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A Treasure-Trove Of Fun Facts About Florida

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By KAREN HAYMON LONG, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 30, 2007

Not too many years ago, books about Florida were tough to find. Even Florida history books were few and slim.

That's all changed as the state has grown and more people have become enamored with its natural beauty and great places to kayak, bird watch, hike, bike and even make movies.

Here's a look at some books about Florida that came out this year:

"Florida on Film: The Essential Guide to Sunshine State Cinema & Locations," by Susan Doll and David Morrow (University Press of Florida, $19.95)

You may be surprised to learn just how many movies have been filmed in Florida. "Scarface" and "Key Largo," "Body Heat" and "Cape Fear," "The Birdcage" and "The Heartbreak Kid," "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" and "The Greatest Show on Earth."

And that's just a small sampling.

This book describes dozens and dozens, with the back stories, plot, credits and fun facts on each. It also chronicles the history of filmmaking in Florida, which surprisingly dates to silent films made in Jacksonville as early as 1908.

Movie and trivia buffs will especially enjoy this photo-filled 394-page book.

"Bicycling in Florida: The Cyclist's Road and Off-Road Guide," by Tom Oswald (Pineapple Press, Inc., $10.95)

Bike riders will love this guidebook, which spans the state's parks, backroads, coastal highways, trails and city streets.

Oswald offers advice only a veteran bicyclist would know. For each ride, he includes distance, terrain and detailed descriptions of what to expect.

Now, all you need is a bike.

"Summer of the Dragon," by Don Goodman (Gainesville Association for the Creative Arts, $14.95)

Naturalist Don Goodman shares his love of Florida and a frightful experience with an alligator in this book he calls "memoiresque."

University of Florida grads and others who have passed through Gainesville will get a kick out of his descriptions of his student days and tubing down the Ichetucknee River, a rite of passage for UF students.

He weaves stories about his role in creating Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, providing chapters on the perils of gardening in North Florida and his encounters with snakes.

The book really gets scary when he describes the day an 11-foot gator attacked him and bit off his right forearm while he was wading in a pond at the gardens. The horror reminded him of a dragon attack, which inspired the book's title.

"Florida Almanac," edited by Bernie McGovern (Pelican, $17.95)

Open any page and you'll learn something new about the Sunshine State in this nearly 600-page fact book.

Did you know that one Florida governor (Wayne Mixon) served only three days? Can you guess when (10,000 to 8,000 B.C.) the first Floridians set up housekeeping?

This fascinating book holds plenty of entertaining surprises.

Karen Haymon Long is the Tribune's book editor.

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