Florida Books

This guide is one of the best organized books I have ever purchased. All the festivals are organized very effectively, and the maps make it easy to figure out which festivals are in your specific part of Florida. I have found this book helpful for locating potential festivals when vacation planning - I recommend it for both Floridians and visitors. Thanks for writing this great resource!

A great resource--filled with helpful information. I might just head out to the Zellwood Corn Festival this year! Great for yourself and of course as a gift for family and friends.

This book is concise but at the same time very explanatory, clearly breaking down the process of community organizing into its essential elements, at least according to the author's perspective. The book was written a while ago, but the issues are still very relevant. I'm very new to reading about CO, but just reading the book got me very excited about the possibility for real change. I highly recommend it to other interested in entering the field.

Many churches and synagogues, when faced with a needy situation in their neighborhoods, are paralyzed or indecisive. Should they provide for the needy while ignoring the root cause of the distress? Should they urge their members to pursue political correctives through the ballot box? Should the institution involve itself in partisan politics?

None of these approaches is the best way, according to Gregory Pierce. If they are truly to have an impact on their social milieu, congegations must involve themselves in broadly-based community organizations large and powerful enough to confront underlying causes of need. This tried and proven method was developed forty years go by Saul Alinsky and is still employed successfully today.

In order to be effective in community organizations, however, congregations must be willing to work with other groups with different ideologies, and they must understand and be willing to utilize the levers of power. This book is a primer for lay leaders and clergy who want to move their congregations into the arena of activism. It tells them what to do -- and what not to do -- if they want to make a difference in their neighborhoods.

Carlos Escude provides a strikingly original approach to international relations theory, using Argentina as a frame of reference. He finds mainstream theory lacking from the perspective of peripheral states. He claims that both realist and liberal theories lead to normative flaws harmful to the interests of citizens.

Escude convincingly explains the problem with the language of international relations discourse. The unconscious discussion of states as if they were individuals by these theorists has negative effects on the citizens in peripheral states. When the state is viewed as an individual, its constituent parts are considered to be subordinate to the whole. This language, he
argues, legitimizes the state and allows for repression of its citizenry.

He attacks the realism of Waltz and Morgenthau on a number of issues but especially their refusal to theorize about states that are not great powers. Escude rightly points out that peripheral countries can and do destabilize the international system and thus should not be excluded from analyses.

Furthermore, realists do not consider that other goals, such as economic development, might be more important to some states than political military power. From this perspective, Escude is closer to Rosecrance than to traditional realist analysis.

Yet Escude claims to share Morgenthau's methodological approach to theory, and he thus terms his theory peripheral realism. Both peripheral realism and realism support self-interested behavior. However, Escude asserts that it is futile to attempt to design a scientific international relations theory and thus emphasizes the normative elements of peripheral realism.

Many realists would object to his terminology. Escude believes that peripheral states should commit themselves to economic development. This includes acquiescence to the great powers, which have the ability to negatively affect development in the periphery. Policies that focus on citizen welfare, Escude argues, will contribute to national well-being.

The title of the book is quite misleading, as the volume is only minimally concerned with Argentina and much less so with Menem.
Instead, it pulls selected examples from Argentina's foreign policy in order to highlight Escude's points. Escude asserts that Argentina's nonconfrontational foreign policies since 1989 have been citizen-centric.

The withdrawal of Argentina from the Non-Aligned Movement and its decision to cancel the Condor II, according to Escude, contribute to eliminate obstacles to Argentine development, although they do not in themselves generate development. Although Argentina's social and economic policies under Menem have probably not been citizen-centric, Escude claims that in the foreign policy sphere, the elimination of traditional confrontation with the Western great powers constitutes a damage-control that is in itself citizen-centric.

While Escude's analysis is thought provoking, many scholars will disagree with his conclusions. International relations theorists will likely resist Escude's assertion that they are partially responsible for the underdevelopment and repression in many parts of the South. Furthermore, Escude's insistence on Third World submission to great-power dominance will make more than
a few scholars uncomfortable.

Escude's book is an extraordinary challenge to state-centric theories of international relations. The book's name is misleading, inasmuch as it has little to do with the Menem presidency in Argentina. Rather, it is an analytical critique of international relations theory that focuses mainly on the exposure of the fallacious analogy whereby the state is to the interstate system what the individual is to the state. The ultimate logical consequence of this fallacy leads to thinking in anthropomorphic terms.

