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UNIVERSITY PRESS OF FLORIDA

ANNOUNCES NEW FALL RELEASES

By Michael A. Laffey

 

GAINESVILLE, FL--The University Press of Florida Fall 1999 season offers rare and revealing glimpses of familiar Florida landmarks, both cultural and natural.

Carl Hiassen has long been acknowledged one of America’s most popular novelists. Kick Ass: Selected Columns of Carl Hiassen edited by Diane Stevenson, reveals what readers of the Miami Herald already know; he brings the same dark humor and satirical edge to the twice-weekly "baseball-bat-to-the-forehead" syndicated columns collected here that he displays in his acclaimed fiction.

Getting Naked with Harry Crews also provides a fresh perspective on a widely admired writer of fiction. With 23 books under his belt, Crews loosens it often in a series of candid, insightful, and unfailingly entertaining interviews from over a quarter-century. Erik Bledsoe, recent editor of a special edition of Southern Quarterly devoted to Crews, has collected 26 interviews and provided a useful introduction.

Yet another intriguing portrait of the off-stage action that produces a literary scene is present in Rodger L. Tarr’s Max and Marjorie: The Correspondence between Maxwell E. Perkins and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Often poignant in its illumination of their enduring friendship, the nearly 700 letters, notes, and wires they exchanged are also invaluable for their portrayal of the workings of the legendary Scribner publishing house at the height of its power, not to mention the candid gossip Max shared about some of the other authors he nurtured like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Thomas Wolfe.

For another side of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings legacy, check out Idella Parker: From Reddick to Cross Creek. Idella’s second book, illustrated with more than 120 photos, adds fresh memories to existing information about Rawlings during the time Idella was both her employee and confidante; more than this, Idella’s story of her life outside her relationship to the great writer produces an intimate social history of black life in rural central Florida throughout this century.

A different side of the Florida experience is richly documented in Al Burt’s The Tropic of Cracker. From Apalachicola to the Everglades, from Tallahassee to the Keys, Burt’s tales crackle like the old-time cow hunter’s whip whose sound provided those native Floridians with their nickname, ample evidence that "Cracker" truly is a state-of-mind.

Written by members of the Garden Club of Palm Beach, Gardens by the Sea: Creating a Tropical Paradise reveals more wonders of the Florida landscape. An example of what the inspired and dedicated amateur can produce, this book is both a complete reference work for beginning and serious and an exquisite coffee table book for browsing.

Florida’s natural wonders are also well represented in this Fall’s releases. Mark and Maria Minno’s Florida Butterfly Gardening: A Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Butterflies of the Lower South will become a treasured compendium for those who delight in attracting butterflies to their gardens; those who want to understand their biology, behavior, life cycles, and habitats; and those who just seek sound information for identifying the wide range of butterflies drawn to the region. Over 400 color photos and illustrations make this book nearly as attractive as its subject.

All books are available at bookstores and from the publisher directly.

Kick Ass: Selected Columns of Carl Hiassen, edited by Diane Stevenson, $24.95

Getting Naked with Harry Crew: Interviews, edited by Erik Bledsoe, $24.95

Max and Marjorie: The Correspondence between Maxwell E. Perkins and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, edited by Rodger L. Tarr, $34.95

Idella Parker: From Reddick to Cross Creek, by Idella Parker with Bud and Liz Crussell, $19.95

The Tropic of Cracker, by Al Burt, $24.95 (AVAILABLE NOW)

Florida Butterfly Gardening: A Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Butterflies of the Lower South, by Marc C. Minno and Maria Minno, $34.95 (AVAILABLE NOW)

Gardens by the Sea: Creating a Tropical Paradise, by The Garden Club of Palm Beach, $34.95