Product Description
Florida is a land of geological wonders, from itslittle-known earthquake history to the rich new fossil hunting groundsconstantly being revealed by commercial development and quarryingactivity.Much more than a fashionable resort or retirementdestination.Florida ranks fifth in mineral production among all theUnited States.Florida's surprising mineral wealth ranges fromcommercial mines to coral islands; from valuable industrial metalslike zirconium and titanium to such collectible treasures aschalcedony, ivory, petrified wood, and stunning crystals.You cangather Florida's mineral riches from the waters of the state's 34major rivers, or find them waiting in the darkness of its 375 drycaves.Alongside a wondrous number of fossil remnants of suchprehistoric creatures as jaguar, tapir, and mammoth, you will uneartharrowheads, stone knives, and other relics of the tools early manhunted them with.This book will tell you where to collect every typeof mineral and fossil in Florida, and explain how they got there.Maps of the collecting areas, tips on carving, collecting, tools, andtechniques for identifying and preserving your finds will help youprepare to uncover the remarkable variety, beauty, and wealth ofFlorida's geological treasures.Iris Tracy Comfort is the author ofeight previous works of fiction and nonfiction, including two otherbooks about rocks and minerals.She has worked as a reporter andscriptwriter, and has published numerous magazine articles andsyndicated features.A frequent lecturer and seminar teacher onwriting, she lives in Orlando, Florida. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Review of Florida Geological Treasures
This book is very thorough and complete.It goes into depth as far as fossil hunting, mineral deposits, etc. that you would encounter in various regions of Florida.A excellent guidebook for the beginner and up.

Geology meets poetry
This a definite must for a Florida vacation and was an excellent substitute until I can get there in the flesh. From the data on Florida'searthquakes (few), to her lightning storms (many), to description of"braiding" rivers and such poetic formations of fulgurites(lightning strikes frozen in sand when the grains melt and fuse along thelightning's course), to the beautiful color photos of crystals (I am stillOOOOoooohhhhing over the golden wavellites) this was a poetical butPRACTICAL guide to rock hunting and caving in Florida. I recommend ithighly.

Outstanding Companion in Exploring Florida
For young people,parents and teachers, a "must have" on explorations of Florida's bountiful geological treasures.Many surprisesawait the reader as he is introduced to thistrove of unique fascinatingfacts.

An underground hit!
What a wonderful addition to Florida lore. A well written, well structured book that can add a lot of fun to a family vacation or inform the experienced rock hound. Ms. Comfort has written a useful and delightfulbook. ... Read more

Product Description
Lawrence Feldman has transcribed a variety of population lists for East and West Florida, dating from 1763 to 1784, based on British sources. Mr. Feldman discovered these records among the files of EnglandΓÇÖs Public Record Office that had been copied for and deposited in the Library of Congress in the 1920s. These heretofore unpublished sources consist of lists of refugees, signatories to oaths of allegiance, lists of inhabitants, council members, militia, intra-Florida migrants, and more. Each list has the virtue of placing individuals in a specific location at a particular point in time. In some cases, the schedules also give a personΓÇÖs marital status, number of children, race, and/or occupation. For researchers hoping to further pursue the circumstances surrounding the Anglo-Spanish military campaign of 1779ΓÇô1784, the author has added an extensive bibliography of sources. In all, this original Clearfield title refers to roughly 3,000 English subjects who resided in East or West Florida before it was returned to Spain in the aftermath of the American Revolution. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Publishers' notes:
Mr. Feldman is the author of two previous Clearfield Company publications pertaining to pre-statehood Florida: (1) Anglo-Americans in Spanish Archives, a collection of census data on British-Americans who settled in Florida during the second period of Spanish domination (1784-1821); and (2) The Last Days of British St. Augustine, 1784-1785, the transcription of a Spanish census of the English colony of East Florida.

