Customer Reviews

New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a frequent visitor and sometimes resident of NOLA, I had never found a book that truly captured the local heart of the city and its people...until I received this book. It is a feast for the eyes with its glorious photos. Similarly, its writing--done by a New Orleanian--is refreshing and honest. Everyone I know in New Orleans owns a copy of this book. I love it. I revisit it freqently. It never bores me.

I first came across this book in the french market area near the river while I was visiting New Orleans for the second time. Slightly overpriced for the tourists, I decided to wait until I arrived home to find it cheaper at a local bookstore. It's a beautiful hardbound book with a cloth-covered spine that now sits in an easel at the top of my bookshelf. I have enjoyed it tremendously. Tons of history, and even more fabulous pictures. For any lover of "the big easy." Treat yourself to this book, and don't forget to take a look at part 1, Vestiges of Grandeur. The two make excellent coffee table books for anyone, and all of your guests will certainly spend hours thumbing through them.

Just returned from my fifth trip to the Crescent City and miss it already. I flipped through this book at a shop there and knew I would buy it as soon as I got home. In photographs and words, this is an evocation of New Orleans by two people who obviously love the place. Go with it and you'll be transported! New Orleans isn't perfect, but it is fascinating, unique, and exotic, which this book appreciates and shows off.

"New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence" is a sterling photographic essay of the City that Care Forgot. Richard Sexton's exquisite photographs and Randolph Delehanty's astute historical musings combine to make a marvelous literary gumbo. Sexton and Delehanty successfully capture the essence of contemporary New Orleans. From the semi-tropical climate and the "unabashed display of ruined finery" to the French influences and African-American culture, the writer and photographer admirably show not only "how New Orleans is different from other places, but why." Sexton and Delehanty are especially to be commended for not giving us some airy, ultra-polished style book. Everything here--the streets, the shops, the rooms, the houses--seem old, and yet, forever lovely and useful. This is a distinctive book about a distinctive city.

I love New Orleans and everything about it! My husband and I go there regularly, so when we bought a new house in December, I wanted to really decorate the interior of some of the rooms "New Orleans Style". When searching on Amazon, I found this book with pictures of some homes in NOLA interiors. I found this book to be very helpful as far as decorating and choosing Nawlins' colors for my house. Not to mention the fact that it gives me a "quick fix" for New Orleans when I can't be there in person!

Having just come back from my first trip to New Orleans, I promised myself to get a copy of this book! Not only has this book inspired to go back to New Orleans, but it's given the insight into the exotic and untamed world that still exists in New Orleans. It's a must book for people who enjoy great photographs and in-depth writing on the Cresent City.

If you are going to New Orleans to enjoy the truly (as opposed to superficially) diverse culture of the United States' most distinctive city, then read this book before your trip.

Bultman's history of the city (perhaps the book's strongest feature) is fascinating and the neighborhood descriptions will help you decide what to see. More importantly, the information on N.O.'s unique slang, customs and food is essential. The dozens of great photographs will whet your anticipation before you go and remind you of the Crescent City's pleasures when you're back home.

I've used this book on three trips to N.O., and I still enjoy reading it. The restaurant and hotel recommendations aren't perfect (hey, tastes vary and things change) but they give you a place to start before you discover your own favorite spots.
Buy this book, make your reservations and let the good times roll!

I love this book. I bought it when I was 16 and crazy about new Orleans, but I only really appreciated it after reading it thoroughly 2 years later. This is not a tourist aimed guide, however it is incredibly well written. It does contain basic information about New Orleans; hotels, restaurants, clubs, but also provides the reader with an great historical account of New Orleans.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in New Orleans beyond the first novelty visit.

Wicked wicked! This is a fab book and worth every cent. Makes me want to explore New Orleans.
The houses'interior and exterior photos were beautifully shot. Photos of the old furniture and antebellum style were just superb. For those who love history and period interiors/antiques this book will enthrall.

One of my all-time favorite books. The stuff of dreams and nightmares too.

This is an utterly luscious picture book. Chock full of photos of real interiors. Real homes of artists and the creative. Homes of people who love peeling wallpaper and cracked plaster; and especially those who love living in the midst of art works, or deeply personal collections.

The homes of people who love the humid haze, moist earth-scented New Orleans.