Scan barcode
becky_hubbard's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Slavery
dan1066's review against another edition
4.0
On our journey we learned that the Teche is underutilized--perhaps a blessing, particularly for those who already use the bayou for boating, fishing, and other forms of recreation despite its "impaired" status. We also learned that, even with zealous clean-up campaigns, litter still taints the banks and blots the country lanes along the waterway. More positively, however, we discovered some stretches of the Teche to be pristine, or nearly so. Additionally, we realized that the Teche is one enormous ecosystem: that life begins, thrives, and dies in its waters and in the very ooze along its banks, from microscopic organisms to fish, turtles, and alligators.
Shane K. Bernard's examination of the Teche is rooted in his love for his roots. At times, he believes the study of the history surrounding this 125 mile Louisiana bayou is important because it provides the opportunities to talk about ancestors and relatives. He draws heavily from existent historical works ([b:The Saffron Scourge: A History of Yellow Fever in Louisiana, 1796-1905|1208224|The Saffron Scourge A History of Yellow Fever in Louisiana, 1796-1905|Jo A. Carrigan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266744643l/1208224._SX50_.jpg|1196590], [b:Acadiana: Louisiana's Historic Cajun Country|10390625|Acadiana Louisiana's Historic Cajun Country|Carl A. Brasseaux|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1302338797l/10390625._SX50_.jpg|15294384], and [b:Thunder Across the Swamp: The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February-May 1863|10824257|Thunder Across the Swamp The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February-May 1863|Donald S. Frazier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344746691l/10824257._SX50_.jpg|15738051]) while digging through primary documents and letters. The thought of scrolling through 19th century government reports on microfiche to verify an assumption or document an assertion gives me a headache just imagining it. Bernard worked tirelessly to produce this thin book--his passion shows.
Like [b:Louisiana Hwy. 1|10890943|Louisiana Hwy. 1|Anne Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327998615l/10890943._SX50_.jpg|15806740], Bernard has a tendency to view the antebellum system nostalgically, referring to freed slaves as a source for "imposed major--some would say severe--changes on the Teche." Bernard even quotes several times in the course of his work an article published in the March 1886 issue of the Confederate veteran magazine Southern Bivouac, "The Teche Country Fifty Years Ago." The author, F.D. Richardson, offers this nostalgic look at the past:
There were pleasures for the Negroes about a sugarhouse unknown to cotton plantations. There is sugar cane, to begin with, and no shifty darky would be without a stalk to his mouth pretty much all the time he had to spare...
Really? Bernard notes the author "romanticized the slaves' grueling work" but never properly delineates the condition of slaves working the sugar plantations. We did not need to hear from Richardson at all, unless the goal was to show how little empathy plantation owners had for the plight of their "property." When describing his personal trek down the Teche in the second part of the book, Bernard even notes the celebratory occasion of gliding his canoe past Richard's antebellum plantation home. Bernard references the growth of white supremacist groups like the Knights of the White Camellia and quotes a lengthy harrowing inquiry into racial violence along the bayou communities, but the text presents these issues between descriptions of economic and health factors as contributing to, as the chapter notes, "Hard Times on the Bayou." Rather than taking a good long look at ourselves, Bernard argues Reconstruction policies are entirely to blame rather than ignorance and greed.
I would prefer history a little less sentimental and a lot more empathetic regarding race relations. Bernard does not white-wash his narrative, but like Anne Butler's history of Highway 1, a certain nostalgia for the "good old days" tends to result in passages which are not entirely accurate. It's difficult, but sensitivity to racial attitudes goes a long way towards providing a more grounded historical trek.
Shane K. Bernard's examination of the Teche is rooted in his love for his roots. At times, he believes the study of the history surrounding this 125 mile Louisiana bayou is important because it provides the opportunities to talk about ancestors and relatives. He draws heavily from existent historical works ([b:The Saffron Scourge: A History of Yellow Fever in Louisiana, 1796-1905|1208224|The Saffron Scourge A History of Yellow Fever in Louisiana, 1796-1905|Jo A. Carrigan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266744643l/1208224._SX50_.jpg|1196590], [b:Acadiana: Louisiana's Historic Cajun Country|10390625|Acadiana Louisiana's Historic Cajun Country|Carl A. Brasseaux|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1302338797l/10390625._SX50_.jpg|15294384], and [b:Thunder Across the Swamp: The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February-May 1863|10824257|Thunder Across the Swamp The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February-May 1863|Donald S. Frazier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344746691l/10824257._SX50_.jpg|15738051]) while digging through primary documents and letters. The thought of scrolling through 19th century government reports on microfiche to verify an assumption or document an assertion gives me a headache just imagining it. Bernard worked tirelessly to produce this thin book--his passion shows.
Like [b:Louisiana Hwy. 1|10890943|Louisiana Hwy. 1|Anne Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327998615l/10890943._SX50_.jpg|15806740], Bernard has a tendency to view the antebellum system nostalgically, referring to freed slaves as a source for "imposed major--some would say severe--changes on the Teche." Bernard even quotes several times in the course of his work an article published in the March 1886 issue of the Confederate veteran magazine Southern Bivouac, "The Teche Country Fifty Years Ago." The author, F.D. Richardson, offers this nostalgic look at the past:
There were pleasures for the Negroes about a sugarhouse unknown to cotton plantations. There is sugar cane, to begin with, and no shifty darky would be without a stalk to his mouth pretty much all the time he had to spare...
Really? Bernard notes the author "romanticized the slaves' grueling work" but never properly delineates the condition of slaves working the sugar plantations. We did not need to hear from Richardson at all, unless the goal was to show how little empathy plantation owners had for the plight of their "property." When describing his personal trek down the Teche in the second part of the book, Bernard even notes the celebratory occasion of gliding his canoe past Richard's antebellum plantation home. Bernard references the growth of white supremacist groups like the Knights of the White Camellia and quotes a lengthy harrowing inquiry into racial violence along the bayou communities, but the text presents these issues between descriptions of economic and health factors as contributing to, as the chapter notes, "Hard Times on the Bayou." Rather than taking a good long look at ourselves, Bernard argues Reconstruction policies are entirely to blame rather than ignorance and greed.
I would prefer history a little less sentimental and a lot more empathetic regarding race relations. Bernard does not white-wash his narrative, but like Anne Butler's history of Highway 1, a certain nostalgia for the "good old days" tends to result in passages which are not entirely accurate. It's difficult, but sensitivity to racial attitudes goes a long way towards providing a more grounded historical trek.
More...