Florida Books

I bought every biking book to do with Florida's paved trails and this one is the pot of Gold. 5 STARS! A+++

This book has very detailed descriptions and good maps of Florida's paved bike trails. It's great for anyone who is looking for places to ride, whether you're trying to stay away from traffic or planning a trip.

Thanks to this book we had a vacation of a lifetime. The author's knowledge of bike routes is unsurpassed. He took us to the Everglades where we counted 137 aligators as we rode by them. Also, he knew all the great parts of the bike lane from Key Largo to Key West. We traveled on all of them using his recommendations. When we got to the end of the good parts we did a reversal and it was just as enjoyable. His information was 100% accurate.

I only went on 2 paths described in this book. Both descriptions were adequate, interesting, with historical background,and the trail maps were nice and clear. The West Orange Bike trail has a beautiful nature preserve going to Lake Apopka accessible by foot from the trail, which surprisingly was not mentioned. Also, there was no map of Florida to show where the different trails were.

This was very easy to read and navigate. BUT, it didn't have every shell I found in it. Good information though!

I purchased this book to use with our homeschool materials with my 5 year olds. We were amazed at how many unique shells we could identify from our casual collections on the beach---and how many we let slip away because we didn't know what they were! My children now love going to the beach to collect and then consulting the guide afterwards.

The guide has many clear photos along with other identifying information to help you correctly identify the type of shell you have. Well written, illustrated and photographed.

I highly recommend this book for anyone with small children or has found themselves picking up shells on the beach!

Each page features specie detail, 3 or 4 high quality photographs with scale/size information, and a fun "Did You Know?" section covering specific shells. I had to smile when I read that area regarding Augers on page 24 where the "auger's summer mating swarms" is compared with "the style portrayed by Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity...".
This guide uses the same format as the thicker and more expansive 2007 work (by the same authors) "Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber". In fact, I would say about 95% of the content comes from that volume directly, so I recommend paying a little extra to get that excellent guide which covers most anything you see at a Florida beach (unless you are specifically and only interested in Florida shells).

Florida's Seashells was an excellent purchase as the book was quite informative and easy to use as a reference
guide. I was also pleased to see what great condition the book was in, as have all my other purchases with
amazon.com. This was my first trip to Florida and of course North Captiva, Pine Island, and Sanibel Islands had
to be visited. The authors did a nice job in organizing the information.

See New Yorker - Nov. 21, 198

It is a shame this book is out of print, as it is undoubtedly one of the best short story collections of the 1990s. Chiarella has a grasp of the human condition as acute as that of Lorrie Moore's, and he has a way of writing frankly and openly in a manner that pays homage to the late Raymond Carver. "Foley's Luck" is a collection of poignant stories that follows the main character, "Foley," through life, love, loss, and everything in between. Chiarella manages to pack an incredible punch into each one of these stories (a couple of which originally appeared in "The New Yorker"), and you will most likely find yourself finishing the book in one or two sittings. Chiarella's writing flows beautifully and this book deserves to be put back into print.

A fantastic collection of comtemporary short shorties. Chiarella is definately one of America's future literary stars. Foley's Luck is a fantastic read, I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I did!

There's a thread of Raymond Carver running through these stories. Especially "Foley as Crabman." It'd be interesting to see the author's original vision for the collection, but the book is a worthy read despite the edited structure.

Amazing photos...shows what the Miami/Coconut Grove area really looked like...this book is used by the Barnacle as part of their tour of Monroe's home.

Arva Moore Parks, the distinguished American that she is, simply does it again! For her fans or those that have never read her work, neither will be disappointed and both will definitely find it formidable!

I'm seeing here people offering this book for sale for $66. Folks, if you're having a hard time finding this book, there's a chance that you can still get a copy directly from THE BARNACLE HISTORIC STATE PARK, located in Coconut Grove, Florida. If you're not familiar with it, that's the site of Ralph Munroe's house. Just do a google search for the park and I'm sure their number will come up. Believe me, there were a few cases of the book there at one point. I know, I used to work there. If they're currently out of stock, I'm very sure they'll help you find a way to get one.

