In the last few months you probably went on a trip to Florida.
From Montauk to Missoula, it’s felt extra frigid this year. Snow might still be on the ground and despite all the bullshit you dish out about loving the cold, all you really want is a frozen Margarita and a tan.
While you could have gone to Mexico or the Islands, the flight options to the Sunshine State were better and you masked the vacation as a pilgrimage to visit your quirky aunt.
The problem is Florida faces a bit of a perception issue. Around the country people think the state is a black hole for any sort of culture or class. It’s a commonly held belief that Floridia is nothing but T-shirt shops and Tiki Bars. Unless you live in the State, like I do, you might be tempted to agree.
This is all a long winded way of introducing the point of the article, a list of books that’ll help you understand what Florida is really about. My goal is to give some reading options to help you get the state and its population. These books, both fiction and nonfiction, describe a diverse range of social milieux and time periods. To say the obvious, there is indeed culture and history in Florida.
Before we begin, let's discuss the elephant, a taxidermied one, in the room. You can’t discuss Florida writers without mentioning Ernest Hemingway. The truth is you don’t need me to tell you to read Hemingway. If you haven’t yet, go do it now. If you have, please proceed and enjoy my list.
1. The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea, Jack E. Davis
At my core I’m a bit of a pedantic nerd, so I feel the need to start with a history book. Davis’s Pulitzer winning masterpiece tells the story of the Gulf of Mexico, from indigenous populations to resorts wiped out by unexpected hurricanes. The unusual geographic perspective gives license to the author to consider how Florida’s most beautiful body of water (in my humble opinion) impacted its development. The story is not limited to Florida but spans all the way to Texas. You will look smart reading this by the pool.
2. Back to Blood, Tom Wolfe
My literary hero is Tom Wolfe, and a decade ago he turned his electric kool aid acid eye on Miami. Like a lot of Wolfe’s novels, the book follows several fictional characters that collectively deliver hard truths about a place and time.
He hits the contradictions and extravagances of Miami right on the nose. As a veteran of several Art Basels his description of overweight oligarch’s lacing up Prada sneakers to buy million dollar light installations is a little too close to home. Following a local Cuban cop, he shows the contrast of how locals and new arrivals experience the city.
3. Shadow Country, Peter Matthiessen
When people think about the American frontier they normally think about the Wild West, but Peter Matthiessen in this epic novel changes this. Set in wild Florida at the turn of the twentieth century, Shadow Country fictionalized the insane life of outlaw Everglades sugar planter E. J. Watson. His rise and fall are an all American legend.
4. Lords of the Fly, Monte Burke
I’ve dabbled in Saltwater fly fishing, but before reading Monte Burke’s page turner about Tarpon fishing I had no idea how seriously guys take it. A group of millionaires, sea dog Floridians, and frankly obsessive kooks compete to catch the biggest Tarpon on the lightest possible tippet. Friendships are broken in decades long feuds in a quest to perfect an art form the marries technique to luck. Burke tells the story without judgment of the conflicts, but a bit of awe at the dedication of these sportsmen.
5. Mile Marker Zero: The Moveable Feast of Key West, William McKeen
Finally a book chronicling traditional beachbum Florida stereotypes, and why they’re actually much deeper and more interesting than you think. This piece of pop nonfiction draws a line in the Key West sand from Hemingway to Jimmy Buffett. Yes they did a lot of drinking and fishing, drug running and smoking, but the Chonc locals hit above their cultural weight. The island had produced more than its fair share of musicians, writers and artists. Perhaps the laid back lifestyle really does help the creative juices flow.