For example, "freedom" vis-a-vis the state is clearly an asset for the individual and a value to be redeemed from an ethical point of view. But in order for the state to be absolutely "free" in the interstate system, it must not only be powerful but must also subject its citizens to tyranny: otherwise it is bound by constraints. Almost all mainstream Anglo-American international relations theory suffers from this logical flaw. Escude exposes it clearly, and goes on to show that the normative consequences of this flaw are more serious the weaker a state is. Hence, weak states have a greater obligation to pursue "citizen-centric" foreign policies. It is in the interests of the citizens of weaker states that the pursuit of interstate power be left to powerful states, who are the "rule-makers" of the interstate system. It follows that Kenneth Waltz is wrong: states are not "like units", and they do not have the same functions in the system. Escude posits the existence of three types of states with three types of functions: states that command, states that obey, and rebel (or rogue) states.

The original title in Spanish of this book is "The Realism of Weak States". Commercial reasons probably led the publishers to use a misleading title in its English-language version. References to Menem's administration in Argentina are found only as examples of a foreign policy shift, from state-centric to citizen-centric policies. This is clearly visible in Argentina's alignement with the United States; its signature of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and the dismantlement of the Condor II ballistic missile project, all of which were undertaken during the 1990s. Whatever appraisal Menem's economic and social policies may warrant, it is clear that his foreign policies were a contribution to world governance.

Prof. Carlos Escude may be a "colorful character" who is often on Argentine television (as another reviewer claims), but he is also the author of numerous academic books in Spanish, holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, and has been Visiting Professor at Harvard's Department of Government. His "Introduction to peripheral realism", published in Stephanie Neuman (ed.), "International Relations Theory and the Third World" (St. Martin's Press, 1998), is obligatory reading in courses from Columbia University to West Point.

This book gave me a flavor of the aquatic terrain I could expect to find on a Florida fishing trip. I am very satisfied with it. Mr. Sargent's other books are good too, at least the Tarpon Book and the Trout Book.

Any new angler looking for secret insight on the techniques of snook, tarpon, redfish and trout fishing, and how to apply them to areas of Tampa and beyond needs this book. As time goes by and our local sport fishing industy explodes, fewer and fewer professional guides that are in the know share their spots, Frank wrote this before the net ban. It is probly the last puplicized "here's how to get there and do it book" you'll ever see. Frank has tons of respect on the water and off, both as the outdoor writer for the Tribune and Florida Sportsman. All of the information and spots revealed in his book are real, true spots, some of which I personaly fish weekly, almost always with great results. But don't let Frank tell you he showed them to me. The book contains actual nav charts with most of the best honeyholes in Tampa personally marked by Frank himself. Tight lines, take a kid fising, watch out for the sharks. Always remember two things about flats fising in Florida. 1- Your'e either in the know- or in the dark. 2-90 percent of successfull fishin is tide.

in terms of color street photography, this is about as good as it gets. along with people like robert walker, costa manos, and anthony hernandez, webb helped create a new genre, perceptive and intuitive like cartier-bresson with the eyes of a colorist. webb has a few great books, this is my favorite.

as publishing goes, i'd say this book is average, and an updated, expanded edition would be great.

The images in this book provide a seldom-seen commentary on aspects of life within a state know primarily for its tourism industry. Here, Alex Webb pulls back the curtain to reveal the other worlds that co-exist with most of the images tha come to mind when we hear the word "Florida." These photographs wildly exceed one's expectations for just how perfect a seemingly random moment can be, and Webb manages to do it with an eye for the abstract, the absurd, and while providing social commentary, humor and beauty.

Felix Masud-Piloto's "From Welcomed Exiles to Illegal Immigrants" has more than just a clever title. Providing a clear account of Cuban immigration to the United States from 1959-1995, this book shows how the Cuban migration and the exiles themselves were manipulated by both the U.S. and Cuban governments. Masud-Piloto's critique of both governments provides new insight and personal testimony from a Cuban exile perspective. His historical account of the events are well thought out and in perfect support of his thesis. All in all a great read.

