TEN FLAGS IN THE WIND

Ten Flags in the Wind: the Story of Louisiana is the latest volume in the Regions of America series, which depict our natural regions, their history, development, and character. One would expect such volumes to be marked by the booster prose of state chambers of commerce or by the spotty historical sketches of travel brochures. Such is not the case, however, for the series, ably edited by Carl Carmer, is characterized by an intelligence and integrity challenged only by the old WPA volumes of the Thirties and early Forties. The present study by Charles L. Dufour, a distinguished editorial columnist for the New Orleans States-Item and Times Picayune and a lecturer in American History at Tulane University, is excellent in every respect. A comprehensive history of Louisiana from the seventeenth-century explorations of the Frenchman LaSalle to the present, Ten Flags in the Wind is not only a sound synthesis of hundreds of books, articles, and monographs on the subject, but a readable, entertaining work which succeeds in capturing the unique character of the state and its people.