Johns River campsite of nineteenth-century botanist William Bartram, whose encouters with alligators there were as alarming as Klinkenberg's today with beer cans and soda bottles. Other peices pay homage to Klinkenberg's literary heoes who have written in and about Florida, such as Pulitzer Prize winner Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Rawlings's companion and memoirist Idella Parker, Everglades crusader Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and novelist Ernest Hemingway. Many pieces focus off the beaten path and on modern rogues who seem to turn their backsides to the subdivisions and shopping malls that pave the state. Fair weather, good food, and the joys of nature lie ahead, described here in essays that are like time capsules of 'old Florida values.' Preserving the past, they reveal Klinkenberg's waggish appreciation of the state's history, folkways, and landscape. Arranged by season, the book opens in the fall, which Klinenberg says is like spring in the north - a time of celebration. At any time of year he can find a place to enjoy or a person with an irresistible story. From dust jacket: No wonder Jeff Klinkenberg loves Florid. Octavo, white cloth & orange boards (hardcover), red letters, xv + 261 pp.

Though some may think the real Florida is a thing of the past, he says, 'Do not tell me Florida is no longer a paradise.' Florida, Floridiana, Florida History, Americana, American History, U.S.-iana. He writes with warmth and authenticity of a state he still sees as wondrous in its own ways. In this heartfelt tribute, Klinkenberg portrays Florida's people, places, food, and culture with a deep understanding that does not relegate them to cliche.

Along the way, he stops to impart true Florida wisdom, from how to eat a Key lime pie to which writers and artists every Floridian should know. We travel to Solomon's Castle of reclaimed materials, the neighborhood of 'Rattlesnake, Florida,' and the smallest post office in the United States. Klinkenberg also takes us to some of the most interesting, little-known places in the state. Petersburg and Miss Martha, the oyster-shucking queen of Apalachicola. Curtis and his prized orange blossom honey frog whisperer Avalon Theisen Sheepshead George of St. He introduces us to the stout-hearted folks who have learned to live and even prosper among the insects, sharp-toothed critters, and serious heat. Klinkenberg recounts what it was like to grow up in pre-air conditioning Florida and how he became a newspaper reporter in mid-century Miami. Award-winning journalist Jeff Klinkenberg has explored what makes Florida unique for nearly half a century, and Son of Real Florida is a compelling retrospective of essays on the state he knows so well. From dust jacket: As stories about 'Florida Man' inspire wild headlines in the news, Florida's most beloved chronicler is here to show that the state is more than the stereotypes. Octavo, black textured boards (hardcover), 238 pp.

Real Florida by Jeff Klinkenberg