683 Things About New Orleans Author:Monica M. Dalide The 683 Oddest, Most Inspiring, Totally Scandalous and Just Plain Weird Things You Never Knew about New Orleans — With its colorful past, outsized personalities and tragic history of natural disasters, New Orleans is a city like no other. Now, Monica M. Dalide gives us 683 reasons the birthplace of Jazz has been called "the most uniqu... more »e city in America." Presented in a series of bite-sized trivia nuggets, 683 Things About New Orleans amuses, surprises and shocks with the juiciest bits culled from the city's history books and diverse cultural milieu. Readers can:
- Take a beginner's class in the New Orleans lexicon, where "make a do do" means "get some shuteye" and a "yat" is the essential sign of a native
- Get the skinny on the city's rich musical heritage-the birthplace of Mahalia Jackson, Fats Domino and Louis Armstrong, to name a few
- Learn how New Orleans' infamous legal prostitution district came to an end (and meet the unfortunate city official it was named for)
- Hear the story behind Crescent City-invented drinks like the hurricane, Sazerac cocktail and powerful "hand grenade"
- Meet dozens of famous New Orleanians-from to Lee Harvey Oswald to Reese Witherspoon
- Much, much more!
Divided into 22 sections covering everything from sports to slave revolts (and, of course, Mardi Gras), 683 Things About New Orleans is the ultimate insider's bible-a field guide to the city's special quirks, only-in-New Orleans traditions and betcha-didn't-know past-that's sure to appeal to the native, the traveler and the former resident alike. But most of all, it's a reminder of just what makes this city so great.« less