"This is the third book in a series of books about the adventures of young Charlie Pierce, one of South Florida's earliest pioneer settlers. The story follows teenage Charlie and his fearless little sister Lillie in the late 1880s, when South Florida was America's last frontier. Together with his Seminole friend, Tiger, Charlie experienced one of the most intriguing and exotic lives imaginable. His adventures as a young boy growing up in the wild, untamed jungles of Florida became legendary. Perhaps no other person experienced firsthand as many important events and met as many influential characters in South Florida's history." --Introduction.

"In the late 19th century, hunters killed millions of birds in the Florida Everglades to supply the booming trade in bird feathers for ladies' fashion. As teenagers, Charlie Pierce and his friends traveled deep into the unexplored Florida Everglades to hunt plume birds for their feathers. They never imagined the challenges they would encounter, what they would learn about themselves, and how they would contribute to American history"--P. 4. of cover.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • The bravely imagined, wildly acclaimed debut novel from the author of Vampires in the Lemon Grove—about a thirteen year old girl who sets out on a mission through magical swamps to save her family. "Ms. Russell is one in a million.... A suspensfuly, deeply haunted book." —The New York Times Thirteen-year-old Ava Bigtree has lived her entire life at Swamplandia!, her family’s island home and gator-wrestling theme park in the Florida Everglades. But when illness fells Ava’s mother, the park’s indomitable headliner, the family is plunged into chaos; her father withdraws, her sister falls in love with a spooky character known as the Dredgeman, and her brilliant big brother, Kiwi, defects to a rival park called The World of Darkness. As Ava embarks on her mission to save them all, we are drawn into a lush debut that takes us to the shimmering edge of reality.

"Well-crafted and in-depth, They Dared to Dream has moved women, their experiences, and their contributions to the forefront of Florida's history and heritage. This is a long-overdue and much-needed turning point in understanding our state's past and present."--Canter Brown Jr., coeditor of The Varieties of Women's Experiences "Represents a leap forward in the study of Florida history. Weatherford has done an outstanding job of researching and writing about Florida women, from paupers to queens, elevating their status to a level of equality within the overall story of Florida."--Rodney Kite-Powell, Saunders Foundation Curator of History at the Tampa Bay History Center and editor of Tampa Bay History "Exhaustively researched, well written, and engaging, They Dared to Dream breaks new ground in the study of Florida. Doris Weatherford's ambitious history of women in Florida will be widely read and discussed. From Princess Ulele to Alex Sink, from the role of criollas in Colonial St. Augustine to the struggles of women in the twenty-first century, Weatherford chronicles their lives in the Sunshine State."--Gary Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams In this extensive portrayal of Florida's guiding matriarchs, Doris Weatherford highlights the myriad contributions women have made throughout Florida's history. From the select few who traveled with Ponce de Leon to the state's first female mayor Marion H. O’Brien, Weatherford sheds light on the roles these pioneering women played in the shaping of the Sunshine State. They Dared to Dream reveals the lifestyles and achievements of women throughout landmark moments in history, including Native civilizations before the arrival of European colonists; early Spanish, British, and French exploration, the Civil War era, Reconstruction, the early twentieth century, and the population explosions post-World War II. Featuring often-celebrated personalities--including Mary Martha Reid, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton--alongside the lesser-known lives of Princess Murat, lighthouse keeper Barbara Mabrity, Florida Memorial College founder Sarah Ann Blocker, and others--this pivotal examination of Florida's female agents of change draws attention to women's instrumental roles in the historical events that defined the Sunshine State. From prehistoric times to the space age, the female half of the population has made giant, but too often unacknowledged, contributions to Florida history. Countless women have overcome great obstacles and yet are often left out of historical accounts. They Dared to Dream aims to fill in some of these gaps by celebrating the many successes women have made. Because without women, there is no history--nor any future. Doris Weatherford is the author of A History of the American Suffragist Movement and other reference guides on American women’s history. The Florida Commission on the Status of Women Foundation, Inc., is dedicated to empowering women and girls in our state by supporting educational, entrepreneurial and self sufficiency programs and initiatives through grants, mentoring, and other opportunities. The FCSW Foundation supports the work and programs of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women, including the Florida Women's Hall of Fame. The Florida Commission on the Status of Women Foundation, Inc. dedicates this book to: the women of the past who struggled to achieve gender equality and showed the path, the women of the present who continue with the same goal, and the women of the future who will carry the baton and make us proud.--Dr. Mona Jain Acknowledgments, by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women Foundation, Inc The Florida women’s history book project could not have been completed without the cooperation and support of many people. To thank all of them who made it possible would be nearly impossible. We would, however, like to express our sincere appreciation to those who have helped take this endeavor "from dream to reality." First and foremost, we are indebted forever to our nine founding members as well as to the generous donors to the History Book Project. Next, our thanks go to the charter members: Nancy Acevedo, Claudia Kirk Barto, Susanne Hebert, Laura McLeod, Dr. Jeanne O’Kon, Laurie Pizzo, Blanca Bichara, Dr. Mona Jain, Carrie Lee, and Kathleen Passidomo, Esq., who freely gave their time and talents. Our heartfelt thanks to Kelly Sciba and Michele Manning, who spent many, many hours of their own time to see that the project was moving forward smoothly. Special mention is also made here for the assistance given by Kimberly Mehr and Veronica Vasquez. We gratefully acknowledge Doris Weatherford for writing this comprehensive Florida women’s history book. We are also grateful to the University Press of Florida for publishing the book as well as for valuable editorial help and comments. Our special thanks to each and every one who played a part in discovering the stories behind the women that makes them unique and trailblazers. These notable women have created history. We are also thankful to many women and men for their well wishes and encouragement in order to fill a void in the history of the Sunshine State. Together we empower each other. Last but not least the foundation members offer our deepest sense of appreciation to our families for believing in us as well as for their unwavering moral support. To all others we have omitted inadvertently, please accept our sincere apologies and thanks. According to the old saying, "To err is human and to forgive is divine." Florida Commission on the Status of Women Foundation, Inc. Founding Members, "Visionaries" Blanca C. Bichara, Miami Cheryl Holley, Tampa Dr. Anila Jain, Bradenton-Sarasota Dr. Mona Jain, Bradenton-Sarasota Carrie E. Lee, Gainesville Marie Flore Lindor-Latortue, Miami Janet Mabry, Gulf Breeze Representative Kathleen Passidomo, Esq., Naples Debbie Sembler, Pinellas Park Donors, from "Vision" to "Reality" This Florida Women’s History Book Project has been made possible due to the generosity of the following: Hawa Allarakhia, Bradenton Blanca C. and Ricardo Bichara, Miami Eugenia Price Joyce Blackburn Foundation Brighthouse Networks of Manatee County for Rose Carlson, Bradenton Leah Brown, Bradenton Betty Chambliss, Bradenton LaDonna Cloud, Sarasota Community Foundation of Tampa Bay for Alex Sink, CFO Representative Faye Culp, Tampa Lynn and Dr. Arthur Guilford, Sarasota Gini Hyman, Sarasota Dr. Mona and Kailash Jain, Bradenton-Sarasota Kappa Delta Foundation, Inc. for Dr. Anila Jain, Chair, Bradenton-Sarasota Carrie E. and Dennis Lee, Gainesville Manatee and Sarasota Commissions on the Status of Women Miami-Dade Commission for Women Dorothy Middleton, Bradenton JoAnn Morgan, Melbourne Representative Kathleen Passidomo, Esq., Naples Mary Runnells, Bradenton Linda Simmons, Tampa St. Petersburg Times Fund (Lynda Keever) Mariamma and Dr. George Thomas, Bradenton University of South Florida for Dr. Judy Genshaft, President Amy VanDell, Bradenton Anne Voss, Tampa Renee Warmak, Tampa Senator Marlene Woodson-Howard, Bradenton

