learn the origins of the word "Creole" (p. 73), and why the Creoles considered the first American settlers in Louisiana "barbarians." (chapter 6).

"Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children" is fun, fascinating, and illustrated. It's must reading for those who love New Orleans!

Read it before your next New Orleans visit. It will greatly enhance your enjoyment and understanding of the "Big Easy."

David (the Nac) Naccari,
New Orleans Historian and Professional Speaker

Although I am a New Orleans native, I had no idea there was so much fascinating history behind the names of the streets. Chase is legendary, and his stories have the same amusing light bite of his political cartoons. Great reading, and you don't have to be familiar with the city to enjoy it.

There's no place like New Orleans! John Churchill Chase eloquently chronicles the origins and development of this most fascinating of American cities in his humorous masterpiece "Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children."

Learn why the "French Quarter" isn't French (p. 58).

Learn why "Craps Street" was renamed "Burgundy Street" to save the reputation of three New Orleans churches (p. 85).

Learn why "Bourbon Street" wasn't named after "bourbon" whiskey (p. 19).

Learn why New Orleans was the scene of the first "American Revolution" (p. 55).

Learn the origins of the word "Creole" (p. 73), and why the Creoles considered the first American settlers in Louisiana "barbarians." (chapter 6).

"Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children" is fun, fascinating, and illustrated. It's must reading for those who love New Orleans!

Read it before your next New Orleans visit. It will greatly enhance your enjoyment and understanding of the "Big Easy."

David (the Nac) Naccari,
New Orleans Historian and Professional Speaker

This book reads like the city lives: Wild, smart, laidback, funny, quirky, non-p.c., liberal, random.

You realize that New Orleans didn't get all its personality just recently. This place was full of stories from day one, and the streets are permanent monuments to this. Read this book, and each street sign points to a world of interest and humor.

Definitely one of the top ten NOLA books you will want to read and share.

If you are interested in history and/or New Orleans (is there a difference?), read this book. A very entertaining look at the history of the city.

I am reading this for a class, but after that, I'm giving it to my mom to read. If you are into history at all, this is very interesting and easy to read.

I've navigated thousands of streets in scores of cities round the world, only rarely stopping to ponder much how those street names have to say about their cities' stories, whether glorious or sordid. Nowadays many of us traverse modern cities cut into neat blocks by roads efficiently but boringly designated chiefly by numbers and letters, or states and presidents. (As in, "I'll meet you at the corner of 32nd and U, not Virginia and Jefferson.") Especially for those people, John Chases' book "Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children" will make you wish your city elders had the good sense to christen such tepidly named streets instead in honor of the famous or infamous folks who first founded your cities back when the roads weren't more than well-trod ruts in the dirt. Chase's book unveils the long and twisted history of New Orleans by revealing how its streets came to bear the names they do. For anyone who has wandered the serpentine thoroughfares and alleyways of New Orleans, or who wonders what forgotten tales the more singular street names of their own cities may tell, "Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children" is an enlightening and very entertaining read.

Bought this book for myself when it was recommended by a friend who read it years ago. So glad to be introduced to it, I bought a couple as gifts for friends.
Great history of New Orleans that is not presented in the history books. The street names here are quite different, and it is fun to know how and why it is the name it is.

This is a must read for those of us that New Orleans (NOLA) and want to get a good background of city history. I'm glad our tour guide recommended it.

I love this book. As well as being a good read, it is an excellent reference book and stays on my bookshelf for easy perusing. My copy of the 2001 publishing has missing pages, however. I would like to buy a copy for a friend; does anyone know if this edition offered by amazon is complete?