The Mississippi Gulf Coast: Portrait of a people : an illustrated history;

With affecttion and wit, the author brings to life the people of the Gulf Coast - the explorers and conquistadors, the anguished settlers, the ethnic communities, the rags to riches businessmen, and those in their employ: the soldiers, rumrunners, politicians, inventors, and bootleggers -- and their resilience in the face of natural disasters and yellow fever to hurricanes. He draws heavily upon early accounts of the region preserved in letters, diaries, and other documents.