"With this latest book, historian John Hann has completed his remarkable trifecta on Florida's Indians, adding South Florida to his previous UPF volumes on the Apalachees and Timucuans. Hann deftly weaves a diverse range of Spanish documentary sources into a comprehensive overview of the nonagricultural peoples of the southern Florida peninsula, providing readers with a wealth of much-needed information in a single volume. This book will instantly become required reading for anyone studying South Florida's indigenous peoples."--John Worth, Florida Museum of Natural History "Finally, a concise, authoritative, and exhaustively researched ethnohistorical synthesis of the native peoples of South Florida. This book presents important documentation on the culture, religion, and political organization of the aboriginal peoples of South Florida, including some of the most politically complex groups in all of North America. . . . A marvelous exposé of Florida's lost natives and how they lived and interacted with each other and the Spanish, ultimately leading to their demise and extinction."--Randolph J. Widmer, University of Houston John Hann, a preeminent authority and prize-winning author of books on Florida's native peoples, offers here the first survey available of Indians of the peninsula south of Timucua and Apalachee territory, from their earliest contact with Europeans to their disappearance in the 18th century. The book will have broad appeal for residents of South Florida interested in learning about the Indians and colonial history of the areas in which they live and will be of specific interest to historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists. Hann discusses the peoples who occupied an area south of a line drawn roughly from the mouth of the Withlacoochee River eastward to Turtle Mound, located a little north of Cape Canaveral. He focuses on the Calusa of the southwest coast, the people of the Tampa Bay region, and the Surruque and Ais and their kin of the east coast from Turtle Mound southward through the Keys, as well as their hinterland kin from the St. Johns through the Kissimmee valleys. Using original unpublished sources that are virtually unknown to most anthropologists and archaeologists, Hann examines documents from the first periods of contact in North America. He also analyzes archaeological investigations from the last quarter century, particularly those involving the Calusa and the Tequesta living at the mouth of the Miami River. Common features among these people, he concludes, are the almost total absence of agriculture in their lives and their slight, episodic contact with Spaniards. Hann offers new insights on subjects such as the marriages and political alliances of chiefs, and his topics range from beverages and household utensils to ceremonial items, musical instruments, and fishing techniques and tools. He also presents an unparalleled compilation of information on indigenous Native American belief systems. This important work will be significant for understanding aboriginal culture not only of Florida but North America in general. John H. Hann, historian at the San Luis Archaeological and Historic Site in Tallahassee, is a member of the Florida Department of State, Bureau of Archaeological Research. He is the author, coauthor, or translator of many books on the native peoples of Florida, including The Apalachee Indians and Mission San Luis (with Bonnie McEwan, UPF, 1998) and Hernando de Soto among the Apalachee: The Archaeology of the First Winter Encampment (with Charles R. Ewen, UPF, 1998).

