Florida Books

What a delightful volume ! I live on Florida's Sun Coast and was so pleased to find its virtues extolled with such a succint and easily read book. I was amazed at how much local lore I had missed that was right in my own backyard.

The maps and clear directions make this an invaluable aid to anyone choosing our fair state

Al Rice

This is a wonderful down-to-earth guide book. In addition to the better known tourist attractions, the writers tell you about the lesser known attractions, such as museums, natural attractions, some history, the arts, etc. This book has something for everyone, from the nature lover to the theme park lover; it's for people who like to camp, and those who'd rather stay at pricey hotels. Check out the special interest tours in the back, they're great!

It is amazing to think that so much treasure is still in the oceans. Very informative!

Potter's "The Treasure Diver's Guide" is a book every scuba diver who ever thought of finding treasure underwater needs to have near his bedside. This is a wonderful work on treasure diving spanning most of the know world. (Wrecks described from Hispaniola, the Antilles, Venezuela, Cuba, Yucatan, Central America, South America, Florida, Portugal, Mediterranean, South Pacific, Asia, Indian Ocean, Southeast Africa, ect. to name a few!!) Complete with a variety of maps (not detailed enough to find the treasure, but good enough to light the fire inside you!), photos of recovered booty, and a thorough compilation of underwater treasure troves around the world. I was impressed with the sheer number of wrecks included in this book, amazing! One of Potter's anecdotes struck me as quite interesting--1/3 of the world's mined gold is at the bottom of the ocean. Wow!! Super read, highly recommended--in fact only several years after this book was published, and a course of action recommended "an all-out dredging attack during the comparative calm of the summer might uncover some treasure," that the wreck of the "Whidah" off East Orleans on Cape Cod was indeed found and ripe with gold pieces of eight at that!

This book explains the basics of treasure diving through the experience of a modern day pioneer that found treasure off the coast of Florida. His love of the sea and history brought him good fortune, but more importantly, a productive quest for innovative techniques so that others can enjoy treasure hunting. After reading this book, I feel that it is possible for anyone to stumble upon their own little peice of treasure--be it historic, a natural phenomenon, or gold coins. I moved to Florida three years ago, and have grown to love the ocean. I have taken up fishing, boating, sailing, snorkeling, surfing, and now look forward to dive lessons this summer. This is the only book that I have found that explains in easy terms the basics and background for treasure diving. My husband and I are excited to begin exploration. What an inspiration!

Personally I think the Second Edition of Treasure Diving With Captain Dom - Special Archival Section has more for your money in content. Both first and second editions are well written in easy to understand language. I found both books very informative with beautiful color photos. The glossy stock which is used in the second edition as opposed to the mat finish paper stock used in the first edition are more vivid and clearly printed on . The second edition has 4 more pages and is priced more moderately. All and all, the second edition is a better value. Treasure Diving With Captain Dom is a wonderful book for both young and old alike. Captain Dom inspires all of us, to follow our dreams.

With Odysesey Marine Exploration finding sunken treasure in 2007, it's great to read about another great find - Mel Fisher's find of the Atocha. Pirate of the Caribbean fans might like reading about finding sunken ships and their treasure, too. The book is well written and includes wonderful drawings.

The story of Mel Fisher's 16-year search for the lost treasure ship Atocha is a compelling one, and this retelling of it is worthy of the tale. The Spanish ship Atocha, laden with tons of precious metals and jewels, sank in a storm off Florida in 1622. Salvage efforts were frustrated by more storms and a wreck too low in the water to get at without modern diving technology. Mel started looking for the wreck in 1969 and he found it at terrible personal cost. But it is a great story and has wonderful sidebars. I am a children's librarian and kids will love this.

I loved Al Burt's newspaper columns because he wrote about a Florida that only someone who got there before 1975 would even recognize. They are even more fun to read now. Makes me want to hop in the car and drive to Micanopy!