Felix Masud-Piloto's "From Welcomed Exiles to Illegal Immigrants" has more than just a clever title. Providing a clear account of Cuban immigration to the United States from 1959-1995, this book shows how the Cuban migration and the exiles themselves were manipulated by both the U.S. and Cuban governments. Masud-Piloto's critique of both governments provides new insight and personal testimony from a Cuban exile perspective. His historical account of the events are well thought out and in perfect support of his thesis. All in all a great read.

Dr. Colburn has done his usually great job of dissecting the political climate of change in Florida post World War II. During the period he covers, Florida changed from a small somewhat backwaterish state to a mega-state and problems attendant to such a change.

Dr. Colburn is particularly enamored with the Askew, Graham and Chiles administrations as models on how states should be run. He also gives well deserved attention to some lesser known but influential state political figures like Tom Slade, the GOP state chairman, as well as to the far-reaching effects of legislative apportionment and congressional redistricting.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Florida politics and history, and the changes wrought over the past three decades.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to obtain insight into Florida politics during the second half of the 20th century. It is a very reader friendly book which can easily be read during the course of a week. This book focuses on the political changes in Florida which had been dominated by the Democratic Party for over a century prior to the relatively recent change toward becoming a Republican dominated state. This is despite the fact that the majority of Floridians remain registered Democrats. The focus has been primarily on Florida governors during the years since World War Two. There has been some focus on racist politics on the part of legislators during the 1950s and 1960s which impacted on efforts to integrate Black Floridians into the schools and other sectors of life.

Several factors were explored in this book which brings light on how this change came about. One factor noted was how the Republican Party was able to dominate the State's reapportionment process which determines the District lines for State legislators. During the late 1990s with the cooperation of several Democratic Black legislators who did not believe that the the Democratic Party was sufficiently supportive of their desire to have strengthened districts which would allow for the election of Black candidates into offices and, thus, to have a stronger role in the State's political processes. As a result, this has helped to tip the odds in favoring Republican Party candidates. Other factors noted involved the growing presence of Cuban Americans and retired people migrating into the State.

This book is very even handed and would not please partisans who are either Democrats or Republicans. One thing is very clear about the State of Florida is that it remains a very politically volatile state and is subject to change at any time in the near future. We can continue to expect the unexpected from Florida and this book shines a very bright light on this fact.

FTCE Reading K-12: teacher certification exam (XAM FTCE)
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This all new, rewritten and researched FTCE Reading K-12 study guide will provide you with more than ample preparation to successfully pass the FTCE Reading exam. More than twenty years of experience in the field of reading went into preparing and providing you with the most up-to-date information specific to the FTCE standards. With fast shipping, do not hesitate to order right away and begin preparing. This study guide will be a use of you now and in your future career. You may also be interested in Xamonlines other guides including FTCE Elementary Education K-6 Sample Questions Guide.

"We're locals, and sometimes it's easy to get out of touch with hotspots. So when relatives came to Miami for a long weekend, this guide really came in handy. We figured out exactly where to visit and eat out during their brief stay. They especially enjoyed the off-the-beaten tourist path spots like Scotty's Landing in the Grove that they never would have discovered on their own."

Witty, smart, and not afraid to make fun of Miami's sacred cows, this guide cares as much about giving you a feel for the city as it does about dropping celebrity names. Not that they're missing--if your main goals are to find the hottest clubs and bump into Tara Reid, consult the detailed nightlife guide, complete with names of A-listers known to put in an appearance.

But if you want to get a true taste of America's Caribbean capital, work your way through the itineraries listed in Schmidt's book, which run from "Hot and Cool Miami," a celebration of South Beach and its trendy ilk, to "Clásico Miami," a three-day retro cruise to the great beach resorts and Latin restaurants that made Miami famous in the 50s and 60s, when the Rat Pack, James Bond, and a wave of Cuban immigrants transformed the town into the Magic City.

Unlike many guidebooks, Fun Seeker's Miami gives you the dirt instead of the Chamber of Commerce spin. As a former South Florida resident, I have to say it's right on.

Parents and children alike will be entranced by this treasure of University of Alabama memorabilia and traditions. Scenes of Denney Chimes, Big Al and the "Roll Tide" fans will always put you in remembrance of your special "Gameday".

The Auburn Gameday book is an excellent way for the young fan to gain a knowledge of his or her favorite team and the grand campus traditions surrounding it. Children will be able to recognize the school monuments, to collect autographs and other memorabilia and get caught up in the excitement that is "Gameday".This will make their experience last a lifetime.