This book began as a ode to the oak trees of Gainesville. The city was so surrounded by these monsterous oaks it looked as if it sat in the lap of a forest. But as the city grew more and more the developers moved in and begain uprooting the trees. There was a hue and cry about saving the trees and keeping Gainesville green among the concerned. I took photos of the mighty oaks as a multi-media project, which I entiled Gainesville Green and repeated throughout the project:Mother nature made her healthy and clean, but only you and I can keep Gaineville green. Later I learned that "Gaineville Green" also referred to home grown Marijuana.

The Chattahoochee is a prototypical American river-from its headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains to where it flows into Apalachicola Bay, one of the most productive estuaries in North America. This entertaining, fact-filled guide covers the Chattahoochee's entire 500 mile course and 8,000 square mile watershed. The guide divides the river into ten sections, each of which includes a brief natural history and information on: camping, hiking, fishing, boating, and other recreational pursuits bodies of water that feed into the river cities and towns with river frontage manmade structures such as bridges, dams, and historic ruins environmental threats and preservation efforts Entertaining sidebars throughout highlight the people, history, culture, wildlife, and geography of the entire river valley. Understand the "Hooch," say those dedicated to its conservation, and you will know more about all of our country's waterways. This guide is the place to begin.

Florida Book Awards, Bronze Medal for Florida Nonfiction When the Beatles launched into fame in 1963, they inspired a generation to pick up an instrument and start a band. Rock and roll took the world by storm, but one small town in particular seemed to pump out prominent musicians and popular bands at factory pace. Many American college towns have their own story to tell when it comes to their rock and roll roots, but the story of Gainesville, Florida, is unique: dozens of resident musicians launched into national prominence, eight inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a steady stream of major acts rolled through on a regular basis. From Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to Stephen Stills and the Eagles’ Don Felder and Bernie Leadon, Gainesville cultivated some of the most celebrated musicians and songwriters of the time. Marty Jourard—a member of the chart-topping band the Motels—delves into the individual stories of the musicians, businesses, and promoters that helped foster innovative, professional music and a vibrant creative atmosphere during the mid-sixties and seventies. The laid-back southern town was also host to a clash of cultures. It was home to intellectuals and rednecks, liberals and conservatives, racists and civil rights activists, farmers, businessmen, students, and hippies. Although sometimes violent and chaotic, these diverse forces brought wild rock and roll energy to the music scene and nourished it with an abundance of musical fare that included folk, gospel, soul, country, blues, and Top Forty hits. Gainesville musicians developed a sound all their own and a music scene that, decades later, is still launching musicians to the top of the charts. Music Everywhere brings to light a key chapter in the history of American rock and roll—a time when music was a way of life and bands popped up by the dozen, some falling by the wayside but others leaving an indelible mark. Here is the story of the people, the town, and a culture that nurtured a wellspring of talent.

This exceptional collection provides new insight into the life of North Carolina writer and activist Paul Green (1894-1981), the first southern playwright to attract international acclaim for his socially conscious dramas. Green, who taught philosophy and drama at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1927 for In Abraham's Bosom, an authentic drama of black life. Among his other Broadway productions were Native Son and Johnny Johnson. From the 1930s onward, Green created fifteen outdoor historical productions known as symphonic dramas, thereby inventing a distinctly American theater form. These include The Lost Colony (1937), which is still performed today. Laurence Avery has selected and annotated the 329 letters in this volume from over 9,000 existing pieces. The letters, to such figures as Sherwood Anderson, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, John Dos Passos, Zora Neale Hurston, and others interested in the arts and human rights in the South, are alive with the intellect, buoyant spirit, and sensitivity to the human condition that made Green such an inspiring force in the emerging New South. Avery's introduction and full bibliography of the playwright's works and first productions give readers a context for understanding Green's life and times.