Al Burt is a Florida institution. For many years I bought the Miami Herald on Sunday just so I could read his column. Now, many of my favorite columns are available in something more permanent than the back page of a magazine, and honed and polished and brought up to date to boot. When I'm not thumbing through it, this book rests right next to my copies of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Marjory Stoneman Douglas--Al Burt's kindred souls among those who love Florida and explain it to others in ways that the Chamber of Commerce never will master. More, more. Please!

Trouble on the St Johns River is a truly inspiring tale of kids taking action against real, current environmental concerns. Jane R. Wood does a tremendous job of integrating fun, fictional characters, and historical fact and local concerns with just the right amount of suspense and drama."

A pond swamped with disgusting green muck and most of the fish are already dead - certainly puts a damper on any fishing trip. "Trouble on the St. Johns River" is the tale of two brothers whose fishing trip is ruined - and they plan on doing something about it - befriending a manatee, touring a center that treats sea turtles, and more - with tips on things kids can do to help their environment "Trouble on the St. Johns River" is a call to action for young children, and highly recommended for community library children's fiction collections.

Ken Alvarez has written a masterful account of the Florida Panther Recovery program. His exhaustive research, his elegant prose, his penetrating insights make this book a significant contribution to endangered species literature and an indispensable resource for those of us working in panther recovery today. Alvarez has recorded for posterity a blow by blow description of how a recovery effort with massive public support and funding was stalled by agency inertia and infighting and by the relentless development pressure of late twentieth century Florida --the real world counterpart of Carl Hiaasen novels. He chronicles the victories and defeats and tackles the hard questions of how endangered species recovery programs can be made more effective.

His insights into agency bureaucracies that have little interest in endangered species and little knowledge of small population management are as relevant today as when they were written:

"And so it goes...the actors come and go; decisions are reversed, often without explanation; no one is in charge; the different agencies and factions pursue their separate objectives; motives are sometimes discernible and sometimes not; the recovery program is a case of strategic aversion and operational chaos, organized only to the extent that it can avoid any action deemed undesirable by its component factions, as they project an image of industry and purpose while consuming a perennial flow of revenue." Twilight of the Panther, p.171.

Ken Alvarez has written a masterful account of the Florida Panther Recovery program. His exhaustive research, his elegant prose, his penetrating insights make this book a significant contribution to endangered species literature and an indispensable resource for those of us working in panther recovery today. Alvarez has recorded for posterity a blow by blow description of how a recovery effort with massive public support and funding was stalled by agency inertia and infighting and by the relentless development pressure of late twentieth century Florida --the real world counterpart of Carl Hiaasen novels. He chronicles the victories and defeats and tackles the hard questions of how endangered species recovery programs can be made more effective.

His insights into agency bureaucracies that have little interest in endangered species and little knowledge of small population management are as relevant today as when they written:

"And so it goes...the actors come and go; decisions are reversed, often without explanation; no one is in charge; the different agencies and factions pursue their separate objectives; motives are sometimes discernible and sometimes not; the recovery program is a case of strategic aversion and operational chaos, organized only to the extent that it can avoid any action deemed undesirable by its component factions, as they project an image of industry and purpose while consuming a perennial flow of revenue." Twilight of the Panther, p.171.

The author manages to completely avoid the use of profanity and sexually explicit scenes, yet weaves a steamy story that is boldly graphic. A hard to put down tale about the violence and cruelty of man. - Five Stars!!

I discovered this new novel displayed by the author at a film and literature conference at Florida State University. This book will be of particular interest to anyone familiar with the notorious crime families of Tampa's Ybor City. The author, M.C. Rudasill, a native of Florida, takes the reader on a fast-paced, no, a screaming ride through an adventure that is so believable it may cause the reader to shudder and look away from the page-- I know I did!

Not for the faint of heart, this is a graphically accurate description of the not-so-pretty side of organized crime complete with heroes and unintentional victims. It should be noted, however, that the author has so expertly crafted his writing that the reader is totally engaged in the lives of the good, bad and accidentally involved characters and may find it difficult to choose a side. We can only hope for a sequel.

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.