Florida has been the home of many unusual characters throughout the years. Meet Ned Buntline, Laura Riding, Wilson Mizner, Sam Jones, and many others. Storytellers, lawbreakers, movers and shakers, sportsmen, moviemakers, visionaries, and mobsters all left their mark on Florida. Next in series > > See all of the books in this series

Florida is a story of astonishing growth, a state swelling from 500,000 residents at the outset of the 20th century to some 16 million at the end. As recently as mid-century, on the eve of Pearl Harbor, Florida was the smallest state in the South. At the dawn of the millennium, it is the fourth largest in the country, a megastate that was among those introducing new words into the American vernacular: space coast, climate control, growth management, retirement community, theme park, edge cities, shopping mall, boomburbs, beach renourishment, Interstate, and Internet. Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams attempts to understand the firestorm of change that erupted into modern Florida by examining the great social, cultural, and economic forces driving its transformation. Gary Mormino ranges far and wide across the landscape and boundaries of a place that is at once America's southernmost state and the northernmost outpost of the Caribbean. From the capital, Tallahassee--a day's walk from the Georgia border--to Miami--a city distant but tantalizingly close to Cuba and Haiti--Mormino traces the themes of Florida's transformation: the echoes of old Dixie and a vanishing Florida; land booms and tourist empires; revolutions in agriculture, technology, and demographics; the seductions of the beach and the dynamics of a graying population; and the enduring but changing meanings of a dreamstate. Beneath the iconography of popular culture is revealed a complex and complicated social framework that reflects a dizzying passage from New Spain to Old South, New South to Sunbelt.

Discover Florida, with its unique geography and exciting history—from ancient gold to modern real estate speculation—by journeying along its highways. Beginning with a chronology and succinct account of Florida's spectacular development, then an account of the rise of the major cities, Florida History from the Highways takes you throughout the state, pointing out the fascinating events that occurred at locations along the way. You'll travel through changing times and landscapes and emerge filled with new appreciation for what has made Florida the colorful place it is today.

The new, full-colour Rough Guide to Florida is the ultimate travel guide to this fascinating US state, with clear maps and detailed coverage of all the best attractions. Discover Florida's highlights, with expert information on everything from the bars and Art Deco gems of South Beach and the iconic theme parks of Orlando to the vast 'gator-filled swamps of the Everglades and the dazzling coral reefs of the Keys - all made accessible with easy-to-use maps and reliable advice on how to get around. Find detailed practical information on what to see and do in Miami, Tampa and Palm Beach, as well as lesser-visited spots, with up-to-date, insider reviews of the best hotels, bars, clubs, shops and restaurants for all budgets, as well as stunning photography that brings it all to life. Explore every corner of the state with the Rough Guide, to help make sure you don't miss the unmissable.

Trips for nature lovers that won't strain the muscles.

New, original research finally solves the riddle of the disappearance of Joanna of Flanders, described by David Hume as 'the most extraordinary woman of the age', early in the Hundred Years War.

Chronicles both land and sea maneuvers in Florida during the Civil War.