Florida Books

For those who need to understand what keeps the dream of a free Cuba alive in cuban-americans, this book is a must. Loyalty and perseverance to a cause are the essence of this man, Jorge Mas Canosa, who no doubt has earned his rightful place in the history of Cuba and South Florida.

For cuban-americans in search of their roots or anyone concerned with modern cuban politics and the efforts of the cuban exiled community to bring democracy to Cuba, this book is a must.

This book is an important contribution to the study of Florida's history and cultural traditions. There is a wide range of interesting stories, and they cover various eras of Florida life. The stories are presented in an accessible style that is very close to the verbatim texts of actual storytellers who were recorded by fieldworkers in the state. The book is illustrated with fine drawings that have the whimsy of a cartoon but are not cutesy. The book contains creative ideas for teachers to use the stories in a range of classes, but the stories will also appeal to adult readers. This is a fine collection of actual stories told in Florida, and the book will be interesting to readers across the country.

Uncle Monday is a shape-shifter who for years has resided in a lake near Orlando. Uncle Monday is also a terrific compilation of folklore from Florida. There are myths, legends, tall tales, fairy tales, family stories, and a plethora of excellent oral narratives that have been and remain told in Florida. The introduction to the book is well-written, and each section provides good background information on various characters and tale types. The book also has wonderful illustrations that capture the feel of various stories, and the book includes excellent ideas for teachers to use when presenting the texts in class. It's a model study by a fine folklorist.

I highly recommend this new mystery. It's a page turner. The background is Sarasota and Siesta Key Beach, which makes for a very appealing read. Riveting. Be careful; Wayne Barcomb novels could become an addiction.

This is the second Sarasota based murder mystery by Wayne Barcomb that features ex-cop/former college professor/novelist/nouveau investigator (and recent transplant from Boston) Sam Wallace. In Blood Tide, the first of the series, you learn that Wallace finds his wife cheating on him at about the same time he loses his teaching job. But don't feel too sorry for him. A friend loans him his vacation condo in Sarasota and he starts dating a beautiful marine biologist almost as soon as he arrives. That is all in the first book. But don't worry, Barcomb fills in plot lines from Blood Tide so those that didn't read the first book aren't confused.

Undercurrent starts off shortly after Blood Tide left off but now Sam has a new P.I. license that he has yet to use. It doesn't take long though before he has a client that needs help in solving a murder for which they are the prime suspect.

I found Undercurrent just as much a page turner as Blood Tide. I like how Barcomb shows in his books how environmental issues often clash with coastal development plans and uses those realistic situations as backdrops to murder. Blood Tide, the first Sam Wallace murder mystery dealt with Red Tide. Red Tide fills beaches with stinky dead fish, among other things, and is bad for tourism. Undercurrent centers around sea turtle nesting and how they are negatively effected by the bright lights at night from buildings on the beach.

Besides, the murder mystery and the marine ecology lessons, what I really enjoy reading about is Sam's lifestyle. For those that know Sarasota, he lives in a cottage on Siesta by the Village, drives a vintage Mercedes convertible, he has a beautiful marine biologist girlfriend that lives on Lido, and has a cool bunch of friends that he meets for tennis and fine dining!

Mr. Barcomb, congratulations on another great mystery. I can't wait for your next installment!

Also available in a hardcover edition (0813027519, $24.95), Underwater City is the debut compilation of poetry by Kelle Groom. Currently a Tennessee Williams Scholar in poetry at the Sewanee Writers Conference at the University of the South in Tennessee, Kelle's poems have previously appeared in such publications as "Agni", "The New Yorker", "Luna", and "Witness", and she was named the Norma Millay Ellis Fellow for 2003 by the Millay Colony for the Arts in New York. In the body of poetry comprising Underwater City, Kelle deftly explores personal relationships in terms of emotion, metaphysics, and boundaries. Kukla: Sometimes I think when I was suffocated & died,/I lost much of my childhood memory.//I'm just jotting this down so I don't forget./When You read the Amichai poem with two girls//who overflow & vanish. I had the feeling/from Kukla, Fran, Ollie movies--//the European ones: children in a field, rain,/my heart beating fast.//During the war, I stood on my bed/at the top of the house,//arms upraised & screamed, the tongue of a bell calling you home.

Kelle Groom is a poet's poet, and this new collection of her work is rich in many ways. "Underwater City" marks Kelle Groom's emergence as a major poetic voice.

The book is easy to read and understand. Without it we would have floundered around like everyone else. Each day had a plan and then we altered it to suit our specific needs and desires. We found all of his recommendations to be right on target. The maps are a god send used inconjunction with the hand out maps. The book gave me the confidence to know when and where to make reservations for meals, when the best time to show up for shows. . . just everything!! We made our trip with 2 school aged children (middle and elementary)during the 2nd week of Sepember. While I don't promote taking children out of school for vacation, once in a lifetime is worth it. Moving through Epcot and MGM were easier than the Magic Kingdom which had an overabundance of children in strollers. For anyone using the guide. . . don't be intimidated by the sheer volume. There are really that many places to sleep, eat and things to see and do. Do clip out the appropriate maps in the back of the book and take them with you each day and ALWAYS get there early and move quickly early in the day and kick back as the day moves on. Thanks again for writting the book Bob. I felt like you were my best friend by the time we came home

Some great ideas especially on dealing with children. Some information is not complete you can check in early (well before 3:00p.m.) the desk will store your bags and give you your pass, I am usually in the park of my choice before lunch. Just return later (one year not til 10:30 p.m.), collect your bags and key, and you have not lost your first day on you length of stay pass

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.