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We recently had some good discussion about Florida on FR. Undoubtedly, Florida has a facinating and colorful past! I have provided the books above for further research and pleasure reading.

Please include your favorite Florida fiction, politics, history, art, etc books to the thread.

Enjoy!

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Florida bump

[Flyer]

Please include your favorite Florida fiction

November 2000

[bobjam]

One of the best classes I took at the University of Florida (Go Gators) was the History of Florida to 1845. The course was taught by Dr. Michael Gannon, a former Roman Catholic priest and one of the leading experts on Florida history. He recounted to us the year when, being interviewed for a newpaper article on Thanksgiving, he described the first Thanksgiving in America: August of 1565. The Spaniards (from whom the Pilgrims picked up the thanksgiving feast custom when they lived in Spanish Holland) under Pedro Menendez de Aviles (first Governor of Florida) founded St Augustine and held a feast to give thanks to God for bringing them safely to Florida and to ask His blessing upon the new colony. They invited the natives from the nearby Saloy tribe. The meal consisted of salt pork, ships bread, garbonzo beans and wine. Apparently Dr Gannon's account was put on the AP wire and soon he was being called by everyone. A TV cameraman from Boston told him that the Globe had put his picture on the front page with the title "The Grinch Who Stole Thanksgiving" and that the Plymouth city council had an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with the news that the Spanish were in Florida before the Pilgrims arrived. Dr Gannon said that when Plymouth was founded, St Augustine was already up for urban renewal. And they say Florida has no history....

[EllaMinnow]

Patrick Houston, who served as as a lieutenant in Gamble's Florida Light Artillery and in the Florida Kilcrease Light Artillery, and finished the war as a captain in command of the Florida Kilcrease Light Artillery.

My favorite Florida Confederate. My house is on land that was part of his plantation.

[Calpernia]

Florida, Interest Ping.

[Tank-FL]

Jim Bob Tinsley's book: Florida Cow Hunters - The Life and Times of Bone Mizel

[PJ-Comix]

I didn't see any books about Henry Flagler on your list. With his building of the Florida East Coast railroad from St. Augustine to Miami, Flagler basically made Florida. And not one to rest on his laurels, after he finished this project he built the Florida Overseas Railroad to Key West. At the time (1913), it was considered the greatest construction project in history.

[PJ-Comix]

Please include your favorite Florida fiction...

Elmore Leonard wrote a lot of very funny Florida fiction.

[AAABEST]

Not a book but a good short read on SW Florida History for those interested.

A brief history of SW Florida Everglades/ Everglades City

I was born and raised in NY but I LOVE this state. I love the swamp (spend much time there), I love the rain, the sun, the heat, the mosquitos, the history and the idiots.

[yarddog]

I read an article several years ago that pointed out that Pensacola has a fair chance of being the oldest permanent setlement in the U.S., although St. Augustine has a better verified claim.

Pensacola was settled before, St. Augustine but those first settlers are thought to have disappeared before Pensacola was settled again not long after St. Augustine. The fact is tho that they don't know for sure that those original settlers did all disappear.

[Rebelbase]

Way back when, I used love hearing my friend's grandfather tell stories about growing up in Miami in the early 1900's. Back then, before everything was drained, the Everglades used to come to within a couple or few miles of the ocean and the Miami River used to have a set of rapids.

[FloridaBoy]

A very good historical book of the Manatee River area is The Singing River by Joe Warner. It is a history of the people, places and events along the river.

[meowmeow]

Thanks for the book recommendations! I never had any desire to go to FL because I always pictured it as nothing but the evil mouse and lots of old people but made the trip to visit my brother when he was stationed in Tampa. I had lots of vacation time to kill (and was single) and he was on standby for Somalia. So I took the scenic rout and followed A1A all the way down, crossed the Everglades, hung around the SW side and later, went up to Cedar Key. I camped everywhere except Cedar Key because their tent site had washed away in the last hurricane. Spent about 5 days just roaming around the state and really came to love it. Read some history and toured sites off the beaten path and discovered some oddly remote places.

Last year my in-laws moved to Tampa from OOOOOKlahoma and I was so thrilled! My company has a lot of contracts down there so DH and I are talking about settling there in about 10 years (and hopefully retiring early!). I never thought I would love that state so much, being such the back-woods yankee mill trash that I am ;)

On the other hand, my brother told me there are lots of "us" in FL. They even have a Steelers Bar somewhere in Tampa!

[windchime]

Bump!

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More Books by Annette Bruce"

Tellable Cracker Tales
More Tellable Cracker Tales
SandSpun

Florida Legends and Folklore told by many generations and different storytellers - some true, some fiction. Lots of fun.

[Truth Addict]

You might want to consider "Floridays" by Don Blanding, a book of poetry and illustrations written in 1941.

[FReepaholic]

Florida's Golden Galleons - The Search for the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet

Fatal Treasure: Greed and Death, Emeralds and Gold, and the Obsessive Search for the Legendary Ghost Galleon Atocha

[dread78645]

Cross Creek and The Yearling by Marge Rawlings.

[cold_dead_fingers]

If anyone has any good factual books on Henry Flagler, please post. This man was responsible for building South Florida, practically. Out of his annoyance and frustration over a lack of transportation and lodging in S FL, he built rails, roads, hotels, resorts, etc. Any good resources?