Florida is steeped in a cultural blend of history unmatched by any other state. One day at a time, author and historian Nick Wynne offers a glimpse of this quirky and fascinating story, beginning with the 1539 arrival of Hernando de Soto. On February 22, 1959, the legendary five-hundred-mile race at Daytona first began. On March 22, 1982, the space shuttle "Columbia" launched from Cape Canaveral. Camp Blanding experienced a Nazi prisoner riot on December 22, 1943. Enjoy a notable nugget of history a day or a month at a time with this celebration of Sunshine State heritage.
Few realize what a vital role World War II and Florida played in each other's history. The war helped Florida move past its southern conservative mentality and emerge as a sophisticated society, and thousands of military men were trained under Florida's sunny skies. Here are stories from some of the one hundred military bases, including Tyndall Field, where Clark Gable trained, and Eglin Air Force Base, where Doolittle planned his raid on Tokyo. Read about Camp Gordon Johnston, referred to as "Hell by the Sea," built in a swampy, snake-infested subtropical jungle, and uncover the secrets of "Station J," a base that monitored the transmissions of German U-boats prowling off the coast. This fascinating collaboration between historians Nick Wynne and Richard Moorhead reveals the lasting impact of World War II on Florida as the United States heads into the seventieth anniversary of its entry into the war.
The most southern state has more than its share of Civil War stories. In January 1861, Florida militia forces captured the old Spanish Castillo de San Marcos, then known as Fort Marion, from the single Union soldier who guarded it. In 1862, Union forces recaptured it without a single shot fired. Union general Edward Moody McCook--later minister to Hawaii--accepted the surrender of Tallahassee on May 10, 1865. On May 13, he read the Emancipation Proclamation to an assembled crowd of white Floridians and former slaves on the steps of the Knott House in the city. Authors Nick Wynne and Joe Knetsch detail a Civil War moment for each date on the calendar. Learn a lesson a day or a month at a time.
Nick Wynne and George Baker take readers and cooks of all kinds on a leisurely stroll through their kitchens, providing tasty recipes and philosophical insights on cooking, southern culture, and life in general. Nick and George are serious traditional cooks, but both enjoy side trips into the unusual and the uncommon. This book requires the reader to have a sense of humor and to be flexible in food experimentation. Written in a conversational mode, this is the first collaboration between Wynne and Baker, and it is a harbinger of more books to come.
Florida has long been viewed as a land of hope and endless possibilities. Visionaries seeking to establish new communities where they could escape the influences of society at large have turned to Florida to construct their utopias--from the vast plantations of British philanthropists and entrepreneurs in the eighteenth century to the more exotic Koreshan Unity and its theory that humans live in the center of a Hollow Earth. Some came to the Sunshine State seeking religious freedom, such as the settlers in Moses Levy's Jewish colony, while others settled in Florida to establish alternative lifestyles, like the spiritualists of Cassadaga. Still others created their communities to practice new agricultural techniques or political philosophies. Historians Joe Knetsch and Nick Wynne examine a number of these distinctive utopian communities and how they have contributed to Florida's unique social fabric.
Florida began as a Spanish colony, with governing headquarters in Havana, Cuba. It is fitting, then, that the state played such a large role in the Spanish-American War. As a base of training and combat operations, Floridas involvement was crucial to the war effort. Join trusted historians Joe Knetsch and Nick Wynne as they log a fascinating chapter in Floridas historya time when Roosevelts Rough Riders prepared for battle at Tampa bases, when battleships departed from south Florida ports to avenge the sunken USS Maine and when a nation looked to the Sunshine State to help unite America around a common cause, even as the nation still struggled to come to terms with the Civil War and Reconstruction
From small ports to large ports, from rivers to creeks, from lakes to lagoons, water routes have been essential to Florida's development as a commercial, recreational, agricultural, and cultural entity. With more than 30,000 lakes and ponds and some 1,700 rivers, creeks, and streams, Florida ranks second in the list of wettest states in the USA. Native Americans used the rivers, creeks, and lakes as routes to various locales within the peninsula while harvesting fish and other aquatic edibles to sustain their daily lives. Early European settlers followed suit and supplemented their diets with the bounty from the oceans and fresh water sources. Into statehood, settlers relied on the same sources for food while using fresh water to make the land productive for food and cash crops. By the early decades of the 20th Century, water became a marketable attraction to lure millions of tourists to Florida for recreation and sports. The trend continues today. Join a trio of authors on this look at the immense impact water and maritime activities have played in the development of Florida.
