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Shreveport, Louisiana. History of Shreveport, Politics of Shreveport, Economy of Shreveport, Caddo Public Schools (Louisiana), Media in Shreveport, Louisiana, Transportation in Shreveport, Lead Belly, The Guardian, Factory Girl, Mr. Brooks. ... Read more

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What do the images on Louisiana's state seal stand for? How is Louisiana's state government organized? What is a Mardi Gras celebration like? You can find the answers to these questions and more in this book, which contains all kinds of fun and fascinating

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Never before had Daniel Bergner seen a spectacle as bizarre as the one he had come to watch that Sunday in October. Murderers, rapists, and armed robbers were competing in the annual rodeo at Angola, the grim maximum-security penitentiary in Louisiana. The convicts, sentenced to life without parole, were thrown, trampled, and gored by bucking bulls and broncos before thousands of cheering spectators. But amid the brutality of this gladiatorial spectacle Bergner caught surprising glimpses of exaltation, hints of triumphant skill.

The incongruity of seeing hope where one would expect only hopelessness, self-control in men who were there because they'd had none, sparked an urgent quest in him. Having gained unlimited and unmonitored access, Bergner spent an unflinching year inside the harsh world of Angola. He forged relationships with seven prisoners who left an indelible impression on him. There's Johnny Brooks, seemingly a latter-day Stepin Fetchit, who, while washing the warden's car, longs to be a cowboy and to marry a woman he meets on the rodeo grounds. Then there's Danny Fabre, locked up for viciously beating a woman to death, now struggling to bring his reading skills up to a sixth-grade level. And Terry Hawkins, haunted nightly by the ghost of his victim, a ghost he tries in vain to exorcise in a prison church that echoes with the cries of convicts talking in tongues.

Looming front and center is Warden Burl Cain, the larger-than-life ruler of Angola who quotes both Jesus and Attila the Hun, declares himself a prophet, and declaims that redemption is possible for even the most depraved criminal. Cain welcomes Bergner in, and so begins a journey that takes the author deep into a forgotten world and forces him to question his most closely held beliefs. The climax of his story is as unexpected as it is wrenching.
        
Rendered in luminous prose, God of the Rodeo is an exploration of the human spirit, yielding in the process a searing portrait of a place that will be impossible to forget and a group of men, guilty of unimaginable crimes, desperately seeking a moment of grace.


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Not since Truman Capote's In Cold Blood hasa writer so humanely evoked the complicated, harrowing lives ofviolent convicts. At turns haunting and inspiring, God of theRodeo is novelist-journalist Daniel Bergner's riveting account ofa year spent visiting the maximum-security prison at Angola,Louisiana, also known as "the last slave plantation." Initially thereto report on the prison's annual four-weekend rodeo in October 1996for Harper's, he was able to extend his stay for a full yearwhen he was granted complete, unsupervised access to the sevenprisoners with whom he became most closely acquainted.

In God of the Rodeo, he introduces readers to rodeo championJohnny Brooks, a 41-year-old "lifer" incarcerated for a murder hecommitted at the age of 18, who is engaged to marry a civilian womanhe met at the rodeo. He's also the most promising candidate forparole. There's Terry Hawkins, a man who tries to seek salvation forthe violent murder of his boss, the grotesque details of which haunthim, and Danny Fabre, plagued with comically large ears he desperatelywants corrected by plastic surgery almost as much as he wishes tolearn to read past the 6th-grade level.Perhaps the most strikingfigure is the stern, spiritual warden, Burl Cain, a self-proclaimedprophet who genuinely believes in redemption for even the most violentoffenders.

Written with the eloquence of a poet and the perceptive eyes of apainter, Bergner's extremely well wrought, unforgettable book offers arare glimpse into the hearts and souls of men who commit violence,finding hope and courage where few dare to look, without ever losingsight of the horrific crimes that landed them in America's mostisolated prison. --Kera Bolonik ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Interesting read
This book was an interesting read.Angola is a facinating place, and this book delivers a haunting look around.Warden Burl Cain is a classic case where truth is stranger than fiction.This is the kind of book that you wish could go on forever.

