We Were Merchants: The Sternberg Family and the Story of Goudchaux's and Maison Blanche Department Stores
"It was with great relish that I openedWe Were Merchants,a wistful tribute to Goudchaux's, a name that in south Louisiana, where I grew up, once conjured the same superior customer service, quality goods and name recognition that Nordstrom's does in much of the rest of the country today.  This oversize book, generously illustrated with black-and-white photographs, recounts the journey of Erich and Lea Sternberg, Jewish immigrants who escaped with their daughter and two sons from the Nazi terror in Germany in the 1930s and, speaking no English, went into the department-store business in the Deep South.We Were Merchantsalso describes how the Sternberg family--Erich and Lea would eventually be joined at work by their sons, Hans and Josef, and daughter, Insa--spent the next half-century building up what became the country's largest family-owned department store." ----Mark Robichaux,Wall Street Journal(October 10, 2009)"The real gripping part of this book concerns the Sternbergs' escape from Nazi Germany, beginning with Hans' father, Erich, in 1936 and continuing with various family members until 1939. . . . Eventually, the Sternbergs were able to buy a store--in Baton Rouge. It was called Goudchaux's. Under the Sternbergs' management, it became a legend. Eventually, Hans and his brother Josef ran the company (with input from their mother, Lea). . . . Sternberg's account of the loss of the stores is frank, open and detailed. He talks about business practices and names prices. It's engrossing reading if you are a longtime Baton Rouge resident who remembers shopping at Goudchaux's. The black-and-white photos will also spark some recollections of Maison Blanche and Mr. Bingle and all the marketing devices that made the stores so popular." ----Greg Langley,Baton Rouge Advocate(October 4, 2009)"This lively book is completely enthralling--it is a family history (the Sternbergs escaped Nazi Germany to make new lives in America), a business biography (by 1989, they helmed the largest family-owned department store in America), a guide to doing business, and a look behind Louisiana lore and tradition."  ----Susan Larson,New Orleans Times-Picayune(October 14, 2009)