In this lively introduction to Florida's political history, David Colburn and Lance deHaven-Smith explain the evolution of Florida’s government, and the forces that affected that evolution, from 1845 to the present.

The New History of Florida, the first comprehensive history of the state to be written in a quarter of a century, is the culmination of the most recent and significant work from a galaxy of specialists. Each of the 22 chapters, which weave together in one continuous narrative, was written especially for this volume.

Gannon summarizes the longest recorded history of any of the American states in 28 brisk chapters, each generously illustrated. Read a sample.

The most comprehensive chronological guide to hurricanes, tropical storms, and near-misses to impact Florida, this newly expanded volume contains the widest possible range of statistics and information on the tropical cyclones that hit Florida from 1871 through 2001.

For 500 years, visitors to Florida have discovered magic. In Some Kind of Paradise, an eloquent social and environmental history of the state, Mark Derr describes how this exotic land is fast becoming a victim of its own allure.

This is the the first major discussion of the formation, development, and history of the Everglades, considered by many to be the most endangered ecosystem in North America. Comprehensive in scope, it begins with South Florida's geologic origins-before the Everglades became wetlands-and continues through the 20th century, when sugar reigns as king of the Everglades Agricultural Area.

This story of the land and people in the region of the St. Johns River and the Atlantic coast covers 18,000 years-from the Ice Age to the first half of the 20th century. Miller describes how natural features transformed and how cultural traditions of native people, as well as Spanish, English, and American colonists, developed in response to opportunities and constraints of the environment.

The first maritime atlas of Florida offers a generously illustrated introduction to 13,000 years of Florida maritime history and geography, from dugout canoes to modern-day maritime travel and industry.

The first comprehensive geology of the state of Florida published in over thirty years, this volume brings together leading geoscience authorities from academia, state and federal geological surveys, and private industry in a liberally illustrated, up-to-date summary and analysis.

Like so many midwesterners since, Julia Daniels and Charles Scott Moseley moved to Florida in the 1880s seeking a warmer climate. This collection of Julia's letters reveals the struggle of a cultured, urban woman adjusting to the hardship and isolation of life in pioneer Florida-and coming to love it. Tramping through the unsullied land surrounding the Limona community near Tampa, where they settled, she gloried in her "neglected corner in the Garden of Eden."

Few people today can claim a living memory of Florida's frontier Everglades. Glen Simmons, who has hunted alligators, camped on hammock-covered islands, and poled his skiff through the mangrove swamps of the glades since the 1920s, is one who can. Together with Laura Ogden, he tells the story of backcountry life in the southern Everglades from his youth until the establishment of the Everglades National Park in 1947.

Modern Florida began among a group of Yankee reformers at the end of the Civil War, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and her brother, Charles. Arriving in Florida nearly two decades ahead of Henry Flagler, the Beechers dreamed of making the state a haven for freedmen and progressive northerners unhampered by the rest of the South's racial divisions.

Stowe describes life in Florida in the latter half of the 19th century--"a tumble-down, wild, panicky kind of life--this general happy-go-luckiness which Florida inculcates." Her idyllic sketches of picnicking, sailing, and river touring expeditions and simple stories of events and people in this tropical "winter summer" land became the first unsolicited promotional writing to interest northern tourists in Florida.

William Lyman Phillips (1885-1966) played a seminal role in the landscaping of Florida and in the history of landscape architecture, designing the world-famous Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami (begun in 1938) as well as hundreds of other sites, four of them on the National Register. This biography brings to life the story of the quiet, self-effacing man whose love of Florida's tropical and subtropical botany has had such a profound influence on the way Florida looks today.

In 1885, America's greatest inventor, the "wizard" of electricity and Yankee industrialization, established a second home in Florida. Unlike the many wealthy turn-of-the century vacationers who descended on Florida's tourist cities to unwind and escape, Thomas Edison chose a "cow town" in the Florida outback. In the mid-1880s, he built a modest house and a laboratory under the palm trees of Fort Myers, and this "green laboratory" became a quiet wellspring of invention for the next forty years.

