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"The perfume of the orange blossoms . . . the beauty of every scene, combine to make me wonder whether I am not in Paradise," wrote one visitor to Winter Park, Florida, in 1918. Just five miles north of Orlando, Winter Park's oak-lined brick streets and its quiet lakes have been attracting visitors since the late 19th century, when U.S. president Chester A. Arthur declared, "This is the prettiest spot I have seen in Florida." The New England-like city in the heart of the subtropics was once home to the Seminole Hotel, the largest resort south of Jacksonville. In 1885, prestigious Rollins College was founded here, the first institution of higher learning in Florida.

Few Florida communities felt the impact of World War II as much as the Atlantic-coast town of Fort Pierce. With a population that soared along with its economy, the small city made an important contribution to Allied victory by hosting a major military training base. Prior to that, the war had come only as close as the German submarines stalking targets off the southern coast of the peninsula. In 1943, however, the U.S. Navy commissioned its newest
amphibious training base in Fort Pierce, and tens of thousands of young men would eventually prepare for combat on the town's sunny shores. The intensive physical and mental training was hardly "a day at the beach," and within a few months, Fort Pierce had become a major military post with a national reputation. It also became the training site of some of the most elite units of the armed forces, including the Scouts and Raiders, U.S. Army Rangers, and the legendary "frogmen."

Beginning as a summer resort for the wealthy, the oceanfront of Jacksonville has morphed into an outrageously popular tourist destination, stretching from Mayport to Ponte Vedra Beach. Encompassing a fishing village, luxury hotels, a carnival, railroads, mines and flocks of tourists, these beaches have a vast and eclectic history. Discover how Mayport became an adjunct of one of the largest naval bases in the United States and how a former mine called Mineral City became Ponte Vedra. Noted historian Don Mabry traces the fascinating history of what he still considers home from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first in this warm account of the "World's Finest Beach."

Retrace the history of Ybor City from its beginnings in the Cigar Industry to the colorful Latin community it is today.

In 1885, Vicente Martínez Ybor purchased 40 acres of land northeast of Tampa, and there he began the cigar industry that would soon draw thousands of immigrants to Ybor City. The diverse population of the area, known as Tampa's ""Latin Quarter,"" came from Cuba, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Some residents worked in the various stages of cigar manufacturing, from picking tobacco to constructing cigar boxes, while others operated the local shops and businesses. A unique culture grew from the intermingling of the various traditions and languages found in Ybor City, and residents proudly proclaimed themselves Los Tampaños (or Tampanian). A strong sense of community has been an ever-present part of Ybor City, through the politically charged years of Cuba's fight for independence as well as the comfortable days of social clubs and dinners.

Zellwood was named for Thomas Ellwood Zell, who arrived in the area in 1876. Zell sent scrapbooks displaying newspaper clippings to entice Northern friends--former Civil War officers--to settle near Lakes Maggiore and Minore. Word spread that Zellwood was a desirable place to winter and do business. Construction of millionaire steel magnate James Laughlin Jr.'s mansion began in 1885. Zellwood attracted people who built estates and new homes. Boardinghouses popped up. The Holly Arms Hotel and Zellwood Inn housed farmers, teachers, and entrepreneurs. In 1911, a train brought more settlers planning to earn their livelihood from Zellwood's rich earth. Agriculture dominated from the 1940s through the late 1990s. Zellwood was known for sweet corn. By 1999, all but one farm had been purchased for Lake Apopka restoration. Only Long and Scott Farms carries on the tradition of growing Zellwood sweet corn by farming the sandy soil bordering the muck lands of Lake Apopka.

Zephyrhills has had many monikers, including Oakdale, Abbott, Abbott Station, Friendly City, and City of Pure Water. The universal appeal of this treasured location is the weaving of diverse people. Native Americans first imprinted the area and are immortalized today at nearby Fort Foster and Fort Dade. In 1886, Simon J. Temple purchased land from the Florida Railway and Navigation Corporation. Soon after, Capt. H. B. Jeffries of the Pennsylvania 28th Calvary established a Civil War veterans' colony with son-in-law Raymond Moore. Jeffries coined the town's modern name during a multisensory excursion to the highest elevation point--scenic LeHeup Hill--where he gazed down on the city (no doubt taking in pastoral views and breathing fresh air from gentle breezes off the hills) and exclaimed, "a haven of 'zephyr' hills!"

Florida native Zora Neale Hurston's early twentieth-century ethnographic research and writing emphasizes the essentials of food in Florida through simple dishes and recipes.

It considers foods prepared for everyday meals as well as special occasions and looks at what shaped people's eating traditions in early twentieth-century Florida. Hurston did for Florida what William Faulkner did for Mississippi - provided insight into a state's history and culture through various styles of writing. Her collected food stories, folklore and remedies, and the related recipes food professor Fred Opie pairs with them, are essential reading for those who love to cook and eat.