Florida Books

Forty years ago, author Gloria Jahoda characterized the Sunshine State's panhandle as "The Other Florida." This was--and to some extent still is--the off-the-beaten track part of the state where residents have long viewed their scrub oak and pine forests, salt marshes, rivers, sinkholes, barrier islands and coastline with a very utilitarian eye. The stories in Faith Eidse's oral history of the Apalachicola River system remind me of Jahoda's book, for they are not about the Florida of resorts, overly developed beaches and mega-tourist attractions, but of people who knew the land and the river as an integral part of their livelihood. Here are the fishermen, riverboat captains, botanists, road builders, turpentiners, beekeepers and loggers who have stories to tell about a world most people never knew existed. While I grew up in the other Florida very close to the Apalachicola River, these stories--supplemented by a historical narrative--have shown me that I missed more than I noticed when it came to the land and its people. These stories display for us the heart and soul of a great river, one that we might one day successfully destroy. For those who would protect the river and the surrounding ecosystem, this book is a must read. For everyone else, the voices make for exciting history and demand to be heard.

Voices is a rich, moving account of the people who have lived in and around the apalachicola river their whole lives - and how that river is dying. The chapters deal with fishing, logging, damming, sharecropping, etc., and are broken up into sections, usually 6 to 10 pages in length, with each section focusing on the story of a different person. These oral histories are just that - oral histories. The writing is verbatim - sometimes the people trail off, or don't quite make sense, or don't entirely finish telling you about a subject, but that is what makes the book so great - it's real. Just like listening to your grandparents tell a story; you may not get all the details, but what does come through is great. There are a variety of sources from Native Americans to catfish trappers to engineers to steamboat captains to loggers - but all their stories lead up to one message, the river is drying up, and the flora and fauna are dying, a result of Atlanta's need for water, developers, and poor choices made by the government and the corps of engineers. But its not a depressing book, as there are many heartfelt stories of humor, wit and the tenacity of the human spirit. These stories and this book are great!

This book was as interesting as it is helpful. It had a few pointers in it that the others didn't. The post-it notes come in handy to mark the items to re-read or remember before you leave on your trip.

Hello! Please read the previous reviews with the knowledge that they were written for older editions of this book, written by different authors. I've lived next to WDW for ten years and this edition was rewritten to exclude any previous errors. I'd appreciate it if you'd judge this edition on its own merits. If you've read this edition, I'd appreciate your comments and reviews. Thanks!

An insider's view of the struggle to end segregation in the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the UMC, Collins' book is filled with stories that were echoed throughout the deep South: personal stories of courage by ministers and laymen whose Christian idealism led them to oppose the institution of segregation in the church. Sadly, it also recounts, despite some structural and administrative advancement, the truth that Sunday morning remains the most segregated hour in American society. A must-read for those interested in the struggle between Christian faith and cultural Christianity in the deep South.

During a time when Alabama was a major battleground in the struggle for black civil rights, Collins describes how one white denomination responded to the moral issue of racial segregation. His story is not a pretty one. Collins paints a picture of evasion, resistance, and moral cowardice. In small towns and large cities, Methodist congregations opposed the teachings of their nation organization; ostracized ministers who dared to advocate racial equality openly; withheld funds from religious organization considered too liberal on racial issues; closed their doors to African-Americans; and refused to have any contact with black fellow Methodists. - - Paul T. Murray, Siena College

Wow!! What a brilliant idea for a book!! I cannot wait to purchase myself one and some for gifts! Congratulations and I wish ya'll the best of luck!

Lisa Foster
Gulf Breeze, Florida

This book might be for hurricane kids but it will touch the hearts of all. With this book everyone wins. You get a wonderful read and 30% of the proceeds go towards kids affected by hurricanes. I enjoyed my copy and I'm an adult. I passed it on to some younger members of my family and they loved it.

"Wildlife Of North America: A naturalist's Lifelist" by Eugene, Oregon based professional nature photographer and writer Whit Bronaugh is an informatively impressive compendium of all 4,000 species of animals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fish, butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies to be found in the United States and Canada. This 565-page encyclopedic compilation provides each species with its common and scientific name, conservation status, and even ample space for the reader to record the details of their own sightings of that particular creature. Offering a wealth of up to date information on biodiversity, zoogeography, and taxonomy, Bronaugh has even included extinct species that can be seen in museum collections throughout North America. Offering combining the features of a checklist and journal, "Wildlife Of North America" is especially recommended for zoology students, environmentalists, wildlife enthusiasts, and aspiring naturalists.

