The Wilder Heart of Florida: More Writers Inspired by Florida Nature

Fall under the spell of Florida's natural environmentIn this captivating collection, Florida's most notable authors, poets, and environmentalists take readers on a journey through the natural wonders of the state. Continuing in the legacy of the beloved classic The Wild Heart of Florida, this book features thirty-four pieces by a new slate of well-known and emerging writers. In these pages, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Groff describes the beauty of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Environmental writer Cynthia Barnett listens to seashells on Sanibel Island. Legendary journalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas records the sights and sounds of the Everglades in the 1920s. Miccosukee elder Buffalo Tiger relates traditional stories of his community's deep relationship with the land. Presidential inaugural poet Richard Blanco muses on the shifting vista of the ocean in "Some Days the Sea." These writers and many others recount memories of how their lives have been enriched by the state's varied and brilliant landscapes. Some tell of encounters with alligators, pythons, manatees, turtles, and otters, while others marvel at the unique character of flowing springs and piney scrub. Together, they highlight the need to protect pristine ecosystems and restore ones that have been damaged due to development. The Wilder Heart of Florida will inspire readers to explore and celebrate the Florida wilderness.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Introduction —Jack E. Davis and Leslie K. Poole Part I. Beckonings Seduction in Key West — Susan Lilley The Story under the Story — Lauren Groff Our Land — Buffalo Tiger Soldier's Creek Trail — Terry Ann Thaxton Part II. Revelations Innocence Found — Bill Maxwell The Seine — Jack E. Davis My First Audubon Trip Hasn't Ended Yet . . . — Charles Lee Florida Boy — David McCally The River That Raised Me — Gabbie Buendia The Breathers, St. Mark's Lighthouse — Rick Campbell Part III. Animals Birds and Refuge — Frederick R. Davis The Quiet Song of Sanibel Island — Cynthia Barnett The Habits of Alligators — Loren G. "Totch" Brown Gator! — Lee Irby Feast of Pythons (Homage to Harry Crews) — Isaac Eger One Manatee, Two Nations — Anmari Alvarez-Alemán Woodpeckers and Wildness: The Disney Wilderness Preserve — Leslie K. Poole Sighting by the St. Johns — Russ Kesler Part IV. Water Up the Okalawaha: A Sail into Fairy-Land — Harriet Beecher Stowe Musings — Margaret Ross Tolbert The Pulse of Paynes Prairie — Lars Andersen From Springs Heartland to Wasteland . . . and Back? — Lucinda Faulkner Merritt Wilderness from the Water — Claire Strom The Rhythms of the Lagoon — Clay Henderson Raw Water — Gianna Russo Part V. Terra Firma Excerpts from The Galley — Marjory Stoneman Douglas The Natural Aesthetic of the Naked God — Bruce Stephenson Don't Mourn the Orange — Mark Jerome Walters Seasons of Love — Erika Henderson Biscayne National Monument: Preserving Our Precious Bays — Nathaniel Pryor ReedPart VI. At the Heart Some Day the Sea — Richard Blanco From A Seminole Legend: The Life of Betty Mae Tiger Jumper — Betty Mae Tiger Jumper and Patsy West A Plea for Wider Justice — Marjory Stoneman Douglas Florida Is a Pretty Girl —Frances Susanna Nevill Acknowledgments Contributors Credits

About the Author :
Jack E. Davis is professor of history and the Rothman Family Chair in the Humanities at the University of Florida. He is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea and coeditor of Paradise Lost? The Environmental History of Florida. Leslie K. Poole is assistant professor of environmental studies at Rollins College. She is the author of Saving Florida: Women's Fight for the Environment in the Twentieth Century.

Review :
"Capture[s] Florida's current precarious state of balance."--Tampa Bay Times "This collection . . . points to the need to keep the pressure on to save the ever shrinking wild areas and denizens of our fair state. . . . [A] wonderful little book."--Florida Times-Union "Rich in history and deep in science and expertise, [yet] nonetheless maintains a tone of wide-eyed wonder and sensuous delight."--Winter Park Magazine "The Wilder Heart of Florida belongs to the current generation, but it will also move future generations of Florida writers, explorers and activists to save the state's unique landscapes and creatures, one orchid or spring at a time."--Our Town Magazine