Old Mobile: Fort Louis de la Louisiane, 1702-1711

by Jay Higginbotham

Offers to American historiography a microcosmic view of an early French colonial settlement in the United States, recreating the lives of the fort occupants in minute detail. Higginbotham has made extensive use of Spanish archives in the research of early American history.

585 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I hated this book. It was literally a slog to get through it, and I spent most of my time reading telling myself that yes, I really DID have to read this thing for my dissertation. Jay Higginbotham has a particularly dull turn of phrase that I am told is characteristic of his family by someone who would know. That being said, it is also a very solid history of Old Mobile and Fort Saint Louis, which is not exactly a common subject for history books. It's informative, and the history itself is actually pretty interesting. You just have to get through Higginbotham's turn of phrase, which somehow manages to make it very, very dull. All in all, I would say 'yes, read it' if you're interested in the Mississippi/Alabama sides of the Louisiana colony, but otherwise? No, don't. Spare yourself the boredom.