Everything Matters in Baseball

The Skip Bertman Story

by Glenn Guilbeau with Leo Honeycutt  |  Hardcover: $30

“Everything Matters in Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story” presents detailed accounts on all five of Bertman’s National Championships as head coach of the LSU Tigers. The book reveals his strategies for recruiting star players and also the behind-the-scenes story of how he became LSU’s Athletic Director after his coaching career ended in 2001. Glenn Guilbeau, the author who is one of the premier sports writers in the South, also describes the bold actions Bertman took as Athletic Director to bring LSU athletics into the 21st century.

This definitive biography shows how Bertman took over a weak LSU baseball program in 1984 and built it into one of national prominence. On the pages of this book is a detailed account of the heyday of one of America’s most successful college coaches – or as one of his colleagues described him, “The John Wooden of college baseball.”  

Review presented by Books Along the Teche 

337-367-7621  |  106 E. Main Street, New Iberia 

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ANN FAILLACE

Work: Flowers 

Medium: Oil

Price: contact gallery

Available at: Judice Art Collective, Lafayette

Born in Natchez, Mississippi and raised in the Louisiana countryside, artist Ann Faillace now paints from her studio in Broussard. Her artwork showcases Louisiana’s bayous, rivers, cypress trees, moss-covered live oaks, birds and animals – and the people who inhabit its diverse landscape. Working in oil, mixed media, watercolor, and pen and ink, Faillace enjoys eliciting the feeling of Louisiana’s mystery in her paintings. She first fell in love with art as a child, when her great aunt Bonnie McLeary, a sculptor, would visit with stories of the art world.

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DENNIS PAUL WILLIAMS

Work: Soul Exchange: The Painting of Dennis Paul Williams

Medium: Compilation book

Price: $45

Available at: dennispaulwilliams.com

Dennis Paul Williams grew up in St. Martinville, where Louisiana’s Creole culture introduced him to French and West African aesthetics and values. The artist describes his artwork as “more a prayer than an image” and says the process is his “meditation.” Williams was driven as a child to draw, paint, and explore artistic materials as he embraced his Creole heritage, where every aspect of life revolves around faith, celebration, and beauty. Williams’ works have since evolved into expressions of his deep spirituality.

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PAUL SCHEXNAYDER

Work: Fiddlesticks

Medium: Mixed

Price: $450

Available at: A&E Gallery, New Iberia

From Acadiana artist Paul Schexnayder comes this mixed media sculpture evoking the rich influence of music in Louisiana – and of Louisiana culture on its music. “Fiddlesticks” is just one of several in the series that includes colorful depictions of other instruments, including accordions. It is available at Schexnayder’s studio and gallery. The New Iberia native earned his Bachelor of Fine Art degree from Louisiana State University. He is an artist, author/ illustrator and art teacher, and he paints every day. Visit schex.com for more information on the artist and his work.