The book itself is a wonderful revision of the original Forgotten Frontier. The book is now landscape, as opposed to the original's portrait format. This means the photographs aren't cropped as before. You'll find great photographs of South Florida before the railroad came through around 1896. I believe Ralph generally stopped taking photographs around this time. He loved the natural beauty of South Florida.

If you ever go by the park, admission is only $1.00. They're usually open Fridays through Mondays, from 9am until 4pm. Cheers!

For those who love Miami and love history, this is an amazing collection of photographs of an unspoiled, undeveloped wilderness. Photographer Ralph Middleton Munroe captures Miami of more than a century ago--frontier living at its most authentic. Historian Arva Parks tells the story of the pioneers as they tamed nature to build their lives. This visually stunning book offers a remarkable step into the past.

01.08.06

after reading frances johnson, i wanted to eat a pomegranate. without regret. stains. just like the words that stacey levine keeps writing. words that i cannot forget, that stain my mind. like the seedy fruit i most desire. cannot get enough.

while i read frances johnson, the music of dcfc, the Plans cd, kept playing in my head. two good brain candies, melt into one.
i'm on a diet and it really sucks. think i'll read a book...

Now this book has gotten a lot of hype. Stacey Levine has gotten a lot of hype. Clear Cut Press makes very nice books. Frances Johnson is a very well made book. It fits in your pocket and takes serious abuse.

However, Frances Johnson is a pretty quick read. The language and figures of speech didn't make me think too much, since most of it was pretty obvious. Levine does create an otherwordly atmosphere in the first two-three pages, and on page 10 you're sure she's got you sucked into a vacant pot-boiler. The pacing is masterful. Frances Johnson is a fun read, but the hype led me to believe that it was a masterpiece.

It's not. Just a great read, but not demanding, like Beckett, Kafka and Duras (to respond to another reviewer).

I'd highly recommend this book, however. It should appeal to a wide range of readers.

Thank you,

Frank Sauce

Frances Johnson is a deeply funny, haunting book that obsessed me during the weeks I read it. Stacey Levine's prose is simple, but it leads you in directions you never expect. Like her first novel, Dra__, Frances Johnson seems in a submerged way to be about sexuality, and also identity, individuality, stuntedness, the endless circularity of human feelings. Levine sets her story in a drab landscape and renders it in prose that is often laugh-out-loud funny. Echoes of Kafka's bleak yet empathetic vision are frequent, as are moments of Jane Bowles and possibly Carson McCullers.

Levine sets her novel in Munson, a fictional Florida town where conformity is a mania-the only mania. There is virtually no other energy on hand. So while Frances lives in semi-contented mutual lassitude with boyfriend Ray, she is repeatedly urged by other characters to find someone better, specifically the almost camp figure of Mark Carol, a Hollywood-style doctor bachelor who arrives in town just in time for the biggest event of the year - the town dance. Even Ray urges Frances toward Mark Carol: "Frances ... everyone in town wants you to begin your life in earnest; we both know it's true!"

Levine keeps asking, in the book, `Where will Frances Johnson end up?' We watch Frances crash around in darkness, fall asleep, run from one person to another for advice - do anything but move purposefully forward. Will she sense her real desires, and will she be able to do anything about them? That's the question the book daringly poses - after all, it's a question that confronts all of us - while the story seems to putt around in weird, obscured landscapes getting basically nowhere. I admire the way Levine writes about something real and articulable without articulating it - instead, her narrative emulates the groping that is really done to reach it. Brilliant.

As with Dra__, Levine's vision in this novel gestures toward a larger condition. The conformity that spreads throughout the story like a smothering blanket is emblematic of the torpor of current American culture. To me, this is the most brilliant aspect of a book full of unusual and witty surprises. Like a dream that never ends, the novel continually returns to the image of Frances on her bicycle, peering through fog, trying to reach someone who will provide some clarity. Often, Frances is trying to get to Nancy, an older woman whose conversations with Frances sound like therapy sessions. Nancy's attention enthralls Frances; she wishes at one point she could never leave the older woman's presence. But at another point Nancy makes it clear she has needs of her own, and it rattles the perfection of their relationship. Throughout the novel, the simple act of being with another human is rife with trouble - far from an unfamiliar theme, but rendered by Levine with highly original strokes.

