Browse by Subject: Florida

Photos and letters from a Victorian gentlewoman

Translated into English with extensive notes and a wealth of supplementary material, this narrative of a nineteenth-century Cuban émigré brings to life the early Cuban exile communities in Tampa.

This biography follows the life of Chesterfield Smith, a defining Florida figure who led the Florida Bar, masterminded the drafting of a new state constitution, and spearheaded the American Bar Association’s condemnation of Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

A long-awaited testament to the life and work of Alfred Hair, the driving force of the Florida Highwaymen, this book introduces a charismatic personality whose energy and creativity were foundational to the success of his fellow African American artists during the era of Jim Crow segregation.

Filled with rare photographs, vintage postcards and advertisements, and fascinating descriptions from over 100 years ago, this book spotlights a little-known time in history when tourists poured into Florida in search of good health. Rick Kilby shows how Florida’s natural wonders were promoted and developed as restorative destinations for America’s emerging upper class.

The Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd helped usher in a new kind of southern music from Jacksonville, Florida. Together, they and fellow bands like Blackfoot, 38 Special, and Molly Hatchet would reset the course of seventies rock. Michael FitzGerald tells the story of how the River City bred this generation of legendary musicians.

Once considered one of the greatest Floridians of his generation, Millard Fillmore Caldwell is known today for his inability to adjust to the racial progress of the modern world. Leading Florida historian Gary Mormino tackles the difficult question of how to remember yesterday’s heroes who are now known to have had serious flaws.

For centuries, the southernmost region of the Florida peninsula was seen by outsiders as wild and inaccessible, one of the last frontiers in the quest to understand and reveal the natural history of the continent. This book tells the stories of the explorers and adventurers who—for better and for worse—helped open the unique environment of South Florida to the world.

Journalist, activist, and adventurer, Jane Wood Reno was one of the most groundbreaking and colorful American women of the twentieth century. Told by her grandson, George Hurchalla, this is an intimate biography of a free thinker who shattered barriers during the explosive early years of Miami.

This book is a behind-the-scenes look at the bizarre crime of astronaut Lisa Nowak, who drove 900 miles to intercept and confront her romantic rival in an airport parking lot—allegedly using diapers on the trip so she wouldn’t have to stop. This is a riveting journey inside the high-pressure world of one of America’s most elite agencies and the life of one beleaguered astronaut.