Florida Books

I hope that Larry Shriner publishes more! His book grabbed my attention on the first page and I couldn't stop turning the pages! I love his work.

This book should receive a lot of attention. Shriner has done his homework. It is refreshing to read a novel that does not fill space with four-letter words and sex. I hope to read more of his novels.

Edwards does a magnificient job in taking one from Wittgenstein's early work in the Tractatus through his later work in the Philosophical Investigations and On Certainty. It is the clearest and most accesible book to those who want to understand Wittgenstein. The book, while accessible to all, would probably be difficult for someone who has had no exposure to his writings. I recommend it as a must read to truly grasp his philosophy and to understand other philosophers as well, i.e., Derrida, Heidegger, et. al.

I've read several dozen books about Wittgenstein's views, and although each has something useful or incisive to say, only Edwards' book hits the nail on the head. Finally, someone gets Wittgenstein right. I would recomend A.C. Grayling's book as an introduction, then Edward's book, and Genova's "Ways of Seeing" and then maybe books on Zen Buddhism and Native American/pre-agricultural beliefs to fill out variations on Wittgensteinian themes.

Trish Marx takes us on an exciting trip through the Everglades, where we learn painlessly about an area unique in the world, a eco-system that is really "a wide, slow-moving river," filled with plants and animal life found nowhere else on Earth! Our fellow travellers are students from a school perched on the eastern edge of this environment. As fifth-graders Robert, Tiler, Vedantee and Conrado begin to appreciate the significance of their neighborhood and want to participate in preserving it, so do we.

Marx has done a first-rate job of involving young readers in the
preservation and restoration of the Everglades. This award-winning book should have a place in the ecology section of every library. Photographer Karp's images enhance and complement the the text.

Everglades Forever: Restoring America's Great Wetland by Trish Marx is impressively presented for young readers augmented by photojournalist Cindy Karp's vivid photography. In Everglades Forever, children will learn of a class study by the students of an elementary school class on the majestic wetlands in Homestead, Florida. They will learn of the negative effects of pollution and disrupted water flow, and how people, environmental agencies, and governments seek to control such damage. And they will learn of the Everglades Restoration Plan, an ecological intervention designed to restore and preserve the natural water flow, plants, and animals of the Everglades. A highly edcuational and conscientious-minded introduction to one of Earth's environmental wonders, is especially recommended for school and community library Environmental Studies collections for children.

First a brief introduction: From 1986 - 1992 I was employed as an investigator at the Office of Capital Collateral Representative (CCR) in Tallahassee, Florida, where Scharlette Holdman worked as the supervisor of the investigators from October 1985 - March 1988.

I have known Scharlette since the mid-1970s. Her office, the Clearinghouse on Criminal Justice, was in the same wing of the Petroleum Building as my office at Common Cause in Florida, where I volunteered.

The Petroleum Building was next to the State Capital, the Florida Supreme Court and the State Archives and Library. When it was torn down, the Petroleum Building space and the space for the first CCR office became the Mary Brogan Art and Science Museum and a condominium. The Petroleum Building was called by those of us who worked or volunteered there the "Forces of Good" (FOG) Building -- as opposed to FOE -- Forces of Evil, such as Associated Industries, the Chamber and other big business interests in Florida. The FOG building also included (not an exhaustive list) the Clean Water Action Project, the ACLU, NOW, Florida Legal Services, Migrant Farmworker's Organization (directed by Cliff Thaell, who has more recently been a Leon County Commissioner for over ten years), Mike Vasilinda's television news service.

David von Drehle's excellent book "Among the Lowest of the Dead" provides the best history and analysis of the Florida death penalty, with Michael Mello's books a close second. Part of each of these books is about Scharlette Holdman. A bit of the negative aspects:

When Scharlette had essentially declared war upon CCR in 1987 and thereafter, some of us decided to investigate her background given some things that we had heard. Low and behold, Scharlette's claim of a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Hawaii and a Master's Degree from Memphis State (now University of Memphis) don't exist. A claimed undergraduate degree from Memphis State: I no longer recall if this was confirmed by the university.

We used Scharlette's Social Security number, her maiden name and her married name -- with all this information, both universities had no record of Scharlette having received any degrees from these institutions.

As I understand Scharlette, she needed the "degrees" to confer upon her "credentials" that she really never needed as she is indeed then and now a national expert on capital mitigation, litigation, etc. However Scharlette can be deceptive, as her lack of a PhD and Masters so demonstrates. Even today she claims to have the degrees as when she gives presentations regarding capital cases, she is identified as "Dr." A key word search of her name will bring up some of the presentations that she has made in the past several years with the title "Dr." preceding her name.

If she has received any honorary or other degrees since 1990, that would be new information for me. If so, please let me know: P.O. Box 38458, Tallahassee, FL 32315-8458.

This book is very informative and provides the reader with amazing detail of how the justice system works.

Although this book really wasn't designed as a field guide (i.e. field use), its functional role in reptile and amphibian literature pertaining to the exotics of Florida is just that. In other words, it beats everything else currently out there on the subject and should be carried in the field. The pictures are decent (though not great) and there are very helpful county maps for each species, along with species descriptions, similar species comparisons, histories of introductions, habitat and habits details (very useful), diet information, known predators, and reproduction data, if available. I would have been completely lost on a recent herping trip to Florida if I didn't have this book with me to identify the non-natives I encountered. Although other Florida exotic publications exist, this one is the most current and I'd say the best. Beware that most field guides include only a small portion of the species this book encompasses. This is a must-have for anyone herping in Florida.