"What a splendid read! What a wonderful biography of a man, a naturalist, with a zest for life and the environment-- plants, shells, snails, all things of the Everglades, palms, plants, grasses and flowers! Rothra has given a major contribution to naturalists and historians."--Polk County News Chief

"Elizabeth Rothra's excellent biography of Charles Torrey Simpson restates his philosophies about the intrinsic value of natural ecosystems like the Everglades. No one knew better than he the history of the plants and animals of South Florida or conveyed it with more humor and enthusiasm."--Marjory Stoneman Douglas

In the mysterious wilderness of swamps, marshes, and rivers that conceals life in the Florida Everglades, Totch Brown hung up his career as alligator hunter and commercial fisherman to become a self-confessed pot smuggler.

"A fascinating portrait of the man who becomes a paradigm for Florida's boom and bust years and for the financial collapse suffered by so many among the nation's wealthy during the Great Depression."--June Hall McCash, Georgia Historical Quarterly

(Paperback edition)

As John D. Rockefeller's closest adviser in the 1870s, Flagler helped assemble the Standard Oil empire. In this thoroughly researched biography, Akin shows that Flagler understood early in his career that cheap freight rates determined industrial profits. Portraying Flagler as an aggressive entrepreneur, Akin documents his shrewd negotiations to obtain reduced rates, rebates, and drawbacks from the railroads, thus assuring Standard Oil's national domination over oil transportation costs.

Now in a new paperback edition, Samuel Proctor's popular biography was first described as "a lusty narrative of a lusty age." Revealing the politics and intrigues of frontier Florida in the period still known as the "Broward Era," Proctor describes the life and liberal administration of Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1857-1910), elected governor of Florida in 1904.

Charles Ewen and John Hann chronicle the discovery and excavation of the only known campsite of Hernando de Soto's ten-state odyssey in La Florida during the 16th century. Located in downtown Tallahassee in sight of the state capitol, the site was rescued at the last minute from developers--a story almost as compelling as that of de Soto's expedition.

First published in 1964, Rebel Bishop, by award-winning historian Michael Gannon, is the biography of a passionately outspoken and controversial figure—a man who found himself at the intersection of three fascinating histories: that of a nation torn by Civil War, that of the Catholic Church during the First Vatican Council, and that of Florida in the mid-1800s.

"A smoothly written and well-balanced piece of history. . . . Nelson's portrayal of Grant as a Scotsman and soldier is the common thread that runs throughout the book, keeping everything in perspective and providing the reader with a readily accessible and fascinating narrative."--Philander D. Chase, editor, The Papers of George Washington, University of Virginia

Hernando de Soto, the Spanish conquistador, is legendary in the United States today: counties, cars, caverns, shopping malls, and bridges all bear his name. This work explains the historical importance of his expedition, an incredible journey that began at Tampa Bay in 1539 and ended in Arkansas in 1543.

As fresh and poignant today as when they were written, these touching letters and diaries capture the heart of everyday life during the Civil War. Set both at home in north Florida and on the front, the letters were written from 1856 to mid-1865 by two generations of the Bryant and Stephens families, ordinary Confederate folk whose members included radical secessionists, moderates, and even a few Unionists.

Focusing on those native peoples and their interactions with Spanish and French explorers and colonists, Jerald Milanich delineates this massive cultural change. Using information gathered from archaeological excavations and from the interpretation of historical documents left behind by the colonial powers, he explains where the native groups came from, where they lived, and what happened to them. He closes with the tragic disappearance of the original inhabitants in the eighteenth century and the first appearance of the ancestors of Florida's present Native Americans.

"A carefully documented and leisurely narrative. . . . Mahon provides colorful detail not only of battles and leaders but also of problems (often comic ones) of military organization and ordnance, Florida population and high society, Seminole culture and history, and the life and character of the leading Indians."—Journal of American History

"The definitive account of the march and annihilation of Major Francis Dade's column of 108 men in December 1835. . . . Extensive knowledge of the soldiers, the Seminoles, and the terrain is woven into the text. There does not exist a more vivid, but at the same time historically accurate account of a single action in U.S. military literature."--John K. Mahon

"All the suspense, adventure, and vivid detail that the most avid military history reader could desire."--Journal of Southern History

Widely regarded as the best eyewitness account of the Battle of New Orleans, Arsene LaCarriere Latour's Historical Memoir records first-hand the dramatic events of the climactic military campaign of the War of 1812. This revised and expanded edition includes a substantial new biographical introduction based on a group of manuscripts relating to the battle recently acquired from Latour's descendants in France.

