Ask about Florida

Ask about Florida PDF

Author: James J. Raciti

Publisher: Sunstone Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 0865344566

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Five hundred and thirty-eight questions and their answers about the State of Florida from its origins to the present day cover such subjects as the Native Americans, the Spanish explorers, wars for dominance, the history of religion, politics, population, resources, wildlife and remarkable people that lent their imagination, hard work and dedication to the state. This book was written with various readers in mind. Floridians will find this an easy-to-read review of historical events, and other useful information about their state. Then there are those visitors to Florida who may want to get an overall grasp on how the state grew from its origins in the fifteen hundreds to the present day. Many may want to compare Florida's development with those of other states that grew under the Spanish domination. Those who know quite a bit about Florida may wish to test their knowledge and score their correct answers. Others may find that short bits of information can more easily be absorbed than pages upon pages of data. "Ask About Florida" makes this easy for everyone. JAMES J. RACITI divides his time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and his home in Tallahassee, Florida. Although a native of Pennsylvania, Dr. Raciti spent most of his adult life in Europe as an educator. His books on poetry are "Charles" and "Dabs of Myself." His theatrical writings include "The Song of Roland" and "Invitation at Dawn: Ernest Hemingway." His novels are "Au Revoir a la France," "Giacomo" and "Legacy of War." Sunstone Press has published "Pulling No Ponchos" and "Old Santa Fe."

Backroads of Paradise

Backroads of Paradise PDF

Author: Cathy Salustri

Publisher: University Press of Florida

Published: 2016-08-25

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 0813059658

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In the 1930s, the Federal Writers' Project sent mostly anonymous writers, but also Zora Neale Hurston and Stetson Kennedy, into the depths of Florida to reveal its splendor to the world. The FWP and the State of Florida jointly published the results as Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State, which included twenty-two driving tours of the state's main roads. Eventually, after Eisenhower built the interstates, drivers bypassed the small towns that thrived along these roads in favor of making better time. Those main roads are now the state's backroads—forgotten by all but local residents, a few commuters, and dedicated road-trippers. Retracing the original routes in the Guide, Cathy Salustri rekindles our notions of paradise by bringing a modern eye to the historic travelogues. Salustri's 5,000-mile road trip reveals a patchwork quilt of Florida cultures: startling pockets of history and environmental bliss stitched against the blight of strip malls and franchise restaurants. The journey begins on US 98, heading west toward the Florida/Alabama state line, where coastal towns dot the roadway. Here, locals depend on the tourism industry, spurred by sugar sand beaches, as well as the abundance of local seafood. On US 41, Salustri takes us past the state's only whitewater rapids, a retired carnie town, and a dazzling array of springs, swamps, and rivers interspersed with farms that produce a bounty of fruit. Along US 17, she stops for milkshakes and hamburgers at Florida's oldest diner and visits a collection of springs interconnected by underwater mazes tumbling through white spongy limestone, before stopping in Arcadia, where men still bring cattle to auction. Desperately searching for skunk apes, the Sunshine State's version of Bigfoot, she encounters more than one gator on her way through the Everglades, Ochopee, and the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters. Following the original Guide, Salustri crisscrosses the state from the panhandle to the Keys. She guides readers through forgotten and unknown corners of the state--nude beaches, a rattlesnake cannery, Devil's Millhopper in Gainesville--as well as more familiar haunts--Kennedy Space Center and The Villages, "Florida’s Friendliest Retirement Hometown." Woven through these journeys are nuggets of history, environmental debates about Florida's future, and a narrative that combines humor with a strong affection for an oft-maligned state. Today, Salustri urges, tourists need a new nudge to get off the interstates or away from Disney in order to discover the real Florida. Her travel narrative, following what are now backroads and scenic routes, guides armchair travelers and road warriors alike to historic sites, natural wonders, and notable man-made attractions--comparing the past views with the present landscape and commenting on the changes, some barely noticeable, others extreme, along the way.

Stephen Florida

Stephen Florida PDF

Author: Gabe Habash

Publisher: HarperCollins UK

Published: 2017-06-06

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0008265119

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‘Powerful and magnetic’ Guardian ‘Mind blowing’ Roxane Gay ‘Explosive’ Hanya Yanagihara ‘Funny and disturbing’ Lauren Groff

A Land Remembered

A Land Remembered PDF

Author: Patrick D. Smith

Publisher: Pineapple PressInc

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9781561642236

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Traces the story of the MacIvey family of Florida from 1858 to 1968.

