The History of Florida

Gannon and the other writers offer a diverse but focused selection of monographs each focused on a specific area of Florida's history, culture, politics, and evolving demographics. This is a gold mine of information and insight on how and why Florida is the haven and destination for so many. From the Palioindians to the French, Spanish, English, and Americans of the past to today's retirees, Hispanics, Asians, and Europeans the call is still heard to come to the Sunshine State. Consisting of 22 articles, each deals with a specific topic, time frame, and issue. All are written by academics although the footnoting is kept to a minimum. However, even with the differing writing styles Gannon has done a first rate job of editing to keep the narative flow of ideas consistent while minimizing repetition. All-in-all this is an excellent overview of Florida - its history, development, evolution, and struggles!!

This book is easy to read for a history book. It has just the right amount of information to make it useful, but not too much extra "stuff" to turn you off. I have found it useful and surprising interesting!. Ruth Snyder

As I told my wife yesterday, I never thought I would be reading a history book for pleasure but since I bought this great book, I cannot put it down. There are so many interesting stories in here, it is able to hold it's own with great fiction pieces and has captivated my interest for my adopted home state.From the last ice age to the present, it is all in here. Did you know that when Ponce de Leon was sailing along "La Florida's" coasts in the early 1500s there were 350,000 natives living here? By the late 18th century they were all gone, either dead from European diseases or sold into slavery.

The New History of Florida is the first full-length history of the Sunshine State in over twenty years. Micheal Gannon, professor of history at the University of Florida, assembled the very best historians working in Florida's past, and each has contributed a chapter on his or her speciality. Perhaps because these historians have worked together in an out of academia for years, there is an consistancy of tone usually not found in a collaborative effort. But this is no textbook history -- rather, each chapter sparkles with insights into Florida's past, from the paleoindians of 12,000 years ago, through almost four hundred years of colonial rule, to the urban and evironmental concerns of today. Nearly a hundred maps and illustrations accompany the text. Anyone interested in understanding one of America's cutting-edge states should read this book