This story of a remarkable people, the Black Seminoles, and their charismatic leader, Chief John Horse, chronicles their heroic struggle for freedom.

During the Second Seminole War, when the last surviving Seminoles sought refuge in the Everglades and resorted to guerrilla-style tactics, the U.S. Navy was forced, for the first time in its history, to operate in a nonmaritime environment. Swamp Sailors is the story of the 'Mosquito Fleet' and the U.S. Navy's coming of age, sure to be of interest to military history enthusiasts, to students of Florida history, and to armchair sailors everywhere.

This book invites you to visit the #1 vacation destination in the world and see sights that millions of people miss every year! Whether you're a central Florida resident or tourist in the Orlando area, this illustrated book takes you to attractions within easy driving distance where you can enjoy and explore a rich real-life heritage more varied and extensive than any theme park.

Between 1819 and 1848, Primitive Baptists emerged as a distinct, dominant religious group in the area of the deepest South known as the Wiregrass country. John Crowley, a historian and former Primitive minister, chronicles their origins and expansion into South Georgia and Florida, documenting one of the strongest aspects of the inner life of the local piney-woods culture.

St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950 chronicles the early history of St. Petersburg and the lower Pinellas Peninsula. From the precolumbian culture of the Tocobaga mound-builders to the arrival of the railroad, from the St. Petersburg-Havana yacht races to the tin-can tourists to the first stirrings of the Sunbelt phenomenon following World War II, Raymond Arsenault's history presents a rich tapestry of the area.

Early in this century, the Native Americans known as the Florida Seminoles struggled to survive in an environment altered by the drainage of the Everglades and a dwindling demand for hides. Patsy West describes how they turned to tourism and discovered another marketable commodity--their own culture.

Covington constructs a complete account of the Florida Seminoles from their move into the peninsula from Georgia and Alabama almost 300 years ago through the great chiefdoms of Micanopy, Osceola, and Billy Bowlegs. He brings the history of the tribe into this century as he describes the beginning of Seminole relocation to reservations, their participation in WWII, and the recent changes in tribal education, government, and agriculture and business ventures.

Florida's Indians tells the story of the native societies that have lived in Florida for twelve millennia, from the early hunters at the end of the Ice Age to the modern Seminole, Miccosukee, and Creeks.

The Apalachee Indians of northwest Florida and their Spanish conquerors come alive in this lavishly illustrated story of their premier community, San Luis. With a cast of characters that includes friars, soldiers, civilians, a Spanish governor, and a diverse native population, the book portrays the dwellings, daily life, religious practices, social structures, and recreation activities at the mission.

Brent Weisman explores Seminole and Miccosukee culture through information provided by archaeology, ethnography, historical documents, and the words of the Indians themselves. He explains when and how their culture was formed and how it has withstood historical challenges and survives in the face of pressures from the modern world.

In the early 17th century, 150 years before Spanish missions were established in California, a chain of missions reached westward from St. Augustine across northern Florida. Today nothing exists of those Florida Franciscan outposts. Our knowledge of them comes only from archival research and information gleaned from archaeological excavations.

"A solid chronicle of the Calusa. . . . displays the richness of their society and the reader cannot help feeling the tragedy of their demise. Hann should be commended not only for his scholarship, but also for reminding us that our celebration of Columbus' achievement should include a generous portion of solemn reflection."--Southern Historian

"Deserves a place on the shelf of anyone with a serious interest in American Indians, in Spanish American frontiers, or in the once-powerful institution of the mission, through which Christianity was joined to geopolitics."--American Indian Quarterly

(Paperback)

This is the first in-depth history of the Florida territorial courts, the Supreme Court of Florida, and the judges of both from 1821 to 1917, the golden age of state constitutional law.