DAHLONEGA GOLD Millions of dollars in hidden gold; a newly discovered treasure map sent to Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge in 1865; a neo-Nazi with ambitions to rule North Georgia; a Special Forces Sergeant Major with a heavy moral burden; a psychopathic former special ops soldier; and a small group of retirees%u2014all mixed together in this exciting new novel by Nick Wynne. "This is the type of novel that grabs you on day one and never lets go. Scenes are so vivid you are part of the action and not just reading about it. If you want to spend some time away from TV, this novel is it. A fascinating read." -Patrick D. Smith A Land Remembered
COMMENTS FROM READERS...I must say that I found this manuscript compelling and couldnt put it down. Wynnes style and wit reminds me of Carl Hiaasen. My native Southern friends delight in the telling and retelling of such stories as proof that their region has a special quality that has continued to make it the origin of great American literature. Only the South, they like to boast, could produce Faulkner, Flannery OConner, et al. Wynne, as a native son, apparently has a wealth of experience to draw upon and he has done well. Robert J. Fischer, The Potlatch InstituteEach section of this work is a delightful gem. Together the book sparkles and delights the reader with its snapshots of the small town of Metterville, with the almost unbelievably realistic dialogue, with the many quirky turns of events, with the stitching together of a humorous, yet poignant, story. Wynne generates sympathy for not only the main characters, but lifts many of the peripheral characters into their momentary spotlight. He leaves us wanting to knowwhat happened to them? Roberta Dixon GatesThis novel will hold your attention from start to finish, and you will meet some unique characters along the way. From heartbreak to high humor, there is never a dull moment as you travel with this unusual group of people from a small town in Georgia. Nick Wynne has done an excellent job of writing Pirkle Hall, and he is to be congratulated. Patrick D. Smith, A Land Remembered
The financial boom of the 1920s gave Florida citizens a look at prosperity and promise. By 1926, natural disasters, financial misdeeds and failures to realize those promises created a sense of impending doom and forced entrepreneurs into bankruptcy. With the hurricane of 1928, the boom was over, and coupled with bank failures and numerous farming epidemics, Florida plunged into a depression--two years before the stock market crash of 1929. Journey with noted Florida historians Nick Wynne and Joseph Knetsch as they detail the hardships of the times and the defiance of a state determined to rise above them.
Absolutely delightful! REALLY nice book! Peggy Marion Ryals This is my favorite of your books that Ive read so far. It describes life in a small, rural town in the South perfectly, and your characters and their dialogue are ?Çÿspot-on (to use another popular, overworked phrase). So much of the book reminded me of things from my past that I had long forgotten, such as the ticket-drawings every Saturday night. They were really a highlight in our dreary lives back then....and the street dances, remember them? Jane Smith Horton I just finished reading Flighty Jo Jones. As usual, it was great! It was nice to see our old friend Coot Harrell again. I find I cant put your work down until Ive finished reading. I love your style! Mary Lowry Atchley
I am laughing my way all the way through this foolishness! Its a lot of fun to read this! Wow! What a great surprise ending. Took my breath--didnt see it coming! Good book!Peggy Marion RyalsEnglish teacher, Myrtle BeachHow true to life this is! This could have come from our morning coffee shop get togethers! I dont know Coot Harrell personally, but I know several guys just like him! The boys came from my home town, I think, and they are still there! What a great way to spend several hours. Alan HendryCaf? Unique Coffee ClubHere we go again with the citizens of Metterville. Is there really such a town? If so, I want to move there. First Pirkle Hallnow this! Are there more strange folks in this town?Craig PetelleRockledge
Robert Morris Warren was a first-generation Jewish American from Detroit. A member of a prominent Detroit-Flint manufacturing family, he chose to become a lawyer. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1940, worked for the Office of Price Administration, but left his position to enlist in the United States Army in 1943 as a private. He was eventually assigned to the 143rd Infantry Regiment, a unit of the 36th Infantry Division, and participated in several campaigns in Italy, France, and southern Germany. In command of a mortar squad, Warren was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second highest award for bravery. During his time in service, he exchanged multiple letters with Herman and Celia Chapin, friends from Central High School in Detroit. Those letters are the focus of this book. Discharged in late 1945, he resumed the practice of law in Detroit. He died on December 30, 1978.
The final episodes in the life of Coot Harrell, raconteur and social sage of Metterville, Georgia. Coot and his loyal band of misfits cause, solve, and interfere in all the major problems in Metterville--from marriages and deaths to crimes and punishments. Coot is involved in everything! Humor is the name of the game in "Coot Redux.
