Here are heroes and scoundrels, businessmen and religious leaders, artists and soldiers, pioneers and planters…as well as a number of stories that are ironic, bizarre or simply curious. In this newest collection of his popular columns, Eric J. Brock portrays Shreveport's historical pageant through the lives of a cross section of truly fascinating characters. From the enigmatic mayor Robert Nathaniel Wood to forgotten beauty queen Janet Currie, Brock sketches the men and women—both ordinary and extraordinary—who shaped the course of Shreveport history. These biographical vignettes, originally printed in the Shreveport Times and the Forum News Magazine, are a must-read for any native or resident of northwest Louisiana.