A history of a very popular beach destination near Sarasota on the Gulf coast of Florida. Reviewing the past century of Siesta Key development in the context of Florida's ancient and recent emergence, this book explains how one small Gulf coast barrier island has become world famous as “#1 Beach in the USA." Beginning with Amerindian settlers, the “First Floridians," all of the seminal pioneers and a steady stream of pivotal leaders are described with emphasis on their families, motivations, and challenges. Both historical triumphs and tragedies are covered to provide a balanced perspective. Lastly, the current and future threats are analyzed in detail, including the environmental controversies with nearby keys, the menace of increasing red tide, and the risks of rising sea levels associated with global warming.

The trusted guide to Florida's premier Gulf Coast destinations—now with a brand-new look! Whether Charlotte Harbor’s wild shorelines and preserved estuaries, or Sarasota’s historic culture sweetened by sugar magnates, travelers have an in-depth look on the environment, history, and culture of this beautiful stretch of coastline. Now in its 7th fully updated edition, this guide gives visitors and locals access to the best of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Do it all, from the fabled “Sanibel stoop” for collecting seashells to dining in the finest five-star bistros. The author’s deep local knowledge again provides the most reliable info available to this paradise. Each book in the Explorer’s Guide series gives travelers the tools and information they need to discover every corner of their destination. The helpful “What’s Where” section gives you the lay of the land; easy-to-read maps show you how to get around; handy icons point out amenities; and sidebars throughout recommend the must-see and must-do spots in each region. Everything you need to enjoy the beach is right here!

A children's ABC book featuring original artwork depicting images of Siesta Key, Florida, created by artist Shawn McLoughlin. Siesta Key, Florida is a top tourism destination and has the distinction of being home to #1 Siesta Beach with it's unique and brilliant white 99% quartz sand. This book project is a partnership between the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, and the artist.

“This isn’t a story about black people—it’s a story about the Left’s agenda to patronize blacks and lie to everyone else.” For decades, the Left has been putting on a play with themselves as heroes in an ongoing civil rights move­ment—which they were mostly absent from at the time. Long after pervasive racial discrimination ended, they kept pretending America was being run by the Klan and that liberals were black America’s only protectors. It took the O. J. Simpson verdict—the race-based acquittal of a spectacularly guilty black celebrity as blacks across America erupted in cheers—to shut down the white guilt bank. But now, fewer than two decades later, our “pos­tracial” president has returned us to the pre-OJ era of nonstop racial posturing. A half-black, half-white Democrat, not descended from American slaves, has brought racial unrest back with a whoop. The Obama candidacy allowed liberals to engage in self-righteousness about race and get a hard-core Leftie in the White House at the same time. In 2008, we were told the only way for the nation to move past race was to elect him as president. And 53 percent of voters fell for it. Now, Ann Coulter fearlessly explains the real his­tory of race relations in this country, including how white liberals twist that history to spring the guilty, accuse the innocent, and engender racial hatreds, all in order to win politically. You’ll learn, for instance, how A U.S. congressman and a New York mayor con­spired to protect cop killers who ambushed four police officers in the Rev. Louis Farrakhan’s mosque. The entire Democratic elite, up to the Carter White House, coddled a black cult in San Francisco as hun­dreds of the cult members marched to their deaths in Guyana. New York City became a maelstrom of racial hatred, with black neighborhoods abandoned to crimi­nals who were ferociously defended by a press that assessed guilt on the basis of race. Preposterous hoax hate crimes were always believed, never questioned. And when they turned out to be frauds the stories would simply disappear from the news. Liberals quickly switched the focus of civil rights laws from the heirs of slavery and Jim Crow to white feminists, illegal immigrants, and gays. Subway vigilante Bernhard Goetz was surprisingly popular in black neighborhoods, despite hysterical denunciations of him by the New York Times. Liberals slander Republicans by endlessly repeating a bizarro-world history in which Democrats defended black America and Republicans appealed to segregationists. The truth has always been exactly the opposite. Going where few authors would dare, Coulter explores the racial demagoguery that has mugged America since the early seventies. She shines the light of truth on cases ranging from Tawana Brawley, Lemrick Nelson, and Howard Beach, NY, to the LA riots and the Duke lacrosse scandal. And she shows how the 2012 Obama campaign is going to inspire the greatest racial guilt mongering of all time.

In this updated guide you’ll find the definitive word on this Gulf Coast area, its recreation, restaurants, hotels, and more, from deluxe to offbeat. Enjoy an insider’s vantage point on Charlotte Harbor’s wild shores, the coast’s sandy barrier islands, Naples’s polished allure, and Sarasota-Bradenton’s “sweet” history.

In Occupied America, Donald F. Johnson chronicles the everyday experience of ordinary people living under military occupation during the American Revolution. Focusing on day-to-day life in port cities held by the British Army, Johnson recounts how men and women from a variety of backgrounds navigated harsh conditions, mitigated threats to their families and livelihoods, took advantage of new opportunities, and balanced precariously between revolutionary and royal attempts to secure their allegiance. Between 1775 and 1783, every large port city along the Eastern seaboard fell under British rule at one time or another. As centers of population and commerce, these cities—Boston, New York, Newport, Philadelphia, Savannah, Charleston—should have been bastions from which the empire could restore order and inspire loyalty. Military rule's exceptional social atmosphere initially did provide opportunities for many people—especially women and the enslaved, but also free men both rich and poor—to reinvent their lives, and while these opportunities came with risks, the hope of social betterment inspired thousands to embrace military rule. Nevertheless, as Johnson demonstrates, occupation failed to bring about a restoration of imperial authority, as harsh material circumstances forced even the most loyal subjects to turn to illicit means to feed and shelter themselves, while many maintained ties to rebel camps for the same reasons. As occupations dragged on, most residents no longer viewed restored royal rule as a viable option. As Johnson argues, the experiences of these citizens reveal that the process of political change during the Revolution occurred not in a single instant but gradually, over the course of years of hardship under military rule that forced Americans to grapple with their allegiance in intensely personal and highly contingent ways. Thus, according to Johnson, the quotidian experience of military occupation directly affected the outcome of the American Revolution.