Florida

Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World

101 Things You Never Knew About Walt Disney World: An Unauthorized Look at Tributes, Little Touches, And Inside Jokes

Think you know Walt Disney World?

Do you know the backstory of Dinoland U.S.A. that unifies the entire land? Do you know how the former attraction named Dreamflight is commemorated in today's Magic Kingdom? Do you know how Ellen's Energy Adventure mentions the ride which preceded it? Do you know where the references to Horizons and World of Motion are? Do you know how Disney's Animal Kingdom pays tribute to the land it planned but never created? Do you know where the Hidden Kermit is located? Do you know how the four theme parks honor the years in which they opened?

You have probably heard a few "interesting facts" about Walt Disney World over the years. Perhaps you've heard that the windows on the second story of the buildings on Main Street honor individuals of note in WDW history? Or that the company plane Walt used to survey the eventual WDW property from the air now lives at the studios park? It's all true... but these are only two of the interesting facts pointed out in "101 Things You Never Knew About Walt Disney World." And those are only two of the best-known examples. Many of these stories deal with much more obscure, yet equally interesting, pieces of history of the theme parks. You haven't heard all these stories before!

National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida

With its colorful coral reefs, excellent birding, and tropical temperatures, Florida remains a popular vacation spot for the ecologically minded. In this concisely detailed volume you'll become acquainted with the state's geologic origins, natural history, and diverse habitats (salt marshes, mangrove swamps, prairies, and woodlands). A field guide assists in the identification of some of the region's wildflowers, trees, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, mammals, and birds, including the elusive manatee, three species of dolphin, and the rare snail kite. An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries, with thorough descriptions and visitor information on 50 destinations, is also included. For instance, the section on Everglades National Park includes information on wildlife viewing possibilities, driving directions, and popular touring attractions inside the park (such as Shark Valley, where a 15-mile loop via foot, rental bike, or tram affords close views of alligators, anhingas, and wading birds). Lesser-known areas such as Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and Withlacoochee State Forest are also featured. More than 1,300 color photographs heighten the quality of this handy compilation.

Filled with concise descriptions and stunning photographs, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida belongs in the home of every Florida resident and in the suitcase or backpack of every visitor. This compact volume contains:

An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the state's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more;

A complete overview of Florida's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns and night sky;

An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others.

The guide is packed with visual information -- the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 14 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as 150 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals.

For everyone who lives or spends time in Florida, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida.

The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise

The Everglades was once reviled as a liquid wasteland, and Americans dreamed of draining it. Now it is revered as a national treasure, and Americans have launched the largest environmental project in history to try to save it. The Swamp is the stunning story of the destruction and possible resurrection of the Everglades, the saga of man's abuse of nature in southern Florida and his unprecedented efforts to make amends. Michael Grunwald, a prize-winning national reporter for The Washington Post, takes readers on a riveting journey from the Ice Ages to the present, illuminating the natural, social and political history of one of America's most beguiling but least understood patches of land.

The Everglades was America's last frontier, a wild country long after the West was won. Grunwald chronicles how a series of visionaries tried to drain and "reclaim" it, and how Mother Nature refused to bend to their will; in the most harrowing tale, a 1928 hurricane drowned 2,500 people in the Everglades. But the Army Corps of Engineers finally tamed the beast with levees and canals, converting half the Everglades into sprawling suburbs and sugar plantations. And though the southern Everglades was preserved as a national park, it soon deteriorated into an ecological mess. The River of Grass stopped flowing, and 90 percent of its wading birds vanished.

Now America wants its swamp back. Grunwald shows how a new breed of visionaries transformed Everglades politics, producing the $8 billion rescue plan. That plan is already the blueprint for a new worldwide era of ecosystem restoration. And this book is a cautionary tale for that era. Through gripping narrative and dogged reporting, Grunwald shows how the Everglades is still threatened by the same hubris, greed and well-intentioned folly that led to its decline.

Michael Grunwald is a reporter at The Washington Post. He has won the George Polk Award for national reporting, the Worth Bingham Prize for investigative reporting, and many other awards. He lives in Miami with his wife, Cristina Dominguez.

Visit his website at www.michaelgrunwald.com.

Florida's Fabulous Seashells: And Other Seashore Life

Tales of Old Florida

Visiting Small Town Florida

Bruce Hunt has combined and updated the two volumes of his popular Visiting Small-Town Florida series to bring you this exciting, new venture into real, old-timey Florida. Take a road trip around the Sunshine State with Bruce Hunt as he visits 70 of Florida's most charming, historic, and often eclectic small towns—places with names like Sopchoppy, Ozello, and Two Egg. Tour historic districts, museums, galleries, antiques shops, and great local eateries. Marvel at the intricate architecture of past centuries. Learn about each town's history and meet some of the unusual and endearing characters who call these small towns home.

This travelogue and guide book lets you experience the flavor of Florida's backroads burgs and provides directions, addresses, phone numbers, and websites. Here at your fingertips is all the information you'll need to make one (or all) of these special places a weekend or vacation destination.

Priceless Florida: Natural Ecosystems and Native Species

Priceless Florida presents the incomparable ecological riches of this unique region in a way that will appeal to young and old, laypersons and scientists. A cornucopia of colorful illustrations and exquisite photos makes you feel you're there. The comprehensive text enlightens with facts and brims with intriguing curiosities while bridging multiple fields in a crisp, readable style that only seasoned science-educators like Drs. Whitney, Means, and Rudloe could offer.

The authors enlighten us on every kind of natural area found within the Sunshine State. Imagine yourself trekking into a hammock, slogging through a swamp, floating down a river, strolling along a beach, hovering over a coral reef, or probing the depths of an underwater cave. You'll discover how everything from soils, rocks, water, and landforms shape flora and fauna—and vice versa. You'll also learn how the survival of some of the world's most endangered species and ecosystems hinges on our actions. Much of Florida has been bought and sold many times over, but this book makes clear how its value truly has no pricetag.

A Field Guide to Coral Reefs: Caribbean and Florida (Peterson Field Guides (R))

With more than 500 species described and more than 400 illustrations, this guide provides quick and easy visual identification of fishes, mollusks, sponges, shrimps, lobsters, crabs, and much more of the fauna found on the coral reefs of the Caribbean and Florida.

Totch: A Life in the Everglades