Florida Books

William Hathaway has a rare gift of the ability to put pure emotion as well as wit into words. This collection of poems is an essential read as well as an important part of a permanent collection for anyone interested in the best poetry available today.

I live in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean and my Supervisor who has travelled extensively around the world has recommended "Citrus Varieties of of the World" having himself bought a copy a few years ago while in California.

I presently work in the Citrus Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Trinidad and I wanted a book that can explicity explain the various types of Citrus varieties that we propagate having originally acquired the planting material from California. I had very little knowledge initially on the new types until reading this book.

Now my work seems less hectic when I have to explain to farmers about the different types of Citrus.

The book explains the varieties from history to development to taste and I would recommend it to anyone that has an interest in Citrus.

Dexter Samm

Most historical books of this area center around Tampa and Tarpon Springs, ignoring the rich and unique atmosphere that is Lutz and central Pasco County of the early 1900's and late 1800's. That's what makes this book so special. It is jammed packed with local history as well as hundreds of old photos, and as a native to this area, I couldn't put it down. Native or not, if you love old Florida history and want the real history of backwoods Florida with all of its lore of the railroad, logging industry and of the pioneers of its times, you will love this book.

Anthropology, history, and a journalistic slant all combine to provide a thorough understanding of how government and commercial mechanisms can harm a neighborhood and, thus, its inhabitants.

Maria Vesperi is an incredibly gifted writer who clearly knows the literature of sociology, anthropology, and economics. There's a good dose of symbolic theory woven into her text and it comes across seamlessly. A great read!

Used this book to assist students daily with state graduation exam practice....everyday! And will use the same method again this term...had very successful results.

I found this to be an interesting little book that works on any number of levels. First, there is the rollercoaster story of a family who pursued a dream, lost everything, and still managed to persevere. That story line, describing how a tight-knit family remained intact and happy despite financial woes and a litany of unforseen disasters, comes through loud and clear. At times it is sad, at times poignant, at times hilarious.

Maybe more important though, considering the current political climate, is Freshwater's first person account of just how incompetent the United States immigration service really is. Here are some Brits, in the country legally on a business visa, who not only provide employment for others but also become community leaders. However, when they attempt to follow the rules and gain a green card (and later citizenship) they are confronted with a legion of bumbling bureaucrats, power-mad civil servants, and enough red tape to wrap a Grayhound bus.

Not to give away the plot, but it seems the Freshwaters spent TWO DECADES going through the system before finally gaining approval. In the meantime, they watched illegal aliens - who contributed nothing to society and lived off federal programs - gain amnesty simply because they HAD entered the country illegally. It's mind-boggling.

Freshwater does not harp or whine about this topic - he prefers to simply tell his family's tales in a friendly and easily-digested style - but after reading this book you will simply shake your head at the trials and tribulations incurred by those who try to follow the rules.

But, you'll also end up smiling, laughing and perhaps even shedding a tear or two. It's quite a ride the family had on the beaches of S. Florida.

A very good read.

Coastal Cuisine MenuGuide is beautiful, easy to use, and very handy! When friends ask, "Where do we dine?", I get a copy of the MenuGuide and we can easily decide where we want to go next. The book looks great so that I can leave it out as a handy reference. In addition to the copy at home, I keep one in the office for friends and customers who want to know where I recommend for dining. All the restaurants featured in this book are excellent. I have sent copies to favorite customers and friends who do not live here but visit, and all love it. It makes a great souvenir for the visitor to the Emerald Coast of Northwest Florida, and it helps convince the people back home that we are serious about the wonderful restaurants we enjoy. Wish I had had this book for the past many years to help answer "Where do we eat?"

Skellings is a fine inside cat. He can let language do. There are several around who can make language do, but only ones of the first water can let language do. That may be a fine distinction, but only fine distinctions count.

This is a nifty little handbook that handled nearly all the identification needed for amateur shell collecting on Cayo Costa, a barrier island on Florida's west coast. The photographs are accurate and information is easy to find.

Mr. Feldman is the author of two previous Clearfield Company publications pertaining to pre-statehood Florida: (1) Anglo-Americans in Spanish Archives, a collection of census data on British-Americans who settled in Florida during the second period of Spanish domination (1784-1821); and (2) The Last Days of British St. Augustine, 1784-1785, the transcription of a Spanish census of the English colony of East Florida.

For this latest work, Mr. Feldman has transcribed a variety of population lists for East and West Florida, dating from 1763 to 1784, based on British sources. Mr. Feldman discovered these records among the files of England's Public Record Office that had been copied for and deposited in the Library of Congress in the 1920s. These heretofore unpublished sources consist of lists of refugees, signatories to oaths of allegiance, lists of inhabitants, council members, militia, intra-Florida migrants, and more. Each list has the virtue of placing individuals in a specific location at a particular point in time. In some cases, the schedules also give a person's marital status, number of children, race, and/or occupation. For researchers hoping to further pursue the circumstances surrounding the Anglo-Spanish military campaign of 1779-1784, the author has added an extensive bibliography of sources. In all, this original Clearfield title refers to roughly 3,000 English subjects who resided in East or West Florida before it was returned to Spain in the aftermath of the American Revolution. (For reasons of economy, since most of Mr. Feldman's lists are in alphabetical order, there is no index to the volume as a whole.)