Synopsis

New Orleans seems to occupy a special geography as unique as its spicy cuisine or its spirited jazz music.

Booknews

Campanella (Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities) discusses how New Orleans' singular topography and geography influenced the city's growth and development. He traces the problematic founding of the city as early settlers fought malarial mosquitoes and a hostile swampland, and examines the precarious topography that inspired its nickname, the Crescent City. Finally, he explores how the city's geography informed its culture, as well as the cultural elements that defined the New Orleans cityscape. The book contains 356 color photos and 120 maps. Oversize: 13x10.25<">. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Biography

Authors Richard and Marina Campanella, husband and wife, began collecting old street scenes of New Orleans and rephotographing the sites as a hobby, one that quickly grew into the research for this, their first book. They live in a circa 1926 cottage tucked among azaleas and magnolias near the beach in Waveland, Mississippi. Campanella, a member of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, works in the field of satellite imaging and computer mapping at Stennis Space Center.