Cross to Bear: Louisiana Politics 1991 from David Duke to Edwin Edwards

i have not read any books describing louisiana politics, but have lived in new orleans and other cities in the area for many years.. i recall sen. camille gravelle (lake charles) screaming his outrage at a guilty verdict against him in the 60s.. he vowed he would cointinue his term from a jail cell if he had to.. he did not clarify if by "term" he was referring to a term of election or of incarceration.. studying louisiana politics is like peeling an onion: every layer makes you cry, but the revelations are astounding and you press on, knowing you will cry even more.. it makes me wonder: does any louisiana politician know the state motto, or what it means?

With Cross to Bear John Maginnis writes again about Louisiana politics - a subject that he previously covered in The Last Hayride. In Cross to Bear, Maginiss focuses on the 1991 election for Governor of Louisiana. Cross to Bear is a fascinating look at politics that will not disappoint. The most-entertaining aspects of Cross to Bear are the portraits of the three main candidates. You have: 1) Edwin Edwards, the calculating crook who had been governor in three previous terms, 2) Buddy Roemer, the incumbent governor (in 1991) who had unseated Edwards in 1987, and 3) David Duke, the Klansman and Nazi who somehow had struck a chord with Louisiana's white, rural voters. You also learn something about Louisiana. Maginnis details the regional differences; he particularly focuses on the difference in New Orleans and rest of Louisiana. The electoral process in Louisiana is complex and you get a good idea of just what it takes to get elected. While Cross to Bear is great reading, I have a few small complaints. Maginnis generally presents the facts without too much editorializing; but there were times when I thought that he ventured too close to advocacy. More importantly, the end of the book loses some of the momentum Maginnis builds in the early sections; it seems that the runoff just wasn't as interesting as the events preceding it. Finally, Maginnis made the strange decision to include quite a bit of material on the Reverend Jimmy Swaggart's troubles in the late 1980s and early 1990s; the Swaggart material is interesting, but it was never clear why it belonged in Cross to Bear. On the whole, however, Cross to Bear is a great book that won't disappoint fans of politics.

This book was another good description of a Louisiana Governor's election. The previous book "The Last Hayride" told of Edwin Edwards return to the governorship of Louisiana. After being elected to a third term as governor Edwards was indicted. The scandal that followed caused Edwards to be unseated. Four years later, in 1991, Edwards was able to make a comeback. He wound up in a runoff with the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan,David Duke. You are led on a campaign path by the author. This book describes the processes that finally led to another political comeback for Edwin Edwards. This was a very colorful and well written book that describes Louisiana politics.

A companion piece to Maginnis' excellent "Last Hayride," this book covers the 1991 Louisiana gubernatorial campaign, which pitted former Klansman David Duke against frequent indictee (and three term governor) Edwin Edwards. Maginnis writes beautifully, and readers will feel like they are in Louisiana and on the trail with the candidates (all of them; Maginnis also covers the others races of that election). Highly reccomended to anyone interested in politics, power, or personality.