Frances Johnson is stuck: in a passionless relationship with her longtime suitor, Ray; in the small town, Munson, where residents eat hard crackers for every meal; at the edges of her own self which Frances, at age 38, characterizes as neither woman nor girl. Most of all, Frances Johnson is stuck beneath the oppressive infantalizing of a blaring mother who criticizes Frances' wardrobe and relationships with equal verve. This is a simultaneously poignant, hilarious and heart-wrenching tale of individuation with all the sparse, existential humor of Beckett, the off-beat metaphorical imagery of Kafka, and the poetic, textured syntax of Duras. Once again, Stacey Levine shines as one of contemporary fiction's most gifted voices.

The Gin Girl is the finest example of true writing ability in a new author that has come down the pike of late! The plot is gripping, the tension constant, and the answer to the mystery is always hiding just out of reach. How this author could have accomplished all of this and......what?..not one word of profanity in the whole book?!? No kidding! What a gifted author!!

Myself and my reading buddies are still awaiting the sequel, Ms. Jordan, you CANNOT leave us hanging any longer, PLEASE! We want to know the "rest" of the story!

"Progress was like a pistol. One good shot and it could obliterate the past."

With lines like this, River Jordan not only expresses wisdom through her characters, she sets up motifs and layers to her story. Last year, I had the pleasure of discovering "The Messenger of Magnolia Street"--a masterpiece of theme, mood, and character. With the memories of that novel still fresh, I picked up "The Gin Girl" in hopes of revisiting River Jordan's wonderful prose.

The story starts off slowly, building atmosphere and emotion. But I disagree with the Booklist reviewer who implied that the entire plot moves slowly--no, once the mysteries begin to unfold, the story picks up pace and races through the last fifty pages. Mary Contrary has returned to her hometown after the untimely murder of her good friend. She finds herself dealing with memories of her parents' rough relationship and her own childhood struggles. Now, through events surrounding her friend's death, she must bridge the past and the present to uncover the truth.

The characters are wonderfully quirky and vivid. The narrative is rich and evocative of the Floridian island and backwaters it depicts. River is a good enough author to leave us filling in some of the blanks for ourselves; and although I would've liked to see a bit more resolution on one or two items, I got the feeling a sequel would be fitting for the ongoing story of Mary Contrary.

With hints of Rick Bragg and James Lee Burke, River Jordan takes Southern elements and makes them all her own. She is an author to discover and continue enjoying.

Having spent the better part of a year near the top of my "must read" stack, I finally got around to reading The Gin Girl and, I must say, I'm mightily impressed. Mary is so well-carved and believable--in fact, she is very much like someone I know in grit, self-sufficiency and street wisdom. I say that to iterate how real River has drawn the character. I love the turn at the end, but it leaves me wanting more story. The craft is, in my humble opinion, impeccable. River Jordan writes with great discipline and her well-placed humor is a nod to her well-honed senses. Well, done. I anxiously await the opportunity to read The Messenger of Magnolia Street: A Novel.

Years after the deaths of her father and best friend, Mary returns from self-imposed exile to the swampy island of her childhood in search of answers, but too broken by painful memories and guilt to even know the questions. River Jordan has craftily weaved a collection of quirky islanders, drifters, and has-beens into Mary's world, forming the wildest support group known to man. From Edna, the one-armed giant ex-con, to Esther, the blind, all-seeing snake milker, they are loyally by her side as she survives racist cops, hurricane winds, dead bodies to bury, burn, and dig up, stolen police files, dirty G-men, even a marriage proposal. As she searches for the truth and the dull, alcoholic haze lifts, the warped humanity of her group of friends helps heal her heart (as well as her snakebite).

Ms. Jordan's vivid descriptions and clever, witty dialogue have created a thoroughly enjoyable intriguing read that will keep you up through the night, laughing and crying with Mary. It's a unique original--nothing out there like it!

Brian Fagan first published this book in 1987 and an undated version was published in 2004. You want the updated version as it summarizes new developments and changes in thought in an introductory chapter.