As a lifelong lover of the outdoors and a student of natural history, this book will fill an important niche on my bookshelf. For the first time I have one place to keep track of all of the North American vertebrates that I have and will see as well as for butterflies and Odonates. Since childhood I have loved watching birds and seeing big mammals and have been an occasional lister of my sightings - the Naturalist's Lifelist will bring this all together. I have already spent many hours compiling lists of my butterflies and mammals and look forward to many more hours of checking off my other vertebrates and the dragonflies. This book is an excellent place to record what I have seen, but it is also inspiring me to want to see more. Seeing the pages with nothing marked makes me more aware of the richness of North American fauna and motivates me to see more. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in recording their sightings and especially birders who are interested in expanding their horizons.

This book is a great intro to wildlife here in the panhandle, with lots of photos by the author (although not a replacement for a good bird guide). The strength of this book is that is focuses on ecosystems, not just animal identification. You really get a better understanding of Florida's nature from a book like this than from a normal field guide, so it makes a good companion to those guides. My favorite part of the book is the last section where Stevenson (who has spent decades exploring Florida) describes potential field trips to specific places around the panhandle, places you probably wouldn't discover on your own, like where to pull off the highway to see an insectivorous bog or which bridge to look under to find fossils in the riverbank. I don't know of another book that would be so useful for planning excursions to these relatively remote places. Lots of local bird and herp info, naturalists and teachers take note.

Jim Stevenson's book was just what the Dr. ordered for northern transplants to Florida's Panhandle. The book's style is written as if you were on a field trip with J.Stevenson. His wit and field tested wisdom makes for easy reading about flora & fauna native to the region. Black and white pictures are present throughout with a mid-book color section for identification of the most common scaled, tailed, furry and feathered creatures. He discusses geologic history and ecosystems of the area. The good index and comprehensive coverage makes this book an excellent resource.

The best quality of this book is the clean language worthy of Hemingway. Samuelson had an ear for exact quoting. His manuscript lay in a trunk until after his death, when his daughter found it, and decided to publish. Lucky us.

It is astonishing that this book is so little known. Here is a memoir which records Hemingway's insights on writing as given to his only pupil, a young writer/hobo who shows up one day at Hemingway's Key West house hoping for a few words of advice. "He left me with that damned marvelous feeling you can have only once in a lifetime if you are a young man who wants to become a writer and you have just met the man you admire as the greatest writer alive and you know instinctively that he is already your friend." Impulsively Hemingway hires the twenty-two-year-old "tramp" to guard his new boat, the Pilar. Samuelson carefully records Hemingway's thoughts on writing (including a "mandatory" reading list for the young, aspiring writer). Not only does the book illuminate Hemingway, his life, his fishing, his family and his work, but it also tells the story of a fascinating individual who spent a year with him.

I've lived in Orlando for three years now and have been out to Xanadu several times. I finally picked this book up and was really pleased by the vision of Xanadu it portrays: Women in space-age skirts, Will Robinson looking men taking time out to relax in front of a psychedelic light show, in the privacy of their own homes no less. It saddens me greatly to se Xanadu rotting out there on Highway 192.

This fine book is an invitation to dream about a New World, a peace time, with concerns only to better living standards, healthy leisure, a home for a higher level of humankind.
It is now only a dream, since this amazing project was abandoned and is empty now, like all those dreams of a better, safer, nicier World. We awakened in mid of today's World nightmares, and we must exchange the electronic glass doors of Xanadu for iron-gates, and change our mood to live in fear of the future once again. Sour time ours... when I watch the "Teletubbies" I remember how nice Xanadu was, because I'm sure the Teletubbies' house was inspired by this genial ideal, the plastic-bubbles-house called XANADU!

I am a native to the Tampa area and have family members who had very strong ties to Ybor City in "the day". Ybor City enjoys an extremely diverse and interesting history. The book captures the diversity of cultures and people of Old Ybor. Ybor City is now known more for its "entertainment" but the very rich heritage of the town should be perpetuated. This book is a wonderful way of getting a glimpse of life during that time. As the author states in the front of the book, It is "his truth". Having been exposed to the culture, I know what he says is true. This book is by no means a dry documentary. It is almost a collections of vignettes. Definitely worth the read.

I know a good book when I read one. Ybor City Chronicles is a excellent one. This book delivers a fresh new look at Ybor City that no one has ever seen before! It is comical and serious, yet it still gives you an inside look to the city of Ybor. In addition, it provides wonderful profiles of Ybor's most powerful people. Once I read this novel I honestly felt like I knew so much more about the city I grew up in (Tampa/Ybor). I recommend this book to anyone who wants a new perspective of this sun-bathed city.

This is a great trivia book, and a fun family game. I keep a copy with me wherever I go-- it's great for long car trips and family outings. Mr. Lloyd's wit, wisdom and research pervades every page. And the illustrations are fantastic. He is truly a man among mice, or something like that... And I bet he makes an awesome chicken tetrazzini! We are looking forward to the next 49 states!

I was just surfing and my dad told me look up your book. You're sales rank is 680,000! Congratulations! Bye!