Florida Books

Great Author, and a very easy read. If you have ever been to the Keys, this book will help you learn more about the lives of the people long ago, who first encountered them, THE HARD WAY. Very interesting!

This book just isn't about the Civil War. It tells how a father and son fight together. It also tells what happens to the family that are left behind and what they go thru. Most of my family has read this book. We are the descendants of William Addison Hunter.

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

Great Transaction - no problems, book in great shape, very happy - THANKS

This is a completely new reptile/amphibian field guide to Florida (its about time!) by one of our favorite author teams: R.D. Bartlett and Patricia P. Bartlett. This book covers all the amphibians, lizards, turtles, tortoises, crocodiles, and alligators. It complements Alan Tennant's authoritative Field Guide to Snakes of Florida (by the same publisher). Dick Bartlett's photography is superb! Highly recommended.

This is a great book, a must-have if you're a Gator fan. If you've ever been to the gatorsports site, you know Gator fans just can't get enough. (There's even a CD in honor of "Bull Gator Steve" that I hope Amazon will have available.) There's nothing dry and boring about this history; it's full of great pictures, legendary tales, and all the spirit that makes us Gator fans keep on growling!

From the Panhandle to Key West, the state of Florida offers its visitors far more than sunshine and warm temperatures during the year's colder months. Are you interested in a vacation that offers "history and mystery" as well as wonderful food, pleasant surroundings, and plenty of local color? If so, you can't go wrong with this combination travel guide and ghost story collection.

Florida, of course, has a right to more ghosts than more recently settled parts of the United States. As Author Walls points out, in 1620 when the Pilgrims reached Plymouth there was already a thriving settlement at St. Augustine. The state's paranormal riches date back even farther than that, though. The inhabitants of Crystal River State Archaeological Site's pre-historic burial mounds make their continuing presence known, as do those of the Timacuan Indian mound just north of the city in Ormond Beach.

Tragic lovers. A little girl playing jacks. A farmer who found a much easier (but horrific) way to get rid of his migrant workers than simply paying them for their labors. A doll that, imbued with its departed owner's personality, moves about its museum case and ruins the camera film of anyone who tries to photograph it. An old lady whose body left her beloved home when she died, but whose spirit continues to watch over the place with benevolent interest - except when a female guest's skirt is too short, in which case she tries to pull it lower by the hem! The ghosts that Walls describes are a varied lot, and an intriguing one. I believe I would take her advice about the places of which she says, "If you go there, it is wise to not go alone."

I would also take her advice about bed-and-breakfasts, inns, and eating establishments of all sorts. Her descriptions of these made me want to pull up stakes and head a thousand miles south, to sit on shady verandas and stuff myself with both gourmet and "plain old down home" cooking. Good reading even if you're not planning to travel soon, in other words!

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of "Rough Rider"

This is a great book for anyone interested in Florida genealogy, or super for anyone who is descended from one of the Florida 1st Cavalry veterans. The book covers the history of the regiment in chronological order, from organization to its surrender in 1865 as part of the Fla First Consolidated infantry regiment. In many, many, cases, the author has managed to reconstruct the actual events that lead to the deaths or wounding, of many of the regiments men. There are a few pages of photographs and drawings, but most of the book is text. The book has the most complete muster roll of the regiment that I have ever seen as a Florida genealogist. In addition, there is a name index in the back listing all the names of soldiers that can be found within this books history. There is also a bibliography of references. Basically, without this book there would be no recorded history of this regiment. I would imagine that anyone who had a great grandfather in the Fla First Cavalry will find him in this book. While it is not a big book, only around 90 pages or so, it does have some valuable research and interesting reading. I would recommend it to anybody who likes Florida history, civil war buffs, reenactors, historians, and especially genealogist. If your anscestor served in this regiment, then it is a "must-have" book.

Max Hunn has obviously forgotten more about fishing in Florida than I will probably ever know. His book is a wonderful collection of stories from days when slot and bag limits were unknown and sport fishing was practiced by only an adventerous few. If you fish SW Florida or Everglades National Park you will hear many familiar names, and maybe learn a few new ones. I have used his descriptions to go to places in the park that I never knew existed and found them to be accurate. His descriptions of tecniques used then work just as well today as they did for him when he wrote his articles. Sadly some of the spots he describes have been overtaken by development, but many of the ones in Everglades National Park, both in the Ten Thousand Islands and Flamingo are still there and still producing. With the fishing excesses of the 70's and 80's they may not produce like they did for Max, but they are definitely worth the trip. Whether you fish the Park or not, this book is a great read!

This is one of the best books ever compiled and published about specific regionalized fishing techniques. It might just rival Vic Dunaway's classic, Baits, Rigs and Tackle. The investment of $24.95 will pay for itself on your first outing on the water and you might want to check out the other books by Maizler. He's in a class by himself when bringing authoritative fishing basics to life for the reader. Number one on my list of presents to give people that fish -- novice or expert alike.