Florida

Florida PDF

Author: Charlie Carlson

Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.

Published: 2009-05

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9781402766848

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A guide to visiting the odd and less known tourist attractions in the state of Florida.

Best. State. Ever.

Best. State. Ever. PDF

Author: Dave Barry

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2017-09-05

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1101982616

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A New York Times bestseller—a brilliantly funny exploration of the Sunshine State from the man who knows it best: Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry. We never know what will happen next in Florida. We know only that, any minute now, something will. Every few months, Dave Barry gets a call from some media person wanting to know, “What the hell is wrong with Florida?” Somehow, the state's acquired an image as a subtropical festival of stupid, and as a loyal Floridian, Dave begs to differ. Join him as he goes in hunt of the legendary Skunk Ape; hobnobs with the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs; and visits Cassadaga, the psychic capital of the world, to have his dog's aura read (apparently, she's "very spiritual"). Hitch a ride for the non-stop thrills of alligator-wrestling ("the gators display the same fighting spirit as a Barcalounger"), the hair-raising spectacle of a clothing-optional bar in Key West, and the manly manliness of the Machine Gun Experience in Miami. It's the most hilarious book yet from “the funniest damn writer in the whole country” (Carl Hiaasen, and he should know). By the end, you'll have to admit that whatever else you might think about Florida—you can never say it's boring.

Finding Florida

Finding Florida PDF

Author: T. D. Allman

Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

Published: 2013-03-05

Total Pages: 578

ISBN-13: 0802120768

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Offers a comprehensive look at the history of the state of Florida, from its discovery, exploration, and settlement through its becoming a state, to notable events in the early twenty-first century.

Sunshine State

Sunshine State PDF

Author: Sarah Gerard

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2017-04-11

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 0062434888

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Longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay • Finalist for the Southern Book Prize A New York Times Critics’ Best Books of the Year • An NPR Best Book of the Year • A NYLON Best Nonfiction Book of the Year • A Buzzfeed Best Nonfiction Book of the Year • An Entrophy Magazine Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year • A Brooklyn Rail Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year • A Baltimore Beat Best Book of the Year A Paris Review Staff Pick • A Chicago Tribune Exciting Book for 2017 • A Rolling Stone Culture Index Reccomendation • A Buzzfeed Most Exciting Book for 2017 • A The Millions Great 2017 Book Preview Pick • A Huffington Post 2017 Preview Pick • A NYLON Best 10 Books of the Month • A Lit Hub 15 Books to Read This Month A Poets & Writers New and Noteworth Selection • A PW Top 10 Spring Pick in Essays & Literary Criticism • An Emma Straub Reccomendation on PBS “One of the themes of ‘Sunshine State,’ Sarah Gerard’s striking book of essays, is how Florida can unmoor you and make you reach for shoddy, off-the-shelf solutions to your psychic unease…. The first essay is a knockout, a lurid red heart wrapped in barbed wire.... This essay draws blood.” — Dwight Garner, New York Times "Unflinchingly candid memoir bolstered by thoughtfully researched history…. A nuanced and subtly intimate mosaic… her writing, lucid yet atmospheric, takes on a timeless ebb and flow.” — Jason Heller, NPR.org "Stunning." — Rolling Stone “These large-hearted, meticulous essays offer an uncanny x-ray of our national psyche... showing us both the grand beauty of our American dreams and the heartbreaking devastation they wreak.” — Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You Sarah Gerard follows her breakout novel, Binary Star, with the dynamic essay collection Sunshine State, which explores Florida as a microcosm of the most pressing economic and environmental perils haunting our society. In the collection’s title essay, Gerard volunteers at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, a world renowned bird refuge. There she meets its founder, who once modeled with a pelican on his arm for a Dewar’s Scotch campaign but has since declined into a pit of fraud and madness. He becomes our embezzling protagonist whose tales about the birds he “rescues” never quite add up. Gerard’s personal stories are no less eerie or poignant: An essay that begins as a look at Gerard’s first relationship becomes a heart-wrenching exploration of acquaintance rape and consent. An account of intimate female friendship pivots midway through, morphing into a meditation on jealousy and class. With the personal insight of The Empathy Exams, the societal exposal of Nickel and Dimed, and the stylistic innovation and intensity of her own break-out debut novel Binary Star, Sarah Gerard’s Sunshine State uses the intimately personal to unearth the deep reservoirs of humanity buried in the corners of our world often hardest to face.