A Florida State of Mind, James D. Wright
A Florida State of Mind, James D. Wright
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

A Florida State of Mind
An Unnatural History of Our Weirdest State

Author: James D. Wright

Narrator: Patrick Lawlor

Unabridged: 9 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/30/2019


Synopsis

A witty history of the state that's always in the news, for everything from alligator attacks to zany crimes.

There's an old clip of Bugs Bunny sawing the entire state of Florida off the continent—and every single time a news story springs up about some shenanigans in Florida, someone on the internet posts it in response. Why are we so ready to wave goodbye to the Sunshine State? In A Florida State of Mind: An Unnatural History of Our Weirdest State, James D. Wright makes the case that there are plenty of reasons to be scandalized by the land and its sometimes-kooky, sometimes-terrifying denizens, but there's also plenty of room for hilarity.

Florida didn't just become weird; it's built that way. Uncharted swampland doesn't easily give way to sprawling suburbia. It took violent colonization, land scams to trick non-Floridians into buying undeveloped property, and the development of railroads to benefit one man's hotel empire.

Yet everyone loves Florida: tourists come in droves, and people relocate to Florida constantly (only 36% of residents were born there). Crammed with unforgettable stories and facts, Florida will show listeners exactly why.

About James D. Wright

James D. Wright is a sociologist at the University of Central Florida and a Florida resident for nearly two decades. He lives in St. Pete Beach with his wife and an assortment of cats and dogs.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Deborah

Wow, talk about weird. The author's book was published on April 30, 2019, and he sadly died the day before. I would rate 3.5 stars. I enjoyed reading the book, but parts were generalizations. The book is broken down into four sections - history, economics, people and politics, and the natural enviro......more

Goodreads review by Trin

Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. They were literally like, "Hey! I see you like books about Florida! Do you want to read our book about Florida?" And I, though slightly dismayed that this is what my online identity has become, was immediately like, "HECK YES." Anyway, i......more

Goodreads review by Melora

3 1/2 stars. Allison Ziegler at St. Martin's Press was kind enough to send this to me as an ARC because I've enjoyed some books about Florida. And I did like it, so thank you, Allison! Wright's book is sort of an odd thing, though. Its subtitle, "An Unnatural History of our Weirdest State," is not rea......more

I love books about Florida and this one doesn’t disappoint. Weird, wacky and often a subject of ridicule from the rest of the nation/world, this state has something for everybody and this book does a decent job covering it. Enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to others. I read an ARC so the bel......more