A First Hand View into Angola Prison
Bergner's inside look reads more like an expose than a historical account, not surprising when one takes into consideration his background as a journalist. This account, however, it must be noted takes into account an extensive history of Angola State Prison. Bergner spent time there performing the work of a sociologist: observing, writing, detailing, getting to know the inmates on a personal basis; and even sometimes getting caught in the political tides of the prison administration. This work is as much designed for the general reader who seeks an understanding of the life of a prisoner as much as it is for the student of criminal justice or political science who seeks a knowledge base in prison life. Bergner's talents are clearly on display in this sociological masterpiece that clearly details the emotions of prison life. The graphic behavior exhibited by the characters in this work only serve to intensify the reality of prison life and drive home the point that Bergner makes, chiefly being that Angola State Prison, much like any other prison, is a world apart from normal society. This work is an inside view of that other world. It shocks just the same as Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities.

great material, poorly done
The narrative jumps around, unfocused and unsure of itself, and never truly captures the convicts. No dramatic tension and anti-climactic.

Bull-riding behind bars
This book is only incidentally about rodeo, and even less about God. Yes, Bergner uses a prison rodeo as the structural device to build this account of prison life around. But it's not any kind of rodeo you would see authorized by the PRCA. The events are more treacherous, and the men who participate have no experience. They are a spectacle for a crowd of people looking for the same kind of thrills that drew ancient Romans to the Coliseum.

The book is chiefly about the daily lives of several of the prisoners who happen to participate in this spectacle, as Bergner follows them over the period of a year at Louisiana's maximum security prison, Angola. Bergner is permitted to talk to them one-on-one, with no guards present, by an unusual warden with a reputation for his "humane" philosophy of incarceration and his efforts at rehabilitation. The interviews, as a result, or more than usually candid. One prisoner even fantasizes aloud to Bergner about escaping and taking revenge on the people who put him there.

Not all the prisoners Bergner introduces us to are reprehensible. Most, in fact, seem decent enough blokes, and he has to keep reminding us (and himself) that all of them are serving time for violent, awful crimes. Most are black men, reflecting the racial (im)balance of the prison population. And most struggle daily to maintain a sense of self-worth that society and the judicial and penal systems have denied them. One man becomes active in the prison's chapter of Toastmasters. Another attends church services for a time. One holds out the hope that his teenage son will find a way to be proud of him. One romances a woman with two children who eventually marries him in a prison ceremony.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the narrative, the prison warden begins to pressure Bergner for editorial privileges. He wants only good publicity and perhaps suspects that Bergner has uncovered some shady dealings involving labor provided by prisoners to business associates. What starts as a congenial relationship between the two men turns sour, and Bergner has to take his case to a sympathetic state prison commissioner, who reinstates his privileges, no strings attached.

The book ends as it begins with the annual rodeo. By now we know how the hope of winning a buckle feeds the participants' desire to compete and succeed. We also see the shabby futility of the event and regret ever yearning along with them for a moment of personal glory.

I recommend this book to anyone who has the slightest interest in what happens to men who are sent to prison. Bergner has written a fascinating account of lives spent year after year behind bars. As a companion volume, I would recommend Ted Conover's "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing," which gives an account of prison life told from the point of view of the men and women who work as guards.

Carpetbagger Journalism
A New York Yankee flies down to Louisiana for a couple of weekends to report "the truth" as he sees it. At the same time, he's on areligious journey. The problem with this book, much like James Agee's"Let Us Know Praise Famous Men," is that the author allows thestory to be about him writing the story. Who cares? A journalist in aLouisiana prison. That's not fodder for interesting reading. There are over5,100 men currently in Angola. Surely, there had to be more interestingstories there than Bergner's. It's as if Bergner already had the storywritten before even visiting the prsion. He just plugged in some names and(voila!) he has a book.

It's a shame this book is so weak. There is agreat deal of potential, but Bergner doesn't follow through. Moreimportantly, he has a wonderful opportunity to teach his readers a thing ortwo about the condition of the Louisiana State Penitentiary and themenincarcerated there, but instead he chooses to write a Hollywood story,Bayou Style.

If you thought the movies The Big Easy and Forest Gump weregreat films, than this is the book for you. Otherwise, steer clear of thistawdry fluff. On an aesthetic note, the book looks really great on the tankof your toilet. ... Read more

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BAYOU GRAND COEUR, LOUISIANA
1863

I wonder if the Confederates think of this war as their own? Or the Yankees? Who would want a war to be their own?

