Like numerous other port cities, New Orleans has benefited from a blend of cultural traditions, but there has always been something unique about the Big Easy. Ned Sublette's The World That Made New Orleans delves into that singular quality by examining multiple threads of influence that have left their mark on this historic city. Tracking its development from colonization to Louisiana statehood, Sublette shows how African slaves, free blacks, and Europeans have all left their imprint on the cultural life of this busy Gulf port.

Before Katrina, this book would have been merely excellent. Now it is essential. (ed Widmer, author, Martin Van Buren, and editor, Library of America's American Speeches)

With staggering erudition and dazzling style, Sublette weaves things you always wanted to know together in a harmonious whole. (Madison Smartt Bell, author, Toussaint Louverture and All Souls' Rising)

This articulate and intensely researched history provides not only an impressive look at its subject but also should serve as a model for any future works on great American cities. Cultural studies and history do not get much better than this, a must read for anyone who wonders why this city must be saved.

A compelling portrait of the city as a capital of the Caribbean, an irrepressible source of artistic and political creativity. (Laurent Dubois, author, Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution)

In this thoughtful, well-researched history, Sublette (Cuba and Its Music) charts the development of New Orleans, from European colonization through the Haitian revolution (which was crucial to French and American negotiations over Louisiana) to the Louisiana Purchase. Central to his account are the African slaves, who began arriving in New Orleans in 1719, and their contributions to the city's musical life. He considers, for example, how musical influences from different parts of Africa-Kongo drumming and Senegambian banjo playing-combined to forge a distinctive musical culture. Sublette also lucidly discusses New Orleans' important role in the domestic slave trade, arguing persuasively that the culture of slavery in New Orleans was different from that in Virginia or South Carolina. In New Orleans, there was a large population of free blacks, and slaves there had "greater relative freedom" than elsewhere. Furthermore, by the early 19th century, Louisiana was home to more African-born slaves than the Upper South. Those factors, which helped perpetuate African religion and dance, combined to offer "an alternative path of development for African American culture." As our nation continues to ponder the future of the Big Easy, Sublette offers an informative accounting of that great city's past. 20 b&w photos. (Jan.)

The best argument yet for why we need to save New Orleans.

A rich look at colonial New Orleans.

Sublette's scholarship lends sturdiness and cohesion to a historical record that otherwise might be washed away through carelessness or intentionally erased.

Relevant and understandable . . . highly recommended.

An absorbing history of [New Orleans'] rise.

Adult/High School- This book explores the economic and cultural roots of New Orleans. With the exception of a brief coda that reflects on recent Mardi Gras celebrations, Sublette focuses on the pre-20th-century history that shaped the modern city. The author traces its origins across the Atlantic to 18th-century monarchs and the French Revolution. He follows the city's development chronologically, noting that Spanish explorers and a thriving slave trade with the west coast of Africa also left their mark. These influences are evident in the music and dance whose legacy reaches far beyond the Mississippi Delta. Sublette's style is delightfully readable, avoiding stilted academic prose while maintaining a scholarly approach that is peppered with fascinating details. Filled with period maps, this volume will appeal to history buffs and readers interested in the musical heritage of New Orleans.-Heidi Dolamore, San Mateo County Library, CA

Broad, overambitious cultural history of New Orleans, from its inauspicious beginnings to its arrival as an important American city by 1819. Radio and music producer Sublette (Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo, 2004) plows through several centuries, never quite deciding whether to concentrate on history or culture-or on what to omit. After a marshy site at the mouth of the Mississippi was reluctantly chosen by the French in 1698 as a post to keep out the British, he writes, New Orleans soon joined Santo Domingo and Havana as part of a preeminent metropolis in the region-the three cities constantly changed colonial masters and influenced each other profoundly. Unable to make New Orleans attractive to settlers, the French had to rely on forced emigration (it was briefly a penal colony). The duc d'Orleans hoped to make the city profitable by licensing Scottish speculator John Law's notorious Mississippi Company; frenzied speculation and then a hideous 1721 crash did nothing for the city's financial stability. Consequently, the fledgling town took on a unique personality during the two principal periods identified by the author. The French era got underway when African slaves began arriving in 1719. Mostly from Senegal, many were sophisticated artisans and brought with them distinct forms of dancing, drums and music. The Spanish period began in 1762, when Louis XV gave the territory to his cousin Carlos III, and ended with Napoleon's sale of Louisiana to America in 1803. The Spanish, Sublette argues, gave New Orleans its definitive character, establishing a strong town council and creating a true urban center. Under a relatively progressive legal code, slaves could ownproperty and buy their freedom. Describing New Orleans culture as an ajiaco (stew), Sublette throws a few too many ingredients into the pot, incorporating revolutions in America, France and Haiti as well as myriad forms of music and religion. A heady but often murky brew. Agent: Sarah Lazin/Sarah Lazin Books

"Thoughtful, well-researched . . . As our nation continues to ponder the future of the Big Easy, Sublette offers an informative accounting of that great city’s past."  —Publishers Weekly

"Cultural studies and history do not get much better than this, a must read for anyone who wonders why this city must be saved."  —Booklist

"Ned Sublette] is a passionate chronicler of the Africans’ resilience, of how they revived a cultural memory that gave life to music and enduring folkways."  —New York Times

"Sublette is a sonic sleuth charting the successive waves of Africans who shaped this black city’s culture."  —Nation

"Sublette gets contemporary New Orleans, sees the echoes of the past in our present."  —New Orleans Times-Picayune

"With great detail and talented telling, Sublette especially chronicles the paths slaves took to New Orleans and how those paths led to the city's personality today."  —Tampa Tribune

"Sublette, who drew raves for Cuba and Its Music, has produced another important resource - and the best argument yet for why we need to save New Orleans."  —Boston Globe

"With staggering erudition and dazzling style, Ned Sublette tells you a thousand seemingly disparate things you always wanted to know but never knew where or whom to ask, then weaves them all together in a harmonious whole."  —Madison Smartt Bell, author, All Souls' Rising and Toussaint Louverture