Best. State. Ever.

Best. State. Ever. PDF Author: Dave Barry
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101982616
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
A New York Times bestseller—a brilliantly funny exploration of the Sunshine State from the man who knows it best: Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry. We never know what will happen next in Florida. We know only that, any minute now, something will. Every few months, Dave Barry gets a call from some media person wanting to know, “What the hell is wrong with Florida?” Somehow, the state's acquired an image as a subtropical festival of stupid, and as a loyal Floridian, Dave begs to differ. Join him as he goes in hunt of the legendary Skunk Ape; hobnobs with the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs; and visits Cassadaga, the psychic capital of the world, to have his dog's aura read (apparently, she's "very spiritual"). Hitch a ride for the non-stop thrills of alligator-wrestling ("the gators display the same fighting spirit as a Barcalounger"), the hair-raising spectacle of a clothing-optional bar in Key West, and the manly manliness of the Machine Gun Experience in Miami. It's the most hilarious book yet from “the funniest damn writer in the whole country” (Carl Hiaasen, and he should know). By the end, you'll have to admit that whatever else you might think about Florida—you can never say it's boring.

Best. State. Ever.

Best. State. Ever. PDF Author: Dave Barry
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101982616
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book

Book Description
A New York Times bestseller—a brilliantly funny exploration of the Sunshine State from the man who knows it best: Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry. We never know what will happen next in Florida. We know only that, any minute now, something will. Every few months, Dave Barry gets a call from some media person wanting to know, “What the hell is wrong with Florida?” Somehow, the state's acquired an image as a subtropical festival of stupid, and as a loyal Floridian, Dave begs to differ. Join him as he goes in hunt of the legendary Skunk Ape; hobnobs with the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs; and visits Cassadaga, the psychic capital of the world, to have his dog's aura read (apparently, she's "very spiritual"). Hitch a ride for the non-stop thrills of alligator-wrestling ("the gators display the same fighting spirit as a Barcalounger"), the hair-raising spectacle of a clothing-optional bar in Key West, and the manly manliness of the Machine Gun Experience in Miami. It's the most hilarious book yet from “the funniest damn writer in the whole country” (Carl Hiaasen, and he should know). By the end, you'll have to admit that whatever else you might think about Florida—you can never say it's boring.

In the Land of Good Living

In the Land of Good Living PDF Author: Kent Russell
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0525521399
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
A wickedly smart, funny, and irresistibly off-kilter account of an improbable thousand-mile journey on foot into the heart of modern Florida, the state that Russell calls "America Concentrate." In the summer of 2016, Kent Russell--broke, at loose ends, hungry for adventure--set off to walk across Florida. Mythic, superficial, soaked in contradictions, maligned by cultural elites, segregated from the South, and literally vanishing into the sea, Florida (or, as he calls it: "America Concentrate") seemed to Russell to embody America's divided soul. The journey, with two friends intent on filming the ensuing mayhem, quickly reduces the trio to filthy drifters pushing a shopping cart of camera equipment. They get waylaid by a concerned citizen bearing a rifle; buy cocaine from an ex-wrestler; visit a spiritual medium. The narrative overflows with historical detail about how modern Florida came into being after World War II, and how it came to be a petri dish for life in a suddenly, increasingly diverse new land of minority-majority cities and of unrivaled ethnic and religious variety. Russell has taken it all in with his incomparably focused lens and delivered a book that is both an inspired travelogue and a profound rumination on the nation's soul--and his own. It is a book that is wildly vivid, encyclopedic, erudite, and ferociously irreverent--a deeply ambivalent love letter to his sprawling, brazenly varied home state.