Amelina is frightened. She is used to being alone while her Nonc Alain is away trading, but now Yankee soldiers are so close that she can sometimes hear the rumble of gunfire. Just because her close-knit Cajun community has for the most part been uninvolved in the war doesn't mean Nonc Alain's farm would be spared if the Yankees swept through the area.

When Amelina makes a startling discovery that challenges everything she's been told about the Yankees, she is forced to make her own decision about what is right and what is wrong. Can she find the courage to face the danger that her decision brings? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not worth the time
Although this book displays the civil war prejudice and hardships people of that time endured, this book is not worded and written in a way that you are just engrossed in reading the text.When I read a book, I have to be interested in it from the get-go.When reading this book, you'll have to be patient for it to become the least bit interesting.

A good American Diaries book.
Thirteen-year-old Amelina, who is Cajun, is an orphan. Since she was eightshe has lived with her uncle on his small house on the bayou. But now it's1863, the Civil War is creeping closer to Bayou Grand Coeur, and Amelinadiscovers a hurt Yankee. Helping him will risk her own life. Can she dowhat is right? I enjoyed this book. It was very exciting and historicallyaccurate ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

STORM WARNING! A surprisingly good book!
THE HURRICANES: ONE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM'S HOMECOMING AFTER KATRINA is a heartwarming narration of achieving a dream after adversity.
Once again, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED provided an excerpt of this book in a 2008 issue. Numerous times SI has piqued my interest with selected sections from a book, and later on after reading it, I am glad I purchased or checked it out.
This is a story of a high school football team's achievement on the field of play after nearly the whole team faced tremendous adversity following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in the bayou country. Jere Longman reviews so many areas surronding the team, community, coaches, parents, etc.,in that he presents a wonderful epic and narrative story. Not only does the community choose to advance from the destruction, but two high schools merge to represent the devasted area in sports. It is important for Mr. Longman to intertwine the recovery of emotional, physical and cultural areas in building the success of communities and a football team. It is interesting to read how the success of the region is ramrodded by the football team. Very pleasurable narration is provided to tell the story of the area's rebuilding. Presentation of the characters and culture of the region is done very well. At times the author bogs down the work with specifics of government beauracray and statutes. However, when he centers on football, it should be relished by the reader.
As a football official and former coach for over thirty years, I was shocked by the use of profane language by Coach Crutchfield whether on the field of play, in a locker roomor or simply trying to motivate his team. In the state of Kansas where I work sports, this type of abuse and use of vulgarities to his team, would have no use in this state. In a way, Mr. Longman presents Coach Crutchfield as a, "Mentor or hero", to the team, school, and community. I had little if any respect for Crutchfield's treatment of individuals. A total lack of "class" by a coach.
In conclusion, I was surprised how good this book was to read. Though I would recommend more interesting narrative books on football, i.e. TWELVE MIGHTY MITES OR THE SWEET SEASON, this still is a good work.

A true story, but one that misses the sad point
I'll start out by saying that this is a good story.This book focuses on football, and the story of a team and teams coming together to rebuild their lives. It's a "rags-to-riches" tale that will surely one-day make a good movie, but it ignores the real tragedy that I was thinking about the entire time.What it doesn't focus on is the real tragedy of why rural Louisiana is dirt poor and uneducated.A year after Katrina, officials are proud to announce that the new sod is on the field, yet there is no school cafeteria.The scoreboard works, but there are not enough books to go around at school.More examples abound like this abound, but it is clear to me why communities like this will continue to decline as they focus more on their fleeting football success than on graduating educated kids from their high schools.A few of these kids will end up in college, and maybe one every few years will play pro ball, but 200 others will be poorly served by their lack of a decent education.

A Great Read, Great story.
A well written, vibrant story about life after Katrina in a unique community.The story, based in a rural community surrounded by the Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mexico, accurately describes real personalities who make the community special in many ways.

If you are a fan of athletics, community life and the struggles of rebuilding life, then you will enjoy this book. One of the best books I have read in a long time.

True story of Louisana
Jere Longman has written an excellent book chronicling one parish's reaction to Hurricane Katrina, focusing on the high school football team but weaving in incredibly useful information about the people and history of Plaquemines Parish and all of Southeast Louisiana. It's a story of the importance of football in the fabric of a community in southern Louisiana.

