Western revenge drama set at the end of the American Civil War. Louisiana plantation overseer Reese Paxton (Eric Braeden) decides to fight for justice for his workers, former slaves who now work for a pittance, who have been brutally attacked by the local town elite after going on strike for better pay. After he and his family are targetted by the sadistic Billy Duke (James Patrick Stuart), Reese finds himself imprisoned by Billy's corrupt father, Judge Duke (George Kennedy). Now, having survived humiliation and savage beatings, Reese sets out for his former home, determined to wreak havoc and bloody revenge.

American Indians worshiped them as creators of the world, Napoleon ate them to celebrate his victories, Swedes have them shipped in from halfway around the world, and for Louisiana's Cajuns the humble crawfish is the centerpiece of cuisine, a symbol of ethnic pride, a staple commodity for thriving business ventures, and an inextricable part of folklore.

Research and interviews spice this delightful book that details the relationship between crawfish and humans--from antiquity to the New York markets of the 1880s; from Depression-era pauper's feast to gourmet entree of the 1980s Cajun cooking craze; from spring afternoon pastime to modern aquaculture agribusiness.

To get the reader's mouth watering, more than two dozen recipes from those who know crawfish best--both famous chefs and crawfishers--are interspersed throughout. Sections offer advice on catching, buying, handling, cooking, and, for those who wish to simplify their encounters with crawfish, ordering tasty dishes in restaurants. Included are also a bibliographical essay, an index to recipes, and a list of sources for spices, paraphernalia, and airfreight shipments of crawfish.

The first book in the Folklife in the South series and by far the broadest look at traditional Cajun culture ever assembled. It not only describes the traditions as they are but also explains how they came to be.

Set in the Cajun country of Louisiana's Vermilion Parish during the 1850s, this historical novel, based on the 1986 motion picture, recounts the exploits of Belizaire Breaux, a Cajun herbalist and traiteur (faith healer). Finding himself at the center of an explosive chain of events, Belizaire defies a group of cattle barons who terrorize the region. He fails to save his cousin from their vengeance, but eventually triumphs over the group and wins the love of a vigilante's widow in the process. This novel contains black-and-white photographs depicting the unique Cajun culture, including landmarks such as Pine and Oak Alley plantations, Lake Martin Swamp, and Bayou Teche.

One hundred twenty years before the historic trek by Lewis and Clark, another band explored the central waterway of North America on an adventure more harrowing and deadly than later explorers could ever boast. Sponsored by the French, not the British, this journey is often omitted in writing of American history, but its impact on the development of the Mississippi River Valley is critical. Fueled by Indian legends and dreams of rich rewards, an expedition led by a French nobleman, a priest, and Indian guides set off on an unprecedented adventure from Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico. They battled hostile natives, vicious weather, and the treacherous nature of the great river that would later be called the Mississippi. When Robert Cavelier de La Salle and his crew finally reached the waterway's mouth in 1682, they had accomplished much more than a historic exploration of North America. They had paved the way for others to settle the new frontier. This is the story of La Salle and the journey that would make him a hero in France and what would one day be the United States. His crew's physical and psychological strengths were tested to extremes during the adventure. This exciting and historic novel introduces the players who planned and executed the trek through the heartland and the south. La Salle's voyage led the way for the economic gold mine of the Mississippi's waterways and the prosperous cities that would later rely on the great river for trade and transportation. Glen Pitre, a graduate of Harvard University, is an author and film producer. His first book, Belizaire the Cajun, was based on the film by the same name. Michelle Benoit holds degrees in French studies and Romance languages and is a published translator whose works have appeared in New Orleans Review, Chelsea, and Colorado Review.

All that it means to be an Acadian is revealed in this pictorial documentary of a people whose roots thread across two continents and three countries. The exodus that brought the Acadians here more than two centuries ago began in western France and ended along the bayous and over the prairies of south Louisiana. Their influence still provides the state's cultural heritage with a distinctive flavor that makes Louisiana stand out onfrom the increasingly homogeneous nationalstage. A new foreword by Glen Pitre, who was dubbed by American Film as the "father of the Cajun film," gives testament to the tremendous influence this book had on him and a generation struggling to reclaim its roots in a society bent on assimilation. Pitre speaks eloquently of the scenes throughout the book, and the timelessness of the photographs translated directly into the films he made over the years.