Meshaka, Butterfield, and Hauge accurately and comprehensively described the many species of introduced herpetofauna that have found there way into the Florida ecosystem. A great supplement to any field guide, this book answers many of those "Why isn't this thing in Petersons?" questions that have plagued many a herper traveling through Florida. Complete with maps outlining known localities of specific species, some fine photography, as well as historical perspectives on these introduced species, this book has not only found its way into the field with me, but has also made its way to my coffee table. I hope this spark causes a wildfire of descriptive field guides which begin to accurately identify and bring attention to the growing concern of introduced species throughout the United States.

For a busy work-at-home writer, wife and mom of three like me, Family Fun in Florida makes the perfect travel companion. When our family heads to Florida we can save precious time pre-planning our trip based on the interesting, educational and fun locations mapped out for us in this book that is a must-have for the Florida-bound. It was exciting reading the wonderfully rich details about the diverse locations that are featured. And I am very glad to learn, via one of the many informative side-bars inserted throughout the text, that shark bites aren't as common in real life as they are in the movies. Also, knowing that Jan Godown's 9 year-old daughter helped research the book gives me confidence that many of the locations are definitely packed with kid-appeal.

M. LaVora Perry, author of Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart

Are you a family living in Florida? Do you plan on visiting Florida? Get this book! Grandparents, get this book! Do you get lots of out-of-town/state visitors? Get this book!

Jan Godown found every fun place in the state of Florida for this book. She describes the sites, gives directions, contact information, and lots of other great info for you and your family. She even lets you know when is a good time to visit and how to avoid the crowds.

Best of all, she didn't just lock herself away in a room to write this book, she used her family as the test subjects. Her nine year old daughter as well as a page full of helpers gave her insights into what worked and didn't work for kids.

Did I mention that you should get this book?

This book presents a fascinating study of the contrasts between how the natives and European settlers perceived the trail in colonial America. The same objective phenomena are viewed differently, with often surprising consequenses.

Levy is brilliant. His analysis, while thoughtful and insightful, is also provocative and engaging. Especially enjoyed the chapter on Rattlesnakes.

I have always been interested in the history of South Florida and the Treasure Coast area in Florida.

I had an opportunity to look upon this book that was also signed by the author James (Jim) Snyder.

I know that I will be going out to buy this book not only for myself, but for friends and family that also live in this area.

There was so much information including pictures of the past that impacts today South Florida.

Having lived in this area since I was 10 (20 years), I see the change of this area in that amount of time.

This book is priceless.

My husband and I both truly enjoyed reading of the history of the area and seeing the many beautiful photographs. This is an excellent book and extremely well done in quality of content and presentation. It far exceeded our expectations! We have lived in Jupiter for many years, but do not know the author personally.

The book Flashbacks Story of Central Florida's Past was perfect
in condition. I am greatlly pleased. I ordered it for a gift and it is great. It arrived quicker than I expected and I thank the seller.

"Flashbacks: The Story of Central Florida's Past," by Jim Robison and Mark Andrews is a wonderful look at Central Florida's rich historical past. This book was made possible by a grant to the Orange County Historical Society from Walt Disney World and is co-published by the Orlando Sentinel. It was a wise investment...Central Florida's history is truly amazing.

I took interest in the subject because I visit Central Florida frequently and wanted to check out its history. To this end, this book is good, easy and fun reading and a great place to start if you want a comprehensive historical understanding of Central Florida. The authors explain that the remants of the "true" natives (not killed by Europeans) were absorbed into offshoots of the Creek and Cherokee tribes who assumed the name "Seminoles." They also report that Oceola County is named for a legandary Seminole warrior and that Orlando is likely named after a soldier killed by Indians near Lake Eola in 1835.

Robison and Andrews also inform us that Kissimmee's boom-town pioneer days were personified by swamp-empire builder Hamilton Disston whose land deal not only saved the State of Florida bankruptcy but turned a cow camp and trading post settlement into a steamboat and railroad hub of the 1880's. Kissimmee was officially born on Election Day 1883 and it quickly earned a reputation as a town of saloons for ranchers and cowboys. It also boasted the nation's first ride-up-saloon.

However, the story of Central Florida cannot be told without including entertainment magnate Walt Disney. Within five years after the 1955 opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California executives began to think seriously about expanding East. The story goes..."Disney and several of his top executives were flying in the corporate jet over Central Florida, scouting out potential locations when they located a vast stretch of virgin land near the junction of Interstate 4 and the Florida Turnpike...this is it!" they shouted.

Disney wanted to stay away from the beaches where there would be too much competition for tourists' time and money. He also wanted to avoid the mistake he had made at Disneyland: failing to control the land just outside the park's gates where garish development pushed right up to the property line and others made millions running hotels, restaurants and other tourist-related businesses.

This book is an excellent source of information about the growth of Central Florida's citrus and cattle industry. It also provides an outstanding historical accounting about the growth of Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, Apopka, Maitland, Eatonville, Goldenrod, Pine Castle, Edgewood, Belle Isle, Windermere and many other Central Florida communities. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

I pick up the book not to buy it, after reading alittle of it and seeing the photo's; I knew it was not leaving my hands. The recipes are easy and they are simple to follow. I have seen these tropicals fruits and vegetables in my supermarket, now I know what what there used for. The result and comments from my family and friends were "how did you do that". We need more of Chef Tony Merola cooking.

I prepared this recipe for a group of executives from a major restaurant chain in Chicago, Ill. They wanted this Salsa on their menus as soon as possible. I had to tell them the truth, that I copied the recipe from Tony Merola's "Floribean Flavors". Recently I had the good fortune of meeting Chef Tony at one of his seminars, in Edison, New Jersey. What a treat!! and I asked Chef Tony for permission to use his recipe for this restaurant group. What a cool guy, He said yes!!! Everyone is satisfied, A special thanks to Chef Tony. In addition, the cookbook excedes your expectations, in terms of photography, and the ease of preparing the recipes.