Having played high school football in Louisiana myself "back in the day", I recognized so much in the story of coach Cyril Crutchfield and the Plaquemines Parish residents. The loud, profane and physical football coach. The sheriff's deputies who were former players themselves and still long to ride the bus with the team to away games. The players whose entire lives revolve around the sport. The anachronism of the wealth of resources and the grinding poverty of that part of the world. It really hit home.

The book is well-written and balanced - as an example, Longman strives to present the Belle Chasse side of the Plaquemines Parish feud, rather than simply showing the South Plaquemines/Port Sulphur side. And by tracking Randall Mackey, Jamal Recasner and the Bastrop Rams, he shows the intertwining of relationships in that part of the world.

As this review is written, Coach Crutchfield, Ridge Turner, Lyle Fitte and the rest of the Hurricanes are on their way to another state championship. One Times-Picayune reporter recently noted that they only way the Hurricanes don't win state is if they give up the sport of football between now and December. I recommend you read this book, and follow the Hurricanes through the rest of their season.
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Focusing on the Louisiana public school system, this report explores the experiences of students displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: their movements among schools, the durations of enrollments at each site, and time out of school It also documents the effects of these movements on the state's public education system during the first academic year following the hurricanes, as reported by 415 school principals in survey responses. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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In the half century after the Civil War, evangelical southerners turned increasingly to Sunday schools as a means of rejuvenating their destitute region and adjusting to an ever-modernizing world. By educating children--and later adults--in Sunday school and exposing them to Christian teachings, biblical truths, and exemplary behavior, southerners felt certain that a better world would emerge and cast aside the death and destruction wrought by the Civil War. In TO RAISE UP THE SOUTH, Sally G. McMillen offers an examination of Sunday schools in seven black and white denominations and reveals their vital role in the larger quest for southern redemption.

McMillen begins by explaining how the schools were established, detailing northern missionaries' collaboration in their creation and the eventual southern resistance to this northern aid. She then turns to the classroom, discussing the roles of church officials, teachers, ministers, and parents in the effort to raise pious children; the different functions of men and women; and the social benefits of such participation.

Though denominations of both races saw Sunday schools as a way to increase their numbers and mold their children, white southerners rarely raised the race issue in the classroom. Black evangelicals, on the other hand, used their Sunday schools to discuss and decry Jim Crow laws, rising violence, and wide spread injustices.

Integrating the study of race, class, gender, and religion, TO RAISE UP THE SOUTH provides an exciting new lens through which to view the turbulent years of Reconstruction and the emergence of the New South. It charts the rise of an institution that became a mainstay in the lives of millions of southerners. ... Read more

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There is a saying about law school that they scare you to death the first year, work you to death the second, and bore you to death the third. Law students today have a pretty good idea what to expect from the initial plunge into the law. Scott Turow's One L, describing his first year at Harvard, has become almost mandatory reading for anyone contemplating law school. And because that level of intensity is what so many expect, that is how the first year usually plays out, complete with ulcers, outlines, and relentless work.

But the education does not end after the first year.

Law school is a three-year course of study, and the first year often bears little resemblance to the final two. Facing two more years of grueling class work, mounting student loans, increasing pressure to stand out from the crowd, and the never-ending search for the perfect job, upper-class students come to realize that surviving the fall into the deep end is no guarantee they will learn to swim.

Letters from Law School is about the second year of law school, after the cold shock of the plunge. This book describes the struggle to come up for air. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

lawyerly
A great book for those struggling through law school in the States. Not very helpful for those elsewhere. A good book to help you get a handle on the expected workload but then again, it shouldn't be surprising to those who are going through the process already.

Accurate depiction of second year
This book is different from a great deal of the law novels out there, in that it explores the often overlooked second year of law school. Dieker very accurately shows the reader the pitfalls of the second year law student, which includes trying to find a summer internship at a firm that might hire the student permanently after the student gets a JD.

There is a reason this book was not published by a major publishing company. Dieker has not yet mastered dialogue, and the book is dragged down by the details in a few spots. In addition, it's hard to feel for the protagonist, after he seems to half-ass everything. I really can't feel empathy for someone who is so high strung that every single reading assignment or family obligation sends him into a panic. It's called dealing with life, and Dieker needs to start doing so.