"A fascinating account of both the historical and current struggle of Native Americans to recover sacred objects that have been plundered and sold to museums. Museum curator and anthropologist Chip Colwell asks the all-important question: Who owns the past? Museums that care for the objects of history or the communities whose ancestors made them?"--Provided by the publisher

An overview of the archaeology and development of the coastal southwest Florida site complex at Pineland from AD 50-1710.

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • “Altogether gripping, shocking, and brilliantly told, not just a tour de force in its stylistic range, but a great American novel, as powerful a reading experience as nearly any in our literature.”—Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books Killing Mister Watson, Lost Man’s River, and Bone by Bone—Peter Matthiessen’s great American epic about Everglades sugar planter and notorious outlaw E. J. Watson on the wild Florida frontier at the turn of the twentieth century—were originally conceived as one vast, mysterious novel. Now, in this bold new rendering, Matthiessen has marvelously distilled a monumental work while deepening the insights and motivations of his characters with brilliant rewriting throughout. Praise for Shadow Country “Magnificent . . . breathtaking . . . Finally now we have [this three-part saga] welded like a bell, and with Watson’s song the last sound, all the elements fuse and resonate.”—Los Angeles Times “Peter Matthiessen has done great things with the Watson trilogy. It’s the story of our continent, both land and people, and his writing does every justice to the blood fury of his themes.”—Don DeLillo “The fiction of Peter Ma­­tthiessen is the reason a lot of people in my generation decided to be writers. No doubt about it. Shadow Country lives up to anyone’s highest expectations for great writing.” —Richard Ford “Shadow Country, Matthiessen’s distillation of the earlier Watson saga, represents his original vision. It is the quintessence of his lifelong concerns, and a great legacy.”—W. S. Merwin “[An] epic masterpiece . . . a great American novel.”—The Miami Herald

Secrets of an iconic artifact Florida Book Awards, Bronze Medal for Florida Nonfiction Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Award for Meritorious Achievement in Preservation Communications Excavated from a waterlogged archaeological site on the shores of subtropical Florida by legendary anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing in 1896, the Key Marco Cat has become a modern icon of heritage, history, and local identity. This book takes readers into the deep past of the artifact and the Native American society in which it was created. Austin Bell explores nine periods in the life of the six-inch-high wooden carving, beginning with how it was sculpted with shell and shark-tooth tools and what it may have represented to the ancient Calusa—perhaps a human-panther god. Preserved in the muck for centuries on Marco Island and discovered in pristine condition due to its oxygen-free environment, the Cat has since traveled more than 12,000 miles and has been viewed by millions of people. It is one of the Smithsonian Institution’s most irreplaceable items. In this fascinating account, Bell traces the clues to the Cat’s mysterious origins that have emerged in its later lives. Captivating readers with the miracle and beauty of this rare example of pre-Columbian art, Bell marvels at how an object originally understood to hold cosmological power has indeed transformed the people and places around it. The Nine Lives of Florida’s Famous Key Marco Cat is the story of a timeless masterpiece of staggering simplicity that has prevailed over impossibly long odds.

"When Robert Fulton installed a steam engine in the side wheel boat North River Steamboat in 1807, the world changed forever. With this innovation, riversthe natural transportation arteries of the South - were opened as routes to transport travelers and goods to previously inaccessible areas. Today, the steamboat triggers romantic images of adventures on the Mississippi taken from Mark Twain. But the opening of the major rivers in Florida to steamboat navigation was vital to the state's development." "This history brings together the author's unique experiences traveling Florida's steamboat routes with the historical record of the innovations and explorations that led to the steamboat's reign as the preferred mode of transport before the dawn of the twentieth century."--BOOK JACKET.