Only in Florida

Only in Florida PDF Author: Caren Schnur Neile
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439669228
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
True stories of life in Florida, from persevering through natural disasters and crime to encounters with celebrities and alligators. Includes photos. More than twenty million people live in Florida, that unique land that juts off into the Atlantic. They are ranchers and golfers, sunbathers and retirees. And their lives often fall within the realm of the perfectly normal. But sometimes these Floridians, many of whom have flocked from elsewhere, find themselves in Sunshine State situations . . . Meet the acting student who had a close encounter with superstar Burt Reynolds, the New Yorker who put down roots here after attending a school of fish, the woman who barely found her house after a hurricane, and a girl who survived—and thrived—after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre. Professional storyteller Caren Schnur Neile traverses the state to share thirty-three true-life tales from everyday Floridians in extraordinary situations.

Only in Florida

Only in Florida PDF Author: Heather Alexander
Publisher: 50 States
ISBN: 0711281459
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 63

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Book Description
The Sunshine State awaits in Only in Florida, your go-to guide to everything from the Keys to the Panhandle.

Only in Florida

Only in Florida PDF Author: Mark Lyons
Publisher: Page Publishing Inc
ISBN: 1644242540
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
If Mike Lyman needed something to add adventure to his life after a period of stale and humdrum, he found it in Mosquito Lagoon. The remote waterway with its many islands is thirty miles from his home, but it becomes the place where all his new questions can be answered. In his regular life, he has to fight each day for the motivation he needs just to go on and craves anything that will break up the grind. In a very short time, it becomes a big dose of "Be careful what you wish for." A case of rabies in an orthopedic rehab is shocking to Mike, but when a beautiful lady detective begins to investigate the patient's sudden death, the adventure is on. This is clearly new territory for a nurse, despite the fact that nurses investigate health questions every day to present to doctors. The authorities seem to get nowhere without his help, and his only ally, the lady detective, takes the blame for many of his unwanted incursions. He foils murder and kidnap attempts against him along the way and saves other lives in the process. Even though he often wishes it was over, the events on Mosquito Lagoon provide more excitement than he has ever had, and he can't seem to let go. That gorgeous cop doesn't make it any easier to return to a nurse job either. He can barely stay ahead of the whirlwind he has created, and as the elements increase in danger, he can only rely on his strength of character and a secret weapon to carry him through. If you have a man's job to do, and you live near Mosquito Lagoon in Florida, you may want to send a nurse to do it.

Florida

Florida PDF Author: Lauren Groff
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473558492
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
'Magnificent . . . Lauren Groff is a virtuoso' Emily St John Mandel 'A blistering collection . . . lyrical and oblique' Guardian 'Not to be missed . . . deep and dark and resonant' Ann Patchett 'It's beautiful. It's giving me rich, grand nightmares' Observer In these vigorous stories, Lauren Groff brings her electric storytelling to a world in which storms, snakes and sinkholes lurk at the edge of everyday life, but the greater threats are of a human, emotional and psychological nature. Among those navigating it all are a resourceful pair of abandoned sisters; a lonely boy, grown up; a restless, childless couple; a searching, homeless woman; and an unforgettable conflicted wife and mother. Florida is an exploration of the connections behind human pleasure and pain, hope and despair, love and fury. 'Innovative and terrifyingly relevant. Any one of these stories is a bracing read; together they form a masterpiece' Stylist 'Lushly evocative . . . mesmerising . . . a writer whose turn of phrase can stop you on your tracks' Financial Times