What has not changed is the eternal dispute about when man first arrived in the New World. The conservatives, among whom one could probably include Fagan, say less that 15,000 years ago. The dissenters say 20,000 to 50,000 years ago. In a book for the general reader Fagan undertakes a careful summary of the evidence. He looks at the spread of Homo sapiens from their place of origin in Africa to the rest of the world. He examines the archaelogical evidence for man in Siberia -- the jumping off place for the New World -- and in Beringia, the now vanished land that linked Siberia and Alaska during the last Ice Age. He evaluates migration scenarios for paleo-Indians from Beringia south to the Americas and the archaelogical evidence from a multitude of ancient sites. Along the way, he illustrates the relevance of things such shovel-shaped incisors and linguistic theories. A thoroughly fascinating presentation!

The author has no ideological axe to grind but the weight of the evidence he presents supports the conservative view of a Paleo-Indian arrival in the New World about 15,000 years ago and a rapid dispersal reaching as far south as Chile by 13,000 years ago. But the evidence is thin and dissenters will find theories more to their liking also evaluated by the author. My opinion hardly matters, but I stand among the conservatives, However, I have a nagging doubt. How did those people get to Chile so fast? Is the famous Monte Verde site there mis-dated? Does hope still exist for for those who believe paleo-Indians arrived in the Americas 20,000 years ago?

Unlike many archaeologists, the author doesn't get lost in fascination with pottery shards or chopper blades, but keeps his eye on the goal of presenting a comprehensible, reasonable, scientific, and interesting tale of how the Americas may have become populated.

Smallchief

I enjoyed this very readable book. I first read it in 1988 and after doing so, actually went out and bought the thing. The author has some very nice theories as to the peopling of North America and is quite well able to back them up. The book is easy reading and logical. While not all may agree with the author's explanations, they do give food for thought. Recommend you add this one to your collection.

I first came across this book in 1990. I have read this book 4 times since then. The book is very easy to read and comprehend.

The saga of how Asians came across the land bridge following the mega fauna is very interesting. Based on speech and dental patterns, the history of at least two waves of people moving into North America and southward is unfolded.

Fagan explains how the evidence of the nomadic cultures was discovered and how this evidence shows how these people survived. From this discovery of Clovis points to group kills of now extinct species, Fagan tells a fasinating story of how the native Americans arrived here.

The extinction of the mega fauna, the land bridge, and ice age's impact on the peopling of North America are interwined into a good reading book.

I wish all anthropolgy books could read so smoothly!

Updating an older book on a broad and varied topic is a risky enterprise. If much work has been done in the ensuing years, a complete rewrite is usually in order. Too few results can fail to justify the reprise. Fagan's original effort on the peopling of the Western Hemisphere was an excellent survey. This edition is essentially that first account, with an explanatory chapter inserted at the beginning of the book. That technique has the advantage of warning the reader what to look for while going through the text. And while much new information has come into view, Fagan reminds us that the underlying questions about where "Native Americans" originated, and when, remain unanswered.

The human diaspora begins in Africa, some five million years ago according to Fagan - [recent finds emerged too late to appear here]. Unique among migratory species, Homo sapiens sapiens moved in but one direction. From our origins on the savannah, the author traces our path into north-eastern Asia. When conditions permitted, glacial ice having trapped enough water to reduce sea levels some 300 metres, these ancient Asians moved onto a lost continent now named "Berengia". This link between Asia and North America must retain evidence of human occupation, but retrieval from the sea bottom is difficult. Fagan describes the intense research into climatology, palynology and other fields to explain how the data has been accumulated over many years.

Hidden evidence provides opportunities for speculation and controversy and the studies of ancient Americans is rife with both. Fagan describes what research has revealed and reviews the suppositions drawn from the scattered and inconclusive evidence. Fagan examines the various theories of when humans entered the Americas and what dispersal paths they followed. He lists the dig sites with the opinions derived from the evidence, weighing the contending arguments with care and a considered detachment. Where dating is flawed or suspect, he resists ill-considered judgment, calling for further investigation. A few anomalous sites, such as Monte Verde in Chile and Meadowcroft in Pennsylvania receive extra attention. He's quick to praise diligent methods while readily disparaging hasty proclamations. The Pedra Furada site in Brazil, once extolled as "challenging ideas on the First Americas", is given a lengthy description, but is dismissed as poorly investigated and reported. As Fagan notes, tracing the movements of humanity in ancient times is a detective's work, with clues assessed only with extreme care.

