Anyone who's ever gone on a tour of the old plantation homes in Louisiana understands why there is such an abundance of literary resources on the subject. A plethora of coffee table pictorials on the topic exist that feature pages and pages of glossy full-page portraits of the Old South's former glory, embodied in architecture.

There are also resources on the history of the state's plantation houses, though there are noticeably less of these. These homes are deeply rooted in American history, for better or worse, and they represent many things to many people. In Louisiana it is typical for tourists to go on tours that stop at many of these homes, and looking at them one can see how it would be easy to spend a day rubber necking past such splendor.

One such coffee table excursion is Louisiana Plantation Homes: A Return to Splendor by Lee Malone (with photographs by Paul Malone). The book romanticizes the South, much as one would expect from a coffee table pictorial resource, but after perusing the vibrant photos of the restored past glories of Louisiana, it is easy to understand why. It is typical in Southern literature to reminisce of days gone by, over a period lost forever and all of that - but what stands out about this particular resource is the accompanying history and architectural details given for each historical home. The architecture involved in Louisiana's plantation homes is varied almost to the point to be overwhelming: the book features resources of Colonial, Italianate, Victorian Gothic, and Southern Classical architecture. It wasn't uncommon for plantation owners to combine two or more architectural modes.

One of the book's features is the site of scenes from Interview with a Vampire, the Destrehan Plantation. This particular house's claim to fame is being the oldest documented plantation home on the lower Mississippi River Valley (having been established in 1781). Its columns and wrap-around second level balcony are so emulated that the construction has almost become a Southern clichE. The home features the Jefferson Room, within whose climate-controlled walls a document signed by Thomas Jefferson is displayed. The document designated four men (one of them former house resident Jean Noel Destrehan) to be the Orleans Territorial Council. It is the only original document in the room, though the room is a Mecca of resources for other Louisiana state documents.

The book is also a resource on the gem of plantations, the Oak Alley Plantation. "The Grande Dame of the Great River Road" features a quarter-mile canopy of 300-year-old giant live oak which forms a long tunnel leading up to the Greek-style architecture of the mansion. The property is not only part of Louisiana tours, but also hosts a variety of social gatherings, including champagne brunches, and arts and crafts fairs. The grounds are home to private cottages, which are part of the former plantation's new bed and breakfast, and weddings and like private events are also hosted on the grounds. The restoration of the home was complete in 1925.