Florida Books

I've known Ralph Brower for many years, so when the book came out, I purchased one for me and one for our friends as a Christmas gift.

The book is excellent. Ralph did a meticulous job on the research for the photos. It is VERY interesting. Usually, people just look at the pictures in this type book, but in this case, the captions are worth reading. It's always interesting to go back in time to see how things were years ago.

If you are at all interested in the city of Tampa and area history, you'll love this book!

By the late nineteenth century, the city of Tampa was a vibrant, cultural center. Through the early twentieth century, two World Wars, and into the modern era, Tampa has continued to grow and prosper by overcoming adversity and maintaining the strong independent culture of its citizens. This volume, Historic Photos of Tampa, captures this journey through still photography from the Burgett Brothers Photographic Archives held at the Tampa­Hillsborough County Public Library. From the late 1800s, the Depression era, and to the building of a modern metropolis, Historic Photos of Tampa follows life, government, education, and events throughout Tampa¹s rich history. The book captures unique and rare scenes through the lens of hundreds of historic photographs. Published in striking black and white, the images communicate historic events and everyday life of two centuries of people building a unique and prosperous city. - from the publisher

Great book. Includes a little bit of history of each ship. When it was built. Who owned it. How it came to be a shipwreck. Tom certainly did his research. Covers the most popular dive sites in the Key Largo area. Even covers some of the not so well known, including the Northern Light. Don't miss it.

This book lists the ships that have gone down in the Upper Keys - either through disaster or sunk as an artificial reef. It is an excellent anthology giving the history of each of these ships as well as current diving conditions on each wreck. If you a wreck diver and plan to dive the Upper Keys, this book is a must.

With all the hype about jib jab these days this books fits right up their...and my... alley.
Funny and provocotive Horace has the nerve to say things that many of us are even frightened to think.
Sitting on the runway waiting to take off I laughed so loudly and gunuinely that the people around me were scrambling for pen and paper to get the name of this book.
The first fifty pages take their time to set the pace but once the character gets in your head it is impossible to get him out and get anything else done..

Well, it's not actually like Robert Kennedy Toole's wonderful book but it does remind me of it.... wild as hell. You'll just have to read it to see what I mean. Don't read it in a public place, though.

This book is written for the average person to understand, it makes sense and yet has enough detail to reconstruct a house from history.

This book is so highly regarded it is the basis of St. Augustine City codes regarding Historic Architecture preservation and restoration and will continue the tradition of Colonial St. Augustine. Not just for the novice, also for the historian, architect or builder.

St. Augustine is a fascinating architectural anamoly in the United States. I have become consumed with discovering all there is to know about the unique architecture, people and culture of this quaint city. Only last weekend, we spent 5 days, walking and touring much of the historic district, with this book in hand, I might add. If European and American history and architecture are a passion of yours, St. Augustine is the closest, most unique place to find it all. This book is a great place to begin.

Written from the perspective of 'being there', join, Tom Barnes in his rich-with-history account of his experiences as a navy pilot working hurricane patrol in 1944. At an altitude of 28,000 feet, Barnes describes the beauty of the 'beast', and the birth of a hurricane, as well as the intricate maze of an instrument panel. Charting storms in the Devil's Triangle during hurricane season was definitely not for sissies. Suspense and humor are joined together, along with a picture perfect depiction of numerous navigations, making this a book that's difficult to put down. History buffs will find this a treasure to read. As a bonus, Barnes has included his own history as it related to Flight 19 and its mysterious disappearance. Two thumbs up, Tom!

View A Hurricane At 20,000 Feet

Separated from his navy squadron which was sent to the Pacific, the author found himself in Florida at the Jacksonville Municipal Airport with its long runways able to handle a heavy bomber outfit. With a great deal of skill he relates his experiences during 1945 as World War II was winding down. True- to- life anecdotes and episodes move the story along.
Sent to Masters Field in Miami, after Washington ordered the military to develop a hurricane warning system, he was assigned to Squadron 114, the early Hurricane Hunters. They tracked storms from Barbados in the eastern Carribean to Honduras and Belize in the west. At that time hurricanes had Roman Numeral numbers instead of names. Hurricane #IX, a category 4, hit Miami and Masters Field. He writes from experience with frightening realism about the danger and destruction of hurricanes.
Flying many times over the Bermuda Triangle, the same area as the five planes which made up Flight 19 mysteriously lost while on a training mission, the author adds his speculation as to what may have happened to them. Interesting and logical.

