{"product_id":"al-burts-florida-snowbirds-sand-castles-and-self-rising-crackers-9780813081182","title":"Al Burt's Florida: Snowbirds, Sand Castles, and Self-Rising Crackers","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlorida Trust for Historic Preservation Award \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlorida Historical Society Patrick D. Smith Florida Literature Book Award \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA tour of twentieth-century Florida through the writing of a roving reporter\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA tour of twentieth-century Florida through the writing of a roving reporter\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Some say that Floridians lack a sense of place--they won't after reading Al Burt.\"--Ann Henderson, Former executive director, Florida Humanities Council \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs a roving reporter for the \u003cem\u003eMiami Herald\u003c\/em\u003e from 1973 to 1995, Al Burt traveled all of Florida, studying it with the insight of a native and the detached eye of the foreign correspondent he had been. During those years, he observed connections with the state's past and speculated about its future, and, while he was at it, took note of the human frailties and heroisms he witnessed every day. \u003cem\u003eAl Burt's Florida\u003c\/em\u003e is like a family portrait, a loving but not uncritical view of a complex and fascinating state.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBurt's portrait combines vignettes of notable Floridians--some famous at the time, like Ed Ball, but most better known locally--with those of the state's many special places: Okeechobee in the teens and twenties, Miami Beach in the fifties (when dinner in Havana was only a $26 plane ride away), Wakulla Springs when it served as Johnny Weismuller's \u003cem\u003eTarzan\u003c\/em\u003e movie set, modern-day Tallahassee with its formality and grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAl Burt himself emerges from this landscape as the remarkable, engaging, and passionate Floridian he is. He takes us in hand, starting from his headquarters in the north Florida scrub, on a tour of the charm, substance, and fantasy of Florida, yesterday and today. And always, he dwells with greatest affection on the smaller places, the \u003cem\u003ereal \u003c\/em\u003eplaces, the anchors of old Florida--and on those folks who do their best to preserve them. In the process he captures a sense of Florida as home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA\u003cbr\u003evolume in the Florida History and Culture series, edited by Raymond Arsenault\u003cbr\u003eand Gary R. Mormino\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Florida\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780813081182\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 212\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.64lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.48d","brand":"Al Burt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45483955454133,"sku":"9780813081182","price":21.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_74059e55-0e18-4a7f-9a80-65d1d0b26db5.jpg?v=1749565948","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/al-burts-florida-snowbirds-sand-castles-and-self-rising-crackers-9780813081182","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}