Backroads of Paradise

Backroads of Paradise PDF Author: Cathy Salustri
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813059658
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
In the 1930s, the Federal Writers' Project sent mostly anonymous writers, but also Zora Neale Hurston and Stetson Kennedy, into the depths of Florida to reveal its splendor to the world. The FWP and the State of Florida jointly published the results as Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State, which included twenty-two driving tours of the state's main roads. Eventually, after Eisenhower built the interstates, drivers bypassed the small towns that thrived along these roads in favor of making better time. Those main roads are now the state's backroads—forgotten by all but local residents, a few commuters, and dedicated road-trippers. Retracing the original routes in the Guide, Cathy Salustri rekindles our notions of paradise by bringing a modern eye to the historic travelogues. Salustri's 5,000-mile road trip reveals a patchwork quilt of Florida cultures: startling pockets of history and environmental bliss stitched against the blight of strip malls and franchise restaurants. The journey begins on US 98, heading west toward the Florida/Alabama state line, where coastal towns dot the roadway. Here, locals depend on the tourism industry, spurred by sugar sand beaches, as well as the abundance of local seafood. On US 41, Salustri takes us past the state's only whitewater rapids, a retired carnie town, and a dazzling array of springs, swamps, and rivers interspersed with farms that produce a bounty of fruit. Along US 17, she stops for milkshakes and hamburgers at Florida's oldest diner and visits a collection of springs interconnected by underwater mazes tumbling through white spongy limestone, before stopping in Arcadia, where men still bring cattle to auction. Desperately searching for skunk apes, the Sunshine State's version of Bigfoot, she encounters more than one gator on her way through the Everglades, Ochopee, and the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters. Following the original Guide, Salustri crisscrosses the state from the panhandle to the Keys. She guides readers through forgotten and unknown corners of the state--nude beaches, a rattlesnake cannery, Devil's Millhopper in Gainesville--as well as more familiar haunts--Kennedy Space Center and The Villages, "Florida’s Friendliest Retirement Hometown." Woven through these journeys are nuggets of history, environmental debates about Florida's future, and a narrative that combines humor with a strong affection for an oft-maligned state. Today, Salustri urges, tourists need a new nudge to get off the interstates or away from Disney in order to discover the real Florida. Her travel narrative, following what are now backroads and scenic routes, guides armchair travelers and road warriors alike to historic sites, natural wonders, and notable man-made attractions--comparing the past views with the present landscape and commenting on the changes, some barely noticeable, others extreme, along the way.

Old Florida

Old Florida PDF Author: Steve Gross
Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications
ISBN: 9780847825639
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Captured in such unusual vintage attractions as the 1906 Historic Smallwood Store on Chokoloskee Island, the ornate Venetian Pool in Coral Gables, and the mysterious Coral Castle, constructed entirely from coral by one man. Old Florida is the first book to show the full range of architectural styles -- from the grand to the modest -- that demonstrate the eclecticism of this intriguing state. In 150 spectacular color and black-and-white images, photographers Steve Gross and Sue Daley have captured the essence of Old Florida in a book that will fascinate residents, tourists, and armchair travelers alike. Book jacket.

Finding Florida

Finding Florida PDF Author: T. D. Allman
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
ISBN: 0802120768
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 578

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Book Description
Offers a comprehensive look at the history of the state of Florida, from its discovery, exploration, and settlement through its becoming a state, to notable events in the early twenty-first century.

Florida Man

Florida Man PDF Author: Shawn Garner
Publisher: Florida Man LLC
ISBN: 9780692818022
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
With antics becoming more bizarre by the year, Florida Man has become one of social media's most self-deprecating and notorious caricatures of the Sunshine State. Whether calling 911 to report an empty bottle of vodka, stealing a Capri Sun to rehydrate during a police chase, or assaulting his boss with frozen hamburger patties, his reputation seems well deserved. Florida Man's outlandish behavior and knack for unintelligible decision making have knocked down the boundaries of criminality and typical human decency. For the first time, 100 of the most outrageous Florida Man news stories are available in a single collection. Take a journey with us into the darkest realms of delinquency; laugh out loud with friends as you browse the bizarre antics of America's most notorious citizen, Florida Man. Includes all the classics... "Florida Man Pocket-Dials 911 While Operating Meth Lab in Backyard Shed" "Florida Woman Shoots Self While Using Snapchat" "Wanted Florida Man Uses His Own Wanted Poster as Facebook Profile Picture" "Florida Man Sought in Theft of $300 Jenna Jameson Sex Doll" "Florida Man Shoots Self, Realizes it Three Days Later" "Florida Man Arrested for Dialing 911 When He Wanted Vodka" "Florida Man Throws Alligator Into Wendy's Drive-Thru Window" "Crack-Smoking Florida Man Drinks Capri Sun to Rehydrate During Police Chase" And many more!