Florida

Florida history trumps the simple narrative of a beach read. St. Augustine’s story doesn’t begin with sixteenth-century Spaniards and Miami history didn’t begin unfolding with Henry Flagler and his railroad. Natives began arriving in the Sunshine State during the last ice age, millennia before snowbirds began migrating down to Mount Dora. From the legend of Hogzilla to the first slice of key lime pie, from Pensacola down to Key West, our catalogue of Florida history books teems with fascinating tales and innovative characters who saw swamp and envisioned paradise. [View all Florida books]

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Joy Wallace Dickinson

$24.99

Race and Change in Hollywood, Florida

Kitty Oliver

$24.99

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Joshua A. McMorrow-Hernandez

Historic Tampa Churches

Benjamin D. Brotemarkle

$24.99

Broward Community College

Lucky to Live in Florida

Kate Boehm Jerome

$16.99

Tarpon Springs, Florida

Sandra W. Rooks

$24.99

Jacksonville and the State of Florida:

Shelby Jean Roberson Bender

$24.99

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Barbara Tarnove

Tamarac

9780738599816

$24.99

Kenneth E. Behring created Tamarac in 1963 and, through his vision, built a city with all the maintenance and recreational facilities included. The promise of the best weather, affordable single-family homes, and the opportunity to be part of a growing area was exciting to all. The first development, Tamarac Lakes, consisting of 250 homes and a clubhouse, became the model of what was to come. Go west, young man, quoting American author Horace Greely, can be aptly applied to Behring's drive to expand westward. Stymied because the only direct access west was through a stock tunnel, Behring convinced the State of Florida to build an overpass crossing the Sunshine State Parkway for access. The next project was to create the Vista Villas (the Woodlands), an upscale private golf club community. It offered larger houses built with the more affluent in mind, which included Behring's own home. Tamarac continued to grow west with the purchase of 5,000 acres, more than doubling the city's acreage. With growth came roads, businesses, and political infrastructure that continues to attract cultural diversity, making Tamarac the City For Your Life.

Jim Robison

Kissimmee

9780738524375

$24.99

Kissimmee, Florida traces its name to the Jororo tribe, among the first to settle along the river valley. Riverboat captains, entrepreneurs, and speculators found Kissimmee and nearby Lake Tohopekaliga irresistible, and soon settlers followed. The 1880s marked this city's first brush with tourism, as the Tropical Hotel became the largest resort hotel south of Jacksonville. As the cattle town struggled to survive floods, the Depression, and downtown neglect in favor of spillover Walt Disney World business, committed citizens fought back and spiritedly rekindled the town into a favored tourist spot.

Joy Wallace Dickinson

Orlando

9780738524429

$24.99

Emerging as Florida's largest inland city, Orlando in its infancy more resembled the Old West than the Old South-a frontier town born in the days of the Seminole Wars. The free-spirited early years of cattle ranching and cowboys on the palmetto prairie gave way to a series of booms throughout the city's history. Whether it was railroads, real estate, citrus, or tourism, Orlando has been a community able to cultivate growth through big dreams and an ambitious attitude.

Kitty Oliver

Race and Change in Hollywood, Florida

9780738505695

$24.99

Since its incorporation in 1915, Broward County has been a community in transition. Once a rustic frontier of palmettos and mangroves, then a seasonal tourist community, it is now a bustling area of over 1.5 million people. This metropolitan reputation was cemented in a Money magazine article in the late 1990s that touted the town of Hollywood, once just a bedroom community sandwiched between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, as having an ethnic make-up that mirrors what America will look like by the year 2022. That distinction led to an extensive, locally supported oral history project in Hollywood. The memories of 42 residents, recorded for the county's historical archives, span 75 years of racial and ethnic change in Hollywood. These candid accounts come from whites and African Americans; Hispanics of Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican descent; Bahamians and Jamaicans; Haitians; Chinese; and South Americans. Telling stories of the past— of segregated beaches, buses, and rest rooms; of facing the culture of a new country; and of causes over the years that have brought different ethnic groups together—these individuals provide valuable, often poignant insight into race relations in America. And they do so in their own words.

Joshua A. McMorrow-Hernandez

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

9781467124959

$24.99

How Busch Gardens Tampa Bay became a hit upon its late 1950s opening and grew into a zoological facility and theme park beloved by millions.

When Busch Gardens Tampa Bay opened in 1959, the Florida park became an immediate hit with locals and tourists alike. Over the decades, Busch Gardens has grown to become an internationally acclaimed and accredited zoological facility and world-renowned theme park. Serving as a sanctuary for thousands of exotic and endangered animals from around the globe and offering up unique thrilling rides and world-class entertainment, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay proudly welcomes millions of guests each year.

