Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans Ninth Edition

 Beautiful Crescent: A History of New Orleans Ninth Edition by Joan B. Garvey and Mary Lou Widmer-336 pages

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Synopsis: Originally written by Joan B. Garvey and Mary Lou Widmer, this book is widely regarded as the definitive text for tourists, locals, teachers, and students. Complete with a new forward by Barbara Robichaux, a professional French Quarter tour guide, this concise history directs the reader through the diverse traditions and cultures of New Orleans. The updates in this tricentennial edition celebrate the 300-year history of New Orleans, with chapters including details of the city's founding, changing European rule, slavery, and much more. With lists of notable figures and events, this reference volume is a must for historians, tour guides, and lovers of the Big Easy.

Thoughts: I picked this up from William Faulkner Books in New Orleans while there. This bookstore is in the house where Faulkner wrote his first novel, thus the name. It is a good overview of New Orleans history. However, not all of the facts presented are 100% accurate (i.e. the authors say that at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 2,000 British were killed and only 7 Americans were killed. However, there were approx. 2,034 British casualties which included killed, wounded, and missing or captured. Only 291 were killed. 13 Americans were killed among 71 casualties). I did a quick Google search and found the 2 corroborating sources with the same statistics. Also, the writing style isn't very academic like one might expect from a book on history. It's more vernacular and everyday language instead of more academic. A few words are outdated and one in particular is considered offensive today (this book was published in 2017). Overall, it's a good overview of the history of New Orleans, as I said, but with a few drawbacks.