"As anyone knows who tunes him in on national TV as "The Fight Doctor", Ferdie Pacheco is a world-class spellbinder. But catching that verbal magic on a page is a rare gift. The proof is in the reading of this racy, vivid, evocative page-turner, as much fun to read as Ferdie had living it in this unique Cuban enclave, a world unto itself that he re-creates for us in Pachecoese, a lingua franca of the spirit."--Budd Schulberg

"Ferdie Pacheco takes us to a vanished time and place, full of affectionate laughter, the invincible optimism of immigrants, and the delicious aroma of good cigars. He makes all of us wish we'd grown up in Ybor City."—Pete Hamill

This reprint of Gary Mormino and George Pozzetta's classic, The Immigrant World of Ybor City, makes available once again the wonderful story of the vibrant community of Italians, Spaniards, and Cubans that grew up around the cigar industry in Tampa, Florida, at the dawn of the 20th century.

As a roving reporter for the Miami Herald from 1973 to 1995, Al Burt traveled all of Florida, studying it with the insight of a native and the detached eye of the foreign correspondent he had been. During those years, he observed connections with the state’s past and speculated about its future, and, while he was at it, took note of the human frailties and heroisms he witnessed every day.

The crack of the old-time cow hunter’s whip gave the native Floridian a nickname, but Al Burt’s Tropic of Cracker is a state of mind shared by those who love "what remains of the Florida that needed no blueprint or balance sheet for its creation, that was here before there was a can opener or a commercial or a real-estate agent."

Celebrating Florida presents for the first time a full-color collection of 66 important paintings, drawings, and prints of Florida-based art. Featuring such artists as Winslow Homer, Louis Comfort Tiffany, George Inness, William Glackens, Martin Johnson Heade, Frank Shapleigh, and Herman Herzog, the book highlights some of the world's most significant artists, who came to Florida from 1823 to 1950 to capture the Sunshine State.

This stunning full-color book, the first devoted exclusively to the artistic achievements of the Florida aborigines, describes and pictures 116 of these masterpieces. They date from the Paleoindian period (ca. 9500-800 B.C.) to the mid-16th century and include utilitarian creations, instruments of personal adornment and magic, objects indicating status, and those paying homage to ancestors or aiding the dead in their journey into the next world.

The artistic tradition that in the past sustained Florida Indians helps identify them today as possessing a resilient, modern culture. In this richly illustrated account of the arts and crafts of the Florida Seminole and Miccosukee Indians, Dorothy Downs shows how artistic expression reflects and inspires history.

Winsberg provides an illustrated catalog of more than 800 historically significant buildings and sites around the state. From Fort Clinch to Ted Smallwood's store, Viscaya to Pensacola's Old Christ Church, DeSoto's 1539 Winter Camp to the Big Mound City earthworks, this guide details public and private structures, sites, and districts from all periods of Florida's history.

Simultaneously a history of New World cartography and of its geographic errors and eccentricities, it surveys the role of maps in the exploration and settlement of the New World and will be of interest to cartography enthusiasts and scholars alike. A Florida timeline, full-color reproductions, suggested reading list, glossary, and complete bibliography make this an excellent 'navigational guide' for explorers--young and old--of Florida history.

Life in early Florida hummed to a rich treasury of music, collected here for the first time by the foremost authority on the subject. With lively and little-known stories about much of the music, Wiley Housewright presents 120 scores of songs heard between 1565 and 1865, from the first permanent settlement in the state to the last battle of the Civil War, all printed in an easy-to-read format suitable for performance today. This anthology will be welcomed by performers, music teachers in all grades, readers interested in Florida culture and history, and everyone whose foot starts tapping at the sound of a polka.

Life in early Florida hummed to a rich treasury of music, collected here for the first time by the foremost authority on the subject. With lively and little-known stories about much of the music, Wiley Housewright presents 120 scores of songs heard between 1565 and 1865, from the first permanent settlement in the state to the last battle of the Civil War, all printed in an easy-to-read format suitable for performance today. This anthology will be welcomed by performers, music teachers in all grades, readers interested in Florida culture and history, and everyone whose foot starts tapping at the sound of a polka.

(Paperback edition)

A book of nearly 250 Florida folksongs: songs of war, outlawry and prisons, love and religion, nursery tunes, occupational tunes, and even hurricane songs.

"These images, with meticulous craftsmanship, documentary power, and artistic sensitivity, transcend their origins as political persuasion for social legislation. They speak to us as powerfully today as they did almost 50 years ago. Perhaps they are the real Florida."--Tallahassee Democrat