My New Orleans, Gone Away: A Memoir of Loss and Renewal - Hardcover

Charming....[Wolf's] memoir is about his city, its snobby topside and seamy underside, about New Orleans contrasted with the Ivy League, and about how he came to be, of all things, an urban planner when, in this reviewer's opinion, he should have stuck to writing.--Winston Groom, "The Wall Street Journal"

Engaging...delightful....Wolf returns to the Big Easy after a protracted Yankee education at Exeter and Yale, joins his father's firm in the cotton trade, takes up lodgings on Burgundy Street at the edge of the French Quarter and hangs out at places the mere mention of which sends shivers of pleasure down my spine.--Jonathan Yardley, "The Washington Post"

Wolf's journey from inhibited child to dream-chaser is beautifully told, full of love for New Orleans, tradition, and family, all trumped by the angst-filled awakening that led him forward.--Publisher's Weekly

A fascinating story.--Kirkus Reviews

Reading this memoir we think about where we live, what these places mean to us, what they meant to our ancestors, and, of course, what they will mean to our progeny.--The East Hampton Star

Peter Wolf's "My New Orleans, Gone Away" is the triumph of a memorist with the eye of an architect and the heart of a poet. With admiration, and occasionally, awe, I shared the development of his feelings and taste. This may very well be a modest classic of that enchanted city's art, culture, lifestyle and vanishing monuments.--Sidney Offit, author of "Memoir of the Bookie's Son"

I loved it. It brings back great memories.--Walter Isaacson, author of "Steve Jobs"

Capturing the magic, mystery, culture, architecture and lifestyle of this exotic city, the author, a sixth-generation member of a New Orleans commercial family, reveals what it was like growing up Jewish in New Orleans during the mid-20th century. 10,000 first printing.