For this latest work, Mr. Feldman has transcribed a variety of population lists for East and West Florida, dating from 1763 to 1784, based on British sources. Mr. Feldman discovered these records among the files of England's Public Record Office that had been copied for and deposited in the Library of Congress in the 1920s. These heretofore unpublished sources consist of lists of refugees, signatories to oaths of allegiance, lists of inhabitants, council members, militia, intra-Florida migrants, and more. Each list has the virtue of placing individuals in a specific location at a particular point in time. In some cases, the schedules also give a person's marital status, number of children, race, and/or occupation. For researchers hoping to further pursue the circumstances surrounding the Anglo-Spanish military campaign of 1779-1784, the author has added an extensive bibliography of sources. In all, this original Clearfield title refers to roughly 3,000 English subjects who resided in East or West Florida before it was returned to Spain in the aftermath of the American Revolution. (For reasons of economy, since most of Mr. Feldman's lists are in alphabetical order, there is no index to the volume as a whole.) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

very interesting
I found this book to be especially interesting to me because I know several members of the Mickler Family. It was very well written and I enjoyed it very much. ... Read more

Product Description
From the days of the Spanish colonial settlements until the last state census in 1945, a variety of censuses have been taken within the regions now comprising the modern state, from lists of Seminole War refugees to modern school censuses. This book is a one-stop guide to the colonial, territorial, and state censuses, along with their supplements and substitutes. Covering original documents along with indexes, abstracts, translations, transcriptions, extracts, periodical articles, and digitized or microfilmed documents, the guide describes each source and evaluates its usefulness to modern genealogical researchers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This book has aged poorly
After reading, I felt rather embarrassed for the author, and also slightly for myself for having bought this book.The author comes across a bit like a somewhat depressed, crotchety grandpa who hasn't seen much of the world, as shown by his endless, adulatory and self-congratulatory admiration of those 'crazy', 'exotic' Cubans.I wish I'd marked the page where he laments that these new, more Americanized Cuban teenage girls no longer have the admirably large busts and buttocks of the previous generation. (!)

The author also goes in for a mixture of self-pity mixed with scorn for others, which makes him sound like something of a jerk.For instance, p. 119:"Southwest Miami is often a depressing place, an anthology of middle-class cliches--the bike on the lawn, Daddy coming home from a hard day at the 'oficina', Mom with her list of complaints, dinner smells."Please! The author's portrayal of average family life as a depressing cliche says much more about his dyspeptic state of mind than anything about Miami.

The book also contains some rather dated references, such as his scorn for Phil Donahue (described on p. 74 as "a combination of Mick Jagger, a parish priest, and a gibbon on Ritalin"--yes, Phil Donahue!), rap music, (described on p.179 as "the chant of a mugger or a lunatic") and his embarrassing fascination with that exciting and novel show, "Miami Vice".

There are much better books about Miami and its history.Sorry, gramps.

The City of Diversity
This is a journey to Maimi, and a close up look at the many communities within .. Cubans, Vietnamese refugees, and the wealthy retired Jewish people live together here as the tourists swarm in and out regularly.It's a good bit of social history to read and enjoy before visiting..

David Rieff uses much of the book on the Cuban society there, but covers it all in a most interesting guide to the city. ... Read more

Product Description
Visit Goofy Golf, Florida’s coolest miniature golf course. Explore Gatorama, home to the state’s largest captive croc, Goliath. See Orange World, the 62-foot-tall orange-shaped fruit stand. The author of Roadside New Jersey (0811720614) goes south to explore the outrageous roadside attractions that have come to define the Sunshine State in this fun, full-color book. Experience the best Florida has to offer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

What a Ride!
"Roadside Florida: The Definitive Guide to the Kingdom of Kitsch" by Peter Genovese is a real ride through the old highwayland of Florida.Rather than cashing in on all of the bigger attractions that most people have heard of, Peter gets in and really digs out some lesser heard of gems of true kitsch.I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the pictures are great, and I'm not going to get into context because I don't want to give any of it away. ... Read more

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Softcover. 95pp. Not illustrated. Genealogical information on the Wiregrass area in south Georgia and north Florida. ... Read more

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Hardcover centennial reference/history book of the Duval County (Jacksonville, FL) Medical Society and the Jacksonville area. Generously illustrated with vintage photos of the Jacksonville region. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

The Florida tourism that used to be...
After my review of Dixie Before Disney, I got an email from Tim Hollis letting me know he had additional titles (IN COLOR!) that covered the subject of Southern tourism from different angles.So, back off to Interlibrary Loan I went, and I soon received a copy of Selling the Sunshine State: A Celebration of Florida Tourism Advertising.This was probably what I was most looking for when I first read the Dixie title, but that's not to say Dixie Before Disney wasn't good.Selling the Sunshine State focuses entirely on Florida tourism, and is in full color.Brochures, maps, advertising, you name it...Places that exist now, no longer exist, or probably should have *never* existed.This book took me on a nostalgic trip of what Florida *used* to be before the heavy hitters (like Disney) redefined tourism.

Hollis divides the book up into the following chapters: When You Need It Bad We've Got It Good (overall state), The Miracle Strip, The Big Bend, Florida's Crown, The Grove Coast, The Sun Coast, The Tropicoast, and The Paradise Islands.After a page or two of intro into the material, you then get the goods...full-color reproductions of all the material that the state and various attractions used to catch your attention and get you to spend your dollars.Hollis also has great captions and insets describing each item, which add even more meaning and color (no pun intended) to the overall effect.It's amazing to think that these placemats, maps, postcards, and brochures were probably gathered up by travelers, poured over by kids, and then relegated to the trash.It's great that Hollis has saved and preserved so many of them so we don't lose sight of what used to be...

Felt pennants...hadn't thought about those in years...

I found it most interesting to see how so many of the attractions tended to follow each other in various forms and images.For instance, *all* of the various "Springs" attractions (Silver Springs, Rainbow Springs, etc) had to have pictures of attractive women in bathing suits.If you had a marine-themed attraction, you *had* to have dolphins and porpoises adorning your material.And if you didn't have the required glass-bottom boat picture somewhere, you could just forget about it.:)I also now understand the impact that Silver Springs had on the entire tourism industry in Florida.They were the Disneyworld of their era, and the attraction by which all others were measured.Yes, it would be considered quite tame today, but step back 40 years or so, and it was *the* place to be.

If this subject at all appeals to you, Selling the Sunshine State is a must-read.It won't take much time in terms of reading, but you will spend a considerable amount of time just lingering over the pictures and enjoying the images.
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Customer Reviews (2)

The heart and soul of a great river
Forty years ago, author Gloria Jahoda characterized the Sunshine State's panhandle as "The Other Florida." This was--and to some extent still is--the off-the-beaten track part of the state where residents have long viewed their scrub oak and pine forests, salt marshes, rivers, sinkholes, barrier islands and coastline with a very utilitarian eye. The stories in Faith Eidse's oral history of the Apalachicola River system remind me of Jahoda's book, for they are not about the Florida of resorts, overly developed beaches and mega-tourist attractions, but of people who knew the land and the river as an integral part of their livelihood. Here are the fishermen, riverboat captains, botanists, road builders, turpentiners, beekeepers and loggers who have stories to tell about a world most people never knew existed. While I grew up in the other Florida very close to the Apalachicola River, these stories--supplemented by a historical narrative--have shown me that I missed more than I noticed when it came to the land and its people. These stories display for us the heart and soul of a great river, one that we might one day successfully destroy. For those who would protect the river and the surrounding ecosystem, this book is a must read. For everyone else, the voices make for exciting history and demand to be heard.

Just like listening to old folks tell stories
Voices is a rich, moving account of the people who have lived in and around the apalachicola river their whole lives - and how that river is dying.The chapters deal with fishing, logging, damming, sharecropping, etc., and are broken up into sections, usually 6 to 10 pages in length, with each section focusing on the story of a different person.These oral histories are just that - oral histories.The writing is verbatim - sometimes the people trail off, or don't quite make sense, or don't entirely finish telling you about a subject, but that is what makes the book so great - it's real.Just like listening to your grandparents tell a story; you may not get all the details, but what does come through is great.There are a variety of sources from Native Americans to catfish trappers to engineers to steamboat captains to loggers - but all their stories lead up to one message, the river is drying up, and the flora and fauna are dying, a result of Atlanta's need for water, developers, and poor choices made by the government and the corps of engineers.But its not a depressing book, as there are many heartfelt stories of humor, wit and the tenacity of the human spirit.These stories and this book are great! ... Read more