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

by Jay Higginbotham

“Higginbotham has given to American historiography a microcosmic view of one of the earliest and most important outposts in the colonial new world. The Latin South can henceforth not be ignored.” – Alabama Historical Quarterly

“The definitive account . . . superbly recounted.” – Journal of Southern History

 “Meticulously documented. . . . Recommended for libraries interested in the colonial period.” – Choice

“Mind-boggling . . . a stupendous job of research. It is amazing that Higginbotham can recreate in such detail the lives of these people. All history books should be written like this.” – Birmingham Magazine

592 pages, Paperback

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.