Dream State

Starred review from September 27, 2004
With hurricane-force prose, journalist and Florida native Roberts hits the land of orange groves, theme parks and mobile homes with a torrential outpouring of love and hate, affection and disgust. Weaving her own family history into that of the state—she's related somehow or other to many of Florida's pioneering families—she chronicles the greed, political corruption and deceit that turned the swamps of the Sunshine State into a haven for retirees, wealthy or otherwise. She provides colorful sketches of the denizens of Florida, from the land-grabbing railroad tycoon Henry Flagler Jr., who turned South Florida into a playground for the rich and famous, to Gov. Claude Kirk, who tried to make the lowly mullet the state fish. Roberts reminds us that, despite Disney's glitter, Florida's backwoods and side roads reveal its true character as a Southern state still marked by racism and Confederate pride. In hilarious and touching sketches, Roberts nostalgically carries readers back to pre