With the arrival of the twentieth century, Americans continued in the pioneering spirit of their forebears and looked upon the automobile as a new way to explore the unknown. Thousands of Americans packed their tents in the backs of their cars and set out to enjoy the back roads of the United States. Carrying extra gasoline in five-gallon cans, plenty of canned food, and extra tires strapped to the fenders, these intrepid souls began an exploration of the North American continent with a thoroughness that put Lewis and Clark to shame. These tourists became the symbol of another "New Generation" of Americans, restless, adventuresome, and filled with boundless curiosity. These were the "Tin Can" tourists. In 1919, the official organization of Tin Can Tourists of the World was formed in Tampa, and the group held two meetings annually until disbanding in 1977. Early on, residents of Florida recognized the potential economic impact of the Tin Canners on the state, and the movement to improve roads and provide accommodations and amusements to these seasonal travelers flourished. By 1930, Florida had built more than 3,000 miles of paved roads, and campsites, roadside motels, and exotic animal parks could be found along most major thoroughfares.
This well-received novel from a cast of acclaimed authors is now available in paperback! A video message from a dead person. A larcenous teenager. A man who can stick his left toe behind his head and in his ear. An epileptic girl seeking answers in a fairy tale. A boy who loses everything in World War II, and his brother who loses even more. And a family with a secret so big that it changes everything. The world's best beloved authors each contribute a chapter in the life of the mysterious George "Gee" Keane, photographer, soldier, adventurer, and enigma. Under different pens, a startling portrait emerges of a man, his family, and his gloriously complicated tangle of a life.
IT had rained in torrents all the way down from Schenectady, so when Jack Duane glimpsed the lights of what looked to be a big house through the trees, he braked his battered, convertible sedan to a stop at the side of the road. Mud lay along the fenders and running boards; mud and water had spumed up and freckled Duane’s face and hat. He pulled off the latter—it was soggy—and slapped it on the seat beside him, leaning out and squinting through the darkness and falling water. He was on the last lap of a two weeks’ journey from San Francisco, his objective being New York City. There he hoped to wangle a job as foreign correspondent from an old crony, J. J. Molloy, now editor of the New York Globe. Adventurer, journalist, globetrotter, Duane was of the type that is always on the move. “It’s a place, anyway, Moses,” he said to the large black man beside him, his servitor and bodyguard, who had accompanied him everywhere for the past three years. “Somebody lives there; they ought to have some gas.” “Yasah,” said Moses, staring past Duane’s shoulder, “it’s a funny-looking place, suh.” Duane agreed. Considering that they were seventy miles from New York, in the foothills of the Catskills, with woods all around them and the rain pouring down, the thing they saw through the trees, some three hundred yards from the country road, was indeed peculiar. It looked more like a couple of Pullman cars coupled together and lighted, than like a farmer’s dwelling. “Fenced in, too,” said Duane, pointing to the high steel fence that bordered the road, separating them from the object of their vision. “And look there—” A fitful flash of lightning in the east, illuminating the distant treetops, showed up the towering steel and network of a high-voltage electric line’s tower. The roving journalist muttered something to express his puzzlement, and got out of the car. Moses followed him. “Well,” said Duane presently, when they had stared a moment longer, “whatever it is, I’m barging in. We’ve got to have some gas or we’ll never make New York tonight.” MOSES agreed. The two men started across the road—the big Negro hatless and wearing a slicker—the reporter in a belted trench coat, his brown felt hat pulled out of shape on his head. “It’s a big thing,” Duane said as he and Moses halted at the fence and peered through. Distantly, he could see now that the mysterious structure in the woods was at least a hundred yards long, flat-topped and black as coal except from narrow shafts of light that came from its windows. “And look at the light coming out of the roof.” That was, indeed, the most peculiar feature of this place they had discovered. From a section of the roof near the center, as though through a skylight, a great white light came out, illuminating the slanting rain and the bending trees.
The definitive, must-have account of the all-time players, coaches, locker rooms and boardrooms that made the Dallas Cowboys "America's Team." Since 1960, the Cowboys have never been just about football. From their ego-driven owner and high-profile players to their state-of-the-art stadium and iconic cheerleaders, the Cowboys have become a staple of both football and American culture since the beginning. For over 50 years, wherever the Cowboys play, there are people in the stands in all their glory: thousands of jerseys, hats, and pennants, all declaring the love and loyalty to one of the most influential teams in NFL history. Now, with thrilling insider looks and sweeping reveals of the ever-lasting time, place, and culture of the team, Joe Nick Patoski takes readers - both fans and rivals alike - deep into the captivating world of the Cowboys.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.