If Dieker had gotten an editor for this book, it would have helped the readability enormously. I would recommend this book to people thinking about going to law school, but it probably is not compelling enough for the general public.

Uninteresting and marginally helpful
It apppears that the primary purpose of this book is to warn prospective law students of the unlikelyhood of getting a summer internship. While a valuable lesson, it is the only one contained in the book. Nothing can be gained from this book except a reminder to take school seriously. For individuals trying to determine whether to go to law school, I recommend looking elsewhere.

Recommended
As a 3L, I recently read this book to see how similar it was to my 2L experience. I would recommend that anyone thinking of starting law school - particularly if you are thinking of going to a law school that is not ranked in the top 20 or so - to read this book. The writing is crisp and clear and does capture the misery of the juggling 2L year, including the job search, journal experience, and trying to keep up with classes. It also drives home the point that not everyone will make law review, get A's, get a job through OCI, etc. My one complaint about the book is that by the end, I couldn't sympathize with author anymore. Although he certainly is subject to more misery than is deserved, he also brings a lot upon himself and refuses to admit it. He begins the book by going through an interview with a firm where he didn't bother to ensure the firm practiced in the area that he was going to mention an interest in, he admits to having a "don't care" attitude towards the firm he was at the previous summer, he can't keep his class schedule straight, he doesn't put forth the required effort for the law review/journal competition, he forgets to go to an interview, and he is actually dumb enough to include a sexual reference in a thank you letter to an attorney. When I read the last part, I seriously questioned his professional judgment and whether he had bothered to read any legal job search materials or talk to Career Services at all. He also insists on viewing his school as "one of the more outstanding law schools in the country" when in fact, the name of his law school doesn't help in a job search anywhere but Louisiana. That is one of the reasons I suggested that anyone who is planning on attending a law school ranked out of the top 15-20 read this book, because the fact of the matter is that firms don't view your school as outstanding unless it is somewhere in that ranking (and even then, many firms only view the top 7-8 schools as being truly outstanding). This greatly affects your job search.

If nothing else, read this book in order to avoid the same mistakes the author makes.

For the rest of us
I have not yet attended law school and therefore cannot judge the accuracy of this book from experience, but from what I do know now it appears to be close to, if not an exact description of life as a law student. I liked this book because this fall I will not be attending Harvard, like the well-known authors of "One L," and "Broken Contract." This book is written for the rest of us outside of the top five school elite. Although it's a work of fiction, the book does not read like it. Easily understandable and interesting, this book should be read by everyone contemplating law school. Maybe I'll even try to publish my memoirs in a few years, after I complete law school. If I survive, that is. ... Read more

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Examines the Louisiana Purchase, discussing the negotiation of the treaty with France, the formation of Louisiana, taking possession of the land, and the exploration, growth, and settlement of the territory. ... Read more

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An alphabet book featuring words and photographs from Louisiana, such as alligators, bayous, and steamboats. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Book on theory and Practice of Politics
Good solid book on political theory and the practical application of that theory.Highly recommend!

Wow...ok
Wow is what I thought when I bought this book. It seemed so interesting for a future political consultant. A must read, I thought. This is no hands on campaigning book. Instead, think of it as a dictionary.Each chapter has about 4-5 pages on one aspect of campaigning. radio, tv, billboards, phonecalls, on and on. each author explains what they do and tries to give you a very tip of the iceberg view of what it is they do. Some authors even offer suggestions. I read chapter to chapter and got a highlight of each campaign tool. Ok, I thought.

A Good One
At first glance, I thought it was a colleciton of articules with no particular focus. But after reading it for a while, I knew that's the one I have been looking for.

The book sets out in details the full picture of the political consultant's business, from history to development, from theory to techniques. A must buy for anyone who is interested in a career of political consulting. ... Read more

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High Stakes is a critical ethnography of an underfunded public elementary school in this era of accountability and high stakes testing. The book was written during the year the authors served as third and fourth grade teachers, and it juxtaposes the experiences of mostly minority children of poverty and their teachers with an examination of high stakes testing policies and the loss of a comprehensive education to political dictates. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more