Florida History (State Studies: Florida)

Florida History (State Studies: Florida) Review

How did Henry Flagler help in Florida's development? What happened when European explorers arrived in Florida? How did air conditioning and insect spray change life in Florida? You can find the answers to these in this book, which contains all kinds of fascinating, historical facts that tell the story of the state of Florida. Inside, you will find information about the first people of Florida and the explorers and settlers who came later. You will learn about Florida's role in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. And, you'll find out why Florida was and is called the Sunshine State. Inside you'll find: maps that help you find your way around Florida, photographs that let you see what you are reading about, a glossary, index, and list of more books to read to help you find what you're looking for and better understand it.

Native Florida Plants: Low Maintenance Landscaping and Gardening

Native Florida Plants: Low Maintenance Landscaping and Gardening Review

Many counties in Florida now require that new commercial landscapes contain a percentage of native plants. Native landscapes are easier to maintain, use less water and thrive without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Native Florida Plants describes every type of regional flora---from seaside foliage and wildflowers to grassy meadows, shrubs, vines, and aquatic gardens---in 301 profiles and accompanying color photographs.

The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise

The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise Review

The Everglades was once reviled as a liquid wasteland, and Americans dreamed of draining it. Now it is revered as a national treasure, and Americans have launched the largest environmental project in history to try to save it. The Swamp is the stunning story of the destruction and possible resurrection of the Everglades, the saga of man's abuse of nature in southern Florida and his unprecedented efforts to make amends. Michael Grunwald, a prize-winning national reporter for The Washington Post, takes readers on a riveting journey from the Ice Ages to the present, illuminating the natural, social and political history of one of America's most beguiling but least understood patches of land.

The Everglades was America's last frontier, a wild country long after the West was won. Grunwald chronicles how a series of visionaries tried to drain and "reclaim" it, and how Mother Nature refused to bend to their will; in the most harrowing tale, a 1928 hurricane drowned 2,500 people in the Everglades. But the Army Corps of Engineers finally tamed the beast with levees and canals, converting half the Everglades into sprawling suburbs and sugar plantations. And though the southern Everglades was preserved as a national park, it soon deteriorated into an ecological mess. The River of Grass stopped flowing, and 90 percent of its wading birds vanished.

Now America wants its swamp back. Grunwald shows how a new breed of visionaries transformed Everglades politics, producing the billion rescue plan. That plan is already the blueprint for a new worldwide era of ecosystem restoration. And this book is a cautionary tale for that era. Through gripping narrative and dogged reporting, Grunwald shows how the Everglades is still threatened by the same hubris, greed and well-intentioned folly that led to its decline.

Michael Grunwald is a reporter at The Washington Post. He has won the George Polk Award for national reporting, the Worth Bingham Prize for investigative reporting, and many other awards. He lives in Miami with his wife, Cristina Dominguez.

Visit his website at www.michaelgrunwald.com.

Month-by-Month Gardening in Florida: Revised Edition

Month-by-Month Gardening in Florida: Revised Edition Review

The Month-by-Month™ guides offer valuable advice on the proper timing of garden maintainance activities for each month. Month-by-Month™ Gardening in Florida is one of the first titles of the redesigned series from Cool Springs Press.

Top features include:

• 4-color photography and line-drawing illustrations to demonstrate cultural practices
• Covers all major plant categories
• Specific advice for every month of the year
• Updated edition includes text revisions, additional reference materials, and a new design

Salvaging the Real Florida: Lost and Found in the State of Dreams

Salvaging the Real Florida: Lost and Found in the State of Dreams Review

A ramble through the wild backyard of Florida

"Bill Belleville writes gorgeously and straight from the heart." --Carl Hiaasen, reviewing Losing It All to Sprawl

"If Bill Belleville were a quilt maker, this book would be his finest spread. It is a mosaic, in fact; a series of essays, each a snapshot of Florida. But pieced together, the collage becomes a kaleidoscopic rendering of our remarkable peninsula. And underlying the whole fabric is a fine batting of philosophy: we are reminded of our spiritual links to such a place, and our obligations to keep it whole."--Archie Carr III

"Get off the interstate, cast a cold eye on the strip mall, eschew the theme park, and come with Bill Belleville to the green heart of the real Florida. He takes you to the secret places in the deep woods, the holy swamps, the springs blue as a sapphire and cold as a January midnight."--Diane Roberts, author of Dream State

"Bill Belleville has earned the respect of just about everyone who cares about the Florida environment and Salvaging can only confirm his reputation. It's a little repast of little essays, replete with delicious revelations, such as the color of apple snail eggs (pink) and what sorts of organisms will grow on a sunken refrigerator (read the book). But it's much more than that. Spend some time with Belleville and he'll show you how much beauty there still is in our flowered state and how much, deeply much, it's worth saving."--Lola Haskins, poet and author of Still, the Mountain

Modern life has a tendency to trap people in cubicles, cars, and cookie-cutter suburbs. Thankfully, someone comes along now and then to remind us of the beauty that presents itself when we turn off the information feeds and turn away from the daily grind.

Bill Belleville’s enchanting Salvaging the Real Florida invites readers to rediscover treasures hidden in plain sight. Join Belleville as he paddles a glowing lagoon, slogs through a swamp, explores a spring cave, dives a "literary" shipwreck, and pays a visit to the colorful historic district of an old riverboat town. Journey with him in search of the apple snail, the black bear, a rare cave-dwelling shrimp, and more. Everywhere he goes, Belleville finds beauty, intrigue, and, more often than not, a legacy in peril.

Following in the tradition of John Muir, William Bartram, and Henry David Thoreau, Belleville forges intimate connections with his surroundings. Like the works of Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Archie Carr, his evocative stories carry an urgent and important call to preserve what is left of the natural world.

Bill Belleville is a veteran author and documentary filmmaker specializing in environmental issues. His books include the critically acclaimed Losing It All to Sprawl: How Progress Ate My Cracker Landscape and River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida’s St. Johns River.

 

 

Florida Trips

Florida Trips Review

Planning a Florida vacation? Learn about several popular attractions in the Sunshine State such as Orlando, Miami, Key West, The Kennedy Space Center, and St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States

Florida Simpy Beautiful

Florida Simpy Beautiful Review

Florida Simpy Beautiful Feature

• ISBN13: 9781560372370
• Condition: USED - Very Good
• Notes: 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Rich color photographs of Florida's natural beauties— rom delicate to exuberant—along with cityscapes and open waters, historical sites and intriguing architecture, portray the many facets of the Sunshine State.