10 books about Florida history

"An homage to the rugged 'swamp rats' who were largely overlooked or scorned by the region's historians, naturalists, and adventurers."--Miami Herald "Documents an aspect of Florida history and culture of which far too little has been written. . . . [Gladesmen] is alive with South Florida history and spiced with Simmons' understated humor and world view."--Folk Winds "Contains interesting tales of outlaws, moonshiners and other characters--some who lived on the edge of right and wrong--and roamed the inhospitable backcountry prairies of soft muck and massive mosquitoes."--South Dade News Leader "We Floridians sometimes . . . long for the simple life of pioneers and wonder how we would manage 'living off the land.' This book serves as a slap in the face of such fantasy."--St. Petersburg Times "Simmons tells us that he is no hero, but he is the stuff of Daniel Boone, Davey Crockett, Jim Bridger, and Alfred Wallace."--Florida Frontier Gazette "Simmons is Florida's answer to Huckleberry Finn."--Georgia Historical Quarterly

"In 1858 Tobias MacIvey abandoned his Georgia farm, loaded his meager possessions and his wife and infant son in a wagon and headed south into the Florida wilderness to search for a new life. What follows in A LAND REMEMBERED is a big rough-tough, folksy Florida saga -- three generations of the MacIvey family (1858-1968) from a dirt-poor cattle-droving cracker to a Miami real estate tycoon."--Front flap.

Florida has a history as diverse as its residents. And much of that is still hidden. Since the arrival of the Spanish in 1513, the state has played host to strange stories. A heartbroken senator entered a mental institution over unrequited love for an heiress. Thousands of British pilots trained in flight schools across the state. And the true, and darker, story of Pocahontas is linked with the "first barbecue." Author and historian James C. Clark unearths a history hidden beneath swamps and sand for years.

Want to learn more about the state of Florida? Sure, you know it's home to Disney World, but what else do you really know about the Sunshine State? From the strange to the scary, there's so much to learn about Florida that even natives of the state don't know. In this trivia book, you'll learn more about Florida's history, pop culture, folklore, sports, and so much more! In The Great Book of Florida, you'll discover the answers to the following questions: How did Florida get its name? Which former U.S. president helped the country gain control of Florida? Which city in Florida was the only city in America to be founded by a woman? How did spring break get started? What famous pirates buried treasure on and off the coast of Florida? How did Walt Disney keep his plans to build Disney World a secret? Which of the Disney World attractions is said to be haunted? What lighthouse is thought to be one of America's most haunted? And so much more! This book is packed with trivia facts about Florida. Some of the facts are entertaining, some of them will be tragic, and some of them may even scare you a little, but all of them will be interesting! This book is full of everything you've ever wondered about Florida and then some. Whether you're just learning about Florida or you already think you know everything there is to know about the state, you're bound to learn something new in each chapter. Your friends will be amazed at your knowledge during your next trivia night. You'll even impress your history teacher! So, what are you waiting for? Get started to learn all there is to know about Florida!

We never know what will happen next in Florida. We know only that, any minute now, something will. Every few months, Dave Barry gets a call from some media person wanting to know, "What the hell is wrong with Florida?" Somehow, the state has acquired an image as a subtropical festival of stupid, and as a loyal Floridian, Dave begs to differ. Sure, there was the 2000 election. And people seem to take their pants off for no good reason. And it has flying insects the size of LeBron James. But it is a great state, and Dave is going to tell you why. Join him as he celebrates Florida from Key West at the bottom to whatever it is that's at the top, from the Sunshine State's earliest history to the fun-fair of weirdness that it is today.

Presents information and facts about Florida, including famous people, places, and events associated with the state.

The Florida Keys have witnessed all kinds of historical events, from the dramatic and the outrageous to the tragic and the comic. In the nineteenth century, uncompromising individuals fought duels and plotted political upsets. During the Civil War, a company of "Key West Avengers" escaped their Union-occupied city to join the Confederacy by sailing through the Bahamas. In the early twentieth century, black Bahamians founded a town of their own, while railway engineers went up against the U.S. Navy in a bid to complete the Overseas Railroad. When Prohibition came to the Keys, one defiant woman established a rum running empire that dominated South Florida. Join Laura Albritton and Jerry Wilkinson as they delve into tales of treasure hunters, developers, exotic dancers, determined preservationists and more from the colorful history of the Florida Keys.

Describes the remarkable and challenging efforts of ambitious entrepreneur Henry Flagler to construct a railway that would connect Key West to the mainland, following the design and engineering of the project, the thousands of workers who brought Flagler's vision to life, and the 1935 hurricane that destroyed the railway. Reprint. 75,000 first printing.

Christopher Knowlton, author of Cattle Kingdom and former Fortune writer, takes an in-depth look at the spectacular Florida land boom of the 1920s and shows how it led directly to the Great Depression. The 1920s in Florida was a time of incredible excess, immense wealth, and precipitous collapse. The decade there produced the largest human migration in American history, far exceeding the settlement of the West, as millions flocked to the grand hotels and the new cities that rose rapidly from the teeming wetlands. The boom spawned a new subdivision civilization—and the most egregious large-scale assault on the environment in the name of “progress.” Nowhere was the glitz and froth of the Roaring Twenties more excessive than in Florida. Here was Vegas before there was a Vegas: gambling was condoned and so was drinking, since prohibition was not enforced. Tycoons, crooks, and celebrities arrived en masse to promote or exploit this new and dazzling American frontier in the sunshine. Yet, the import and deep impact of these historical events have never been explored thoroughly until now. In Bubble in the Sun Christopher Knowlton examines the grand artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Miami Beach, and other storied sites, as well as the darker side of the frenzy. For while giant fortunes were being made and lost and the nightlife raged more raucously than anywhere else, the pure beauty of the Everglades suffered wanton ruination and the workers, mostly black, who built and maintained the boom, endured grievous abuses. Knowlton breathes dynamic life into the forces that made and wrecked Florida during the decade: the real estate moguls Carl Fisher, George Merrick, and Addison Mizner, and the once-in-a-century hurricane whose aftermath triggered the stock market crash. This essential account is a revelatory—and riveting—history of an era that still affects our country today.