I found this well written, well researched book to be riveting and compelling. Worth the read.

Lenora Smalley
Writer and Poet

I have known Tony personally as a student at Whittier College and I still recall his first reading of "Impure". In his poems you will rediscover yourself, and also enjoy Tony's splendid wit and humor. Each and every line in his poems is meant to be savored and experienced as a collection of varying tastes.
If you are a lover of contemporary poetry then believe me Tony is among the very best out there and his poems in "Impure" are a testimony to that fact.
Bravo Tony, bravo!

Barnstone's collection is that rare thing in contemporary poetry-- a work of exceptional insight, humor, and gravitas. I copy his poems and send them to my friends, my father, and my students. Most of the recipients become infected with the Barnstone bug. If genius is the ability to find elegant simplicity within a complex structure, as Wittgenstein suggested, Barnstone is a genius for our time, equally intrigued by ancient Chinese poetry and modern American video games. On a nicer planet, this poet would be a household name.

Debra Susie and I were a couple from approximately 1978-1982, during which time and subsequent to our relationship, she was researching, interviewing and writing her dissertation at the Florida State University. I particularly remember Dr. Susie's steadfastness against some faculty who were not enthusiastic about her dissertation subject; her meticulous commitment to her research and writing; her excellent writing abilities; her passion for the subject; and much more. The book is well worth the read!!!

Dr. Susie is presently employed (2006) as the Executive Director at Florida Impact (234 South Magnolia Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32301 -- 850.309.1488). Florida Impact is a social justice advocacy and lobby organization funded by Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic traditions. She has been employed there for well over ten years.

"The book inspired me to have a baby," says a reader, "on my own."
Debra Ann Susie left her home in Miami, Florida, to attended Florida State University. In the time of receiving her PHD, she wrote a dissertation. Her subject was brilliant; Midwifery.
The book involves the broad-range of interviews from [mainly] southern, black midwifes in the Georgia/Florida rural areas.
This charming book is truthful, and gaining, and will leave you in a new education of this life-producing job.
`In the way of our grandmothers' is brilliant, and captures the amazing beliefs, and funny stories from midwives; our grandmothers.

If you are looking for a lot of information about the Florida keys this is the book to buy. I have several, and none compares. The ones which combine Miami and the Keys often give scant coverage to the Keys. These women do a VERY thorough job. The only drawback is that the pictures are in black and white. So take pictures when you get there. For both extent and depth of coverage, this one can't be beat.

This book is a terrific resource for all aspects of the Keys. We used three guidebooks, and this had the best information for places, wildlife, historic sites, etc. The only caveat is that you pretty much have to read the entire book in order to gain the full benefit, then use as needed. This is as opposed to picking it up cold and flipping through for information - the book isn't structured to be a quick guide.

My wife and I bought this book to help plan an upcoming trip to Key West. This book has answered just about every question we've had. It covers restaurants, places to stay, where to rent bikes or cars, beaches, snorkeling, where to park and not to park, and a hundred other topics. Nearly every business entry lists the phone number and web address.

My favorite things about this book: Unlike some destination guides that tend to focus on the upscale restaurants, this guide seems to list everything, including simple sandwich shops. Also, the reviews of the various businesses don't appear to be simple re-hashes of what is printed in their brochures.

Only complaint: It appears that the reviews never seem to mention any negatives about the businesses... one guest house that we had tentatively selected to stay at, based on this book, had so many negative reviews online that we decided not to stay there.

Still, for sheer quantity of useful information, it's hard to imagine a more comprehensive book. (If my overall opinion changes after actually going to Key West, I will update this review.)

We just returned from a trip to the Keys staying in Islamorada. We did lots of Key hopping and lived from this book. Using it for restaurants, where to watch the sunsets, information on fishing, boat ramps, beaches, etc. The only thing the book didn't have that would have been helpful would have been information on pets - laws, pet friendly parks, beaches, etc. Excellent guide.

Definiteley one of the more educated storytellers out there. Herbert Pleiman unfolds a fast paced story so concievably real that you can believe it can happen! A fushion of high tech hazards and low tech havoc keep four Key West inhabitants working to save their land (and lives) against all odds.

Nothing absorbs a reader more than and exciting novel full of suspense and awash with humor. If this is what you're looking for, then Itch of an Islander certainly delivers. Complex characters step unknowingly forward into an even more complex plot that leaves one wondering what the fate of an entire population of care free island people will be! A definite keeper in my collection.