Florida Books

THE AUTHOR OBVIOUSLY IS A DIVING ENTHUSIAST AND HISTORY BUFF. CLEARLY, EXHAUSTIVELY RESEARCHED IN IT'S DETAIL AND INTEREST. FACTS HAVE BEEN CHECKED AND DOUBLE-CHECKED FOR ACCURACY. THE AUTHOR TRULY WAS A PERFECTIONIST. THANKS MARK.

We really like this book, and used it as a reference source for some of the information in our website (see email address). It has nice photographs, detailed descriptions of the bigger reefs, and is written with a fun, interesting tone. Definitely recommended.

A non-fiction, first person narrative by Captain Martin Meylach and author Charles Whited of treasure hunting for the lost treasure fleets of the 1733 Spanish Armada and the wrecks of the galleons off the Florida Keys. Though the action takes place in the 1960's, it's a great book for those who want to appreciate more about the Keys than the usual tourist stuff. As a first time visitor to the Keys, I learned more about the history of the area than many of the local residents had knowledge of. (Probably why it's a "Florida Classics Library" selection.) It's exciting history to boot, and one that ran concurrently with the famous Mel Fisher of the Atocha fame (and who is mentioned often). In fact, it was at Mel Fisher museum in Key West that I saw a copy of this book as part of the exhibit. Plenty of references to locate the wrecks of the 1733 Spanish Armada, and some suggestions on a few artifacts still to be recovered, or so he says...Fun reading, great references!

For any Dodgers fan, this is a great book. It goes over the history of the Dodgers organization, and it's spring training beginnings in Vero Beach. From my viewpoint as the son of a former Brooklyn Dodgers farmhand, it was great to see the old barracks and the Dodgers way of spring training, right down to the sliding pit and the string strike zone for pitchers. Great photography and excellent writing. A class organization, and outstanding book. Too bad there aren't more pro sports owners the likes of the O'Malley's any more.

This short book captures the essence of the island. I own property on the island and the trip out of Carrable, past the shrimp boats and the mystical quality of the island are captures in this lovely poem, Donovan's graphic work is also a delight and rings true to the quality of this enchanted place.

An excellant street guide that is very easy to read.

Earle Bowden: Drawing From an Editor's Life. More than Forty Years of Editorial Cartoons, Caricatures and Illustrations, Pensacola News Journal, 1950s-1990s

Art and text by Jesse Earle Bowden
Father & Son Publishing, Inc., November 1996 publication
8x11, 472 pages, softback, $19.95
1,250 drawings

It's rare for a newspaper editor to draw his own editorial cartoons. But Editor Emeritus Jesse Earle Bowden of the Pensacola News Journal has been his own cartoonist for 55 years.
The politics, personalities and many editorial page crusades of the News Journal Editor and vice president, chairman of the editorial board and cartoonist--more than 1,250 cartoons and caricatures from more forty years at the drawing board--spill over 472 pages of this historic graphic treasure. The journalist/illustrator presents drawings from his sportswriting /cartooning years of 1950s to more than thirty years of his editorial-page cartoon commentary from the early 1960s to the 1990s.
Among the many humorous and satirical images are the strong symbolism of the American heritage and patriotism and the native Floridian's devotion to the region of his birth. Here are graphic symbolism of Bowden's many editorial dreams and two-barreled approach to his editorial persuasiveness. His editorials and editorial cartoons demonstrate his convictions about Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola's historical preservation movement, the Pensacola bayfront and downtown redevelopment, preservation of Scenic Highway, University of West Florida and quality education, the cultural arts and the many emotion-charged battles to reform Escambia County government.
Bowden's cartoons demonstrates his love of history; he has opened his many scrapbooks of pen-and-ink memories--some drawings never before published--from the presidency of John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton, from the Florida governorship of Haydon Burns to Lawton Chiles. The cartoon images chronicle the history of the people in the public arena of political change in Florida's First Place City, the western Panhandle, Tallahassee and in Washington.
Along the way, meet many Pensacolians, Floridians and national figures--ably caricatured--from Bowden's sketchbooks who peopled the cartoons that have appeared on News Journal sports, news and editorial pages since 1953.
Bowden includes many News Journal personalities from the eras of Publisher Braden Ball and Editor Marion T. Gaines in the 1950s to Publisher Denise Bannister's years of the 1990s.
Besides his text for a historic timeline of the four decades--the books show the busy left hand of Bowden--the other serious interest of the journalist, author of eleven books and teacher of writing at the University of West Florida. Partially retired in 1998, Bowden continues as a News Journal editorial page columnist and cartoonist.

I live a short distance from many of the homes that are profiled in this book and hope to use some of what I saw in my dream home. Very professional and glossy images (about 5 per home). The book appears to be a portfolio for the builders that are profiled within and that is not necessarily a bad thing. The only thing that is missing from this great book are the floor plans to these magnificent homes. This did not take away from the rating, because these homes are totally customized to their owners and do not have the cookie cutter look that many mansions in Central Florida have. The builders that are profiled state often how they like the challenge of designing a home that the owner will enjoy for a lifetime.

This book is a must for architects, designers and decorators. The authors tuly went out of their way to pick and choose spectacular looking high-end luxury homes. A must on your coffee table.

This is a book written for the lay person. It explains the geologic processes that made petroleum and hid it in layers of deep sands and porous rock. It describes the art, science and luck involved in finding oil and natural gas, along with the evolution of techniques for extracting it from underground structures that would rather not give it up. It acquaints the reader with the sometimes complex deals that organize land owners, speculators, drillers and producers around a common goal. It also introduces the lingo of the oil business.

Works about the history of technology risk focusing on technology to the exclusion of all else, limiting their audience and making them tedious. Not so with this one. Cockrell weaves a rich tapestry of concepts and chronology around the characters, producing an engaging and eminently readable account of every major oil find in Mississippi, Alabama and northwest Florida.

The stories of the oil industry people are likely to remain with the reader far longer than the history, geology and technology. These independent spirits, wild with enthusiasm, chased their dreams, sometimes for decades. Some got rich; some died trying. It is clear from how Cockrell tells their stories that has great affection for them.

A glossary, references and an index are provided.