Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre (Hardcover)

by TJ Fisher (Author), Roy F. Guste Jr. (Author), Louis Sahuc (Photographer)
Key Phrases: white impatiens, secret gardens, New Orleans, Vieux Carré, French Quarter (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Lavishly designed and sumptuously illustrated, Orleans Embrace celebrates what makes New Orleans' French Quarter unique and significant. In a long, meandering introduction, Fisher addresses Hurricane Katrina but mostly writes about the history of the quarter and the spirit of those who live there. "No great American city should be left lying spread out as a mutilated carcass with bits of people's lives strewn clear across the horizon," she writes, then recounts all that the quarter has given to America over the centuries. The central section presents Guste's out-of-print classic, The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carre (1993), in which Guste provides beautiful photographs and capsule backstories for 20 historic gardens. In the book's final section, Fisher tackles Katrina head-on to the accompaniment of photographs by native Louis Sahuc, lamenting damage to the city of "magical thinking." She declares, "We can decide to buck cruel contretemps or lie down and surrender." Unusual, gorgeous, and intriguing. One hundred percent of the publisher's profits go to French Quarter preservation. Colleen Mondor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A compendium . . . passionate reflection . . . love letter to this seductive place with its distinctive history, character, and architectural style." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"A feast for those who prize the city's timeless charms." -- Tom Piazza, author, My Cold War

"An enchanting peek inside the elusively secret and mysterious parts of the indomitable French Quarter. This is the real Vieux Carré rarely glimpsed by outsiders." Francis Ford Coppola -- Francis Ford Coppola

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 388 pages
• Publisher: Morgana Press (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977351475
• ISBN-13: 978-0977351473
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 10.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #291,017 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #45 in	Books > Travel > United States > States > Louisiana
  #66 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Travel > United States > South
  #94 in	Books > Travel > United States > Regions > South > West South Central

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely Done for an Important Cause, March 22, 2007

By	Timothy R. Smith (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Though finely printed with many photographs, I am certain this book was never meant to merely decorate the coffee table. It opens with glowing praises of notables and celebrities like Francis Ford Coppola, Nicholas Cage, Jimmy Buffett, and many others. As 100% of the publisher's profits go to preservation of the French Quarter, that is also worthy of considerable praise, for surely New Orleans is America's greatest city, and the Vieux Carré its most precious jewel.

Actually three essays in one volume, the book covers New Orleans history, the French Quarter gardens, and saving New Orleans in its current post-Katrina period. The writing is uniformly verdant and lush, with descriptions often poetic if not philosophical. However, this is quite a visual book, with a great many photographs included. It's perhaps my own sense of artistry, but I find some of the photographs a bit on the dark side and of somewhat low contrast. New Orleans is not known for its many clear sunny days, and the high walls surrounding many of the gardens reduce the available light, but the gardens usually aren't quite so gloomy and shadowy as some of the photographs might suggest. I don't know the cameras used for this volume, but some of the images also seem to lack the "snap" that would typically come from a large format camera, usually the camera of choice for this kind of work. If a 4x5 or larger was indeed used, then I really can't explain it. But that's not to say there aren't many gorgeous photographs here, and others may find my criticism far too influenced by my personal sense of style, and they are probably right. I particularly like the photographs of the pool and the spacious courtyard of the Begue home on Bourbon Street, and there are many, many others to enjoy here.

All in all, a fine volume, especially on the gardens, historical preservation, and salvaging the city after Katrina. If one is looking for more on actual building architecture and how it arrived there, by all means try Lloyd Vogt's "Historical Buildings of the French Quarter," which is entertaining in its own right, yet in an entirely different and most original way.

For a poetic and photographic tour, "Orléans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré" is warmly recommended. But it really shouldn't be left on the coffee table without first reading it from start to finish.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?, April 2, 2007

By	Literary Man - See all my reviews

Read this book. Highly recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Special Book to Treasure, April 22, 2007

By	B. Alton "lotsoreading" (New England, United States) - See all my reviews

WOW...what a big beautiful book! For anyone who has a connection to New Orleans...buy it...give it...treasure it...well written, throughly researched, amazing photos and layout...sure to be an award winner! Thanks for putting your heart into this volume!