The Thing About Florida

Tyler Gillespie provides a deep personal look into the spirit of Florida. In his search, he journeys to unexpected places such as halfway houses, gator pits, rattlesnake rooms, and clothing-optional campgrounds, where he meets eclectic and unconventional Floridians. 

Sinister Swamps

For the last decade, noted author and adventurer Lyle Blackburn has delved into the world of swamps, collecting reports of strange phenomena and boating through their bubbling backwaters to seek the truth behind the fascinating tales.

Jacksonville and the Roots of Southern Rock

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 Hatchett would reset the course of seventies rock. 

A Nervous Man Souldn't be Here in the First Place 

 In this first biography of this influential editor of the Miami News, Amy Paige Condon retraces how an orphaned boy from rural Colquitt, Georgia, bore witness and impacted some of the twentieth century’s most earth-shifting events.

Peculiar Paradise

Florida Photographs by Nathan Benn focuses on the year 1981, a time when South Florida became notorious as the gateway for narcotics and a destination for Caribbean immigrants, while in other parts of the state, life went on without interruption or conflict.

Florida Forts

Florida Forts: On the Edge of Empire is a Florida history book that tells the story of many of the great fortifications that are found all over the state from Pensacola to the Dry Tortugas. 

Healing Waters

Kilby shows how Florida’s natural wonders were promoted and developed as restorative destinations for America’s emerging upper class. The rapid growth in tourism infrastructure that began during the Gilded Age lasted well into the twentieth century, and Kilby explains how these now-lost resorts helped boost the economy of modern Florida.

In the Land of Good Living

This book is an account of an improbable thousand-mile journey on foot into the heart of modern Florida. Overflowing with historical details about how modern Florida came into being after World War II, and how it came to be a suddenly, increasingly diverse new land.

Legend Tripping

Enter the exciting world of myth and monsters, the paranormal, UFOs, lost treasures, and mysterious places. Delve into these awesome legends and learn how easy and inexpensive it is to search for the subjects of these stories and what you'll need to look for them.

Weird Florida

The book that started it all! Join Florida's Master of the Weird Charlie Carlson as he breaks down the stranger sights and stories of the Sunshine state. 

Alfred Hair

 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.

After Life as a Human

 Dog Island is remote, amenity-deprived, and hurricane prone. With uncanny observation and lyrical reflection, these essays explore the persistence, fragility and connectedness of life on the island, and off.