Some points of contention the author passes over with summary evaluation. After his presentation of Paul Martin's thesis that the disappearance of large mammals was due to human predation, Fagan dismisses it. Climate shift, he states, changed the nature of plant life leaving these prey species bereft of fodder. Yet Tim Flannery, in two books published since the original edition of Great Journey, demonstrates that browsing and grazing species would have adapted to climate change. The timing of human occupation and megafauna extinction is too proximate to be ignored. The prime example of Maori hunting of moa species in New Zealand is symptomatic and well documented. Martin may have been wrong in details, but his basic thesis has withstood criticism.

These flaws don't negate the exceptional worth of Fagan's achievement in this study. It's a powerful and informative narrative of Western Hemispheric archaeology, its practitioners and their results. Starting with early views of the first European invaders, he explains how improved scholarship, better technology and disciplined approaches have clarified the picture of Native American life. Fagan provides photographs and maps for additional support of the text. This remains a valuable book, easily read and understood. It has not been replaced and will keep its well-earned reputation. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Great book! Such talent needs to be recognized and applauded.

An all-inclusive journey through the lives and souls of African American painters from days gone by. These creative souls painted breathtaking beach landscapes... Many of their works still survive today, and sell for [a small fortune]. (I know, I have one in my living room.) A great buy! Just be warned; one look through it's pages will draw you toward Florida's shores lke a child to the smell of cotton candy!

In 1994, art aficionado Jim Fitch assigned the name "Highwaymen" to a loose association of young, mostly untrained black artists (including one woman) from the Fort Pierce area who created thousands of Florida landscapes and marketed them from the backs of their cars for about $25 in the 1960's and `70's. Theirs was an unabashedly commercial venture, and the artists collaborated to create and sell works as quickly and cheaply as possible. Dismissed as "motel art" at the time, these intense, lush and at times otherworldly depictions of an idealized Florida have become a subject of renewed interest and critical attention in recent years. Consequently, many myths and vague tales have grown up around the group.

As part of his research, author Gary Monroe interviewed many of the remaining artists to bring the story to life, presented here in a 26-page annotated essay. In analyzing the art, he insists that the speed with which they worked was far from a detriment: "By unintentionally bastardizing the canonical pictorial strategies...they created a new form of fantasy landscape painting." The artists found their strength as colorists, and the emotional hues capture the essence of Florida (or at least, as we imagine it.)

As a northerner who visited Florida twice as a child in the pre-Disney days, I must confess that the 63 glorious full-color reproductions here gave me goose bumps of fond memory, real or imagined.

A followup: This book launched an explosion of interest in The Highwaymen. Surviving members no longer need hawk their wares, since collectors now come to them and new works sell for as much as $18,000. The were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004.

This book highlites a special group of amateur black artists who lived in Florida in the 1950's. The story is well presented with wonderful details that make their artistic journey come alive. The paintings are wonderful. The only drawback to this book, as I see it, is that the vivid hues of the paintings did not come through in this book. I happened to read a magazine article, full of rich colorful pictures of some of the paintings, which sparked my interest, and led to my purchasing this book. Unfortunately, it seems that this printing process could not represent the original brilliance of the paintings. This is a fascinating peek at a little know bit of Florida art history.

