Reviews
"Several questions haunt this must-read biography. If, as Dyckman contends, Askew helped usher in a "golden age of Florida politics," why did Floridians allow successors to dismantle so much that he stood for? What is the proper role of the state in citizens' lives? Or to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, 'Are Floridians better off than we were 40 years ago?'"--Gary R. Mormino for Ta
--Tampa Bay Times
"This book is not written to amuse. It is written for historians, political scientists and elected officials who take their work seriously. In fact, it would be a useful textbook for aspiring politicians and political journalists. In a border sense, Dyckman is a describing a remarkably admirable period in Florida's turbulent political history and lamenting the passing of that era when genuine public service was taken so seriously by so many. It is eminently instructive. Floridians observing today's political antics in Tallahassee could learn a thing or two about genuinely noble, selfless, public-spirtied aspects of public service by reading Dyckman's book."
--Reporter's Notebook
"An interesting, well-written window into a time that Florida's leaders were racing to transform it in into the modern state that its mushrooming population required."
--The Florida Bar Journal
"One will not find a more vivid or more compelling portrayal of Florida politics and government in the last third of the twentieth century."
--Journal of Southern History
"In chronicling Askew's career, Dyckman demonstrates the skills and sensibilities of a dedicated journalist…Only someone who was there, as Dyckman was, tracking events on a daily basis, could provide such a nuanced account."
--Florida Historical Quarterly
"Dyckman uses his understanding of the inner workings of Florida government, combined with a journalist’s eye for fascinating detail, to create a full portrait of Askew and those who played significant roles in leading Florida in the 1970s."
--Tampa Bay History