Jim Robison

Altamonte Springs

9780738513973

$24.99

Visitors flock to Central Florida for its mild winters, pristine waterways, and proximity to Atlantic and Gulf beaches, and in the heart of Central Florida lies Altamonte Springs, the largest city in Seminole County. Taking its name from the many spring-fed lakes and sand hills that make up the area, Altamonte Springs is now home to more than 40,000 residents. Developed into a winter resort town in the late 1800s during the area's first tourism boom, Altamonte Springs became a sunny playground for the wealthy and an oasis for those requiring a "healing" environment in which to recuperate from various ailments. Times were good, but this was just the beginning of the once tiny village's growth and prosperity. From the era when rolling pineland along the lakes drew the first settlers to the area that would became Altamonte Springs, this community has attracted visitors and new residents from far and wide. The early railroad transported winter tourists who sought the medicinal qualities of local springs, and this influx of people led to the development of many businesses, including Fuller's Store, the grand Altamonte Hotel, and the Jasmine Theater. After surviving the challenges brought about by the Great Freeze of 1894-1895, the city continued to grow, and its citizens, with an unyielding spirit, continued to work, worship, socialize, and raise families in the community they called home. Today, Altamonte Springs is the bustling retail center of Seminole County.

John V. Cinchett

Historic Tampa Churches

9781467128315

$24.99

Like treasured family heirlooms, the historic churches and temples of Tampa are lovingly cared for by their devoted congregations. With more than 200 vintage images, Historic Tampa Churches shares stories of tragedy and triumph, from St. Peter Claver Church, whose congregation watched the first church burn to the ground 10 days after its dedication, to the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Benedict School, who found themselves jailed for teaching students in the African American community. Many of these churches, like Ybor City's Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, West Tampa's St. Joseph Church, and downtown's Greater Bethel Baptist Church, are found at the center of Tampa's ethnically diverse communities. Passed down from generation to generation, these architectural gems serve as a reminder of the countless men and women who selflessly labored for the growth of their churches, leaving a lasting legacy of faith and good works.

R. Wayne Ayers

Tampa Bay's Beaches

9780738553382

$24.99

The pace of redevelopment has accelerated in recent years along Tampa Bay's gulf beaches, leaving tourists and residents alike in awe. This volume provides a glimpse at the beaches as they were and as they are today, and opens a whole new window to view the development that both enhances and threatens the barrier islands. Author R. Wayne Ayers and photographer Nancy Ayers, residents of Belleair Beach, are actively involved in chronicling and preserving the area's past.

Cynthia Thuma

Broward Community College

9780738514369

$24.99

Since its establishment in 1959, Broward Community College continues to strive for excellence in education. In August 1960, the doors of the Junior College of Broward County were opened to 701 students served by 28 faculty members. Classes were offered in buildings that were formerly part of the Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station on the grounds of what is presently Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. Now more than 40 years later, BCC remains the principal provider of undergraduate higher education. BCC attracts a diverse student body, provides a curriculum responsive to needs of the community and changes in technology, and is now one of the largest community colleges in the state and nation. Images in Broward Community College highlight the school's creation, expansion, and continued growth. Black-and-white photographs showcase the students-among them well-known graduates like Maryland's governor Parris Glendening and novelist Rita Mae Brown; the presidents who have led the college over the years; faculty and staff members; organizations; teams; and events that make BCC what it is today.

Kate Boehm Jerome

Orlando, FL

9781439600641

$11.99

Do you know... HOW Orlando helps animals as it treats much of its waste water? (Hint: Think Home Sweet Home!) WHAT destroyed most of the citrus crop around Orlando in the late 1800s? (Hint: It was a surprise from Mother Nature!) Find these answers and more in Cool Stuff Every Kid Should Know--an interesting little book about a very special place on the planet! Arcadia Kids is a new series of fun, colorful, easy-to-read books for children ages 7-11 featuring attention-grabbing cover art, inviting conversational style content, and vivid full-color images of landmarks and geography. Parents, grandparents, and savvy shoppers will appreciate the feel good factor of purchasing books that are both fun AND educational.

Sandra W. Rooks

Tarpon Springs, Florida

9780738515977

$24.99

African Americans originally came to Tarpon Springs in the mid-1880s to work in the lumber mills. In the 1890s, a number of sponge divers arrived from the Bahamas and Key West to harvest and prepare the wealth of sponges found in the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Anclote River. Devoutly religious, these pioneers founded the African American Episcopal Church in 1887 and the Baptist Church in 1892. Union Academy School, the first African-American school in Tarpon Springs, was established in the early 1900s. The dedicated work ethic of early African-American settlers continues today. Many of their descendants serve as educators, politicians, and ministers.

Shelby Jean Roberson Bender

Plant City

9780738587486

$24.99

Named for railroad magnate Henry B. Plant, Plant City was incorporated in 1885. Rich in history and the flavor of strawberries, it is known as the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World. Images featured are from the Quintilla Geer Bruton Archives Center and the East Hillsborough Historical Society. Shelby Jean Roberson Bender, an eighth-generation Floridian, and Roberta Donaldson Jordan, a native of Pennsylvania, have devoted many years to historical and genealogical research, publications, and instruction.