Betsy Bishop Thomas brings to life the raw, hardscrabble frontier of pineywoods West Florida in her revealing novel, Homestead, published by Father & Son Publishing, Inc., Tallahassee. And her subtitle tells it all: An Epic Rich With Emotion In the Post Civil War South.
Rather than merely imaginative writing, Thomas craftily turns her own family ancestry-dating from her grandfather's homesteading in the Florida Panhandle in the 1800s-into the real hard but rewarding life in the region centering on Santa Rosa County. Here characters are delicately sculpted from the realities of the time when pioneers drew their sustenance from the precious closeness of the land, and its many laborious hardships tested in their beliefs and faith in God and the Hereafter.
More, she's crafted a touching love story and the evolution of a family, tracing the lives of Nate and Melissa York from their quick courtship, marriage, death of a their first child, and building a home that serves as a haven for other youngsters once dogged by mistreatment by others. There are many layers on trouble and conflict involving other interesting characters flooding their wilderness lives. And in their travail-including building a homestead and a church, an illicit affair, revenge, murder on the Yellow River, a fire that nearly claims their lives-they grow toward as shared common religious faith that is the central theme of their human values.
Yet the real value of Thomas' epic comes from the detailed hardships of their struggle and the speech patterns and wilderness culture-word pictures capturing the old lost times the westernmost corner of the Florida Panhandle, also illustrated a profusion of telling sketches by artist Georgia Williams.
Peggy May of the Northwest Florida Daily News says of Homestead: "Overall, an interesting read, with the author peeling back many layers of various characters' heroics, as well as their shortcomings and perversities, demonstrating, sometimes graphically, that the 'good old days' were sometimes far from good."
The author captures the essence of her revealing, trouble-laden story in the concluding lines: "The house was safe, too, and when Nate thought about it a little more on the way to the house, he knew he couldn't leave. After all, they were keepers of the land. They were strong, hearty stock who had their God to see them through, They were homesteaders, and they would never leave!"
A Florida State University graduate and retired Florida social worker residing in the Fort Walton Beach area, Betsy Thomas casts in fictional structure many of the experiences of her ancestors, yet she's quick to point out most elements of the story are entirely imaginary. Besides an FSU journalism degree, Thomas earned a Master's in Public Administration at the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

With her gifted pen, Betsy Thomas takes us back to the time of homesteading in the Florida Panhandle. We live with Hank and Melissa in their little cabin, sharing their toil and pleasures in the everyday style of the era. We have no nextdoor neighbors, but family can be summoned by bell, or gunshot, in time of need. All the characters have individual personalities marked with virtues and weaknesses that make them real. The story line moves forward building interest page by page.
Thus, with a setting carefully researched; characters that are true to life; and a story to tell, we have a book to enjoy from beginning to end.

I started this book with the idea that it was a book about the past that would simply serve as a History lesson. WOW was I wrong. What a History lesson I got!!! The author got inside of my head and planted visions of the characters and their surroundings. For three days (thats all it took me to read it because I couldn't put it down) I lived with the characters.I began to think of them as real people and became enthrawled by their lives and the drama surrounding them. I began to look at my everyday life in a whole new way. Great read!!! Recommended!

From the first page, this book takes the reader to another place and time. The characters are described and developed so well that they become real and the reader becomes emotionally attached and unable to put the book down. I found myself late for apointments, and buring dinner because I was so wrapped up in what was happening to Nate, Melissa, their friends and families. Just when I thought I knew what was about to happen, the author would throw a curve. Homestead gives the reader insight into Southern life in the mid 1800's in a most unique and intertaining way. This book has it all and is perfect for summer reading or a special gift. My new favorite!

I liked the book a lot, but some things never left my mind. Every time guises and clamps came up, I couldn't stop thinking about how a dinosaur could slip into a human suit without having humongous bulges in the head and tail regions. I know a suspension of disbelief is necessary, but I couldn't always get there. I think for me it would have taken more humor. There was such a gritty edge to the book, it made it tougher for me to picture the characters as dinos in disguise. Still, the story line was good and kept you trying to figure out what was coming next.

This book picks up where "Casual Rex" and "Anonymous Rex" left off; Vincent Rubio - the dinosaur detective - is now off the herbs and looking for action. He does NOT expect to end up working for the enemy . . .

Fans of Eric Garcia and the Dinosaur Mafia already know what to expect. Those who don't - in this world, dinosaurs are NOT extinct, but have adapted to live among us - unseen due to the use of disguises, girdles and lots of glue. What is amazing is that while you are reading the book, you just go with it because Garcia has created this world SO convincingly. Not to be missed by anyone who enjoys darkly funny noir.

Dark and mystery, twisted and humor. A velociraptor PI who winded up working for a family for Raptor mafia whose HQ in LA. And got dragged along with the mafia's head leader plot against another family of Hadrosaur. Twists in the plot, back-stabbing, betrayal, torture, and bloods. But it is still a good book, for humans or dinos in disguised ;)

This was the grittiest of the three "Rex" books and just as enjoyable as the previous two. Possibly moreso as the humor seemed less forced at times. This was a hard-edged story laced with humor, whereas the first two books (especially "Casual Rex") seemed the other way around.

A great series - can't wait for the next installment!