City on the Edge: The Transformation of Miami

City on the Edge is one of the finest books written on the socioeconomic dynamics of Miami and Dade County. The overall history of the city is only lightly treated (and unfortunately, there are few works on the history of South Florida) as the book instead focuses mostly on developments in Miami's recent history, namely from the 1960's forward, as it began its Anglo to Latino "transformation." Be warned, however, that the book is somewhat dated (published in '93 originally, hence 4 stars instead of 5); Miami is a booming, complicated, rapidly evolving city and has changed fairly significantly since then, but the underlying city culture (and it's quirky, problematic socioeconomics) are still there, as analysed by this book. The analysis and overview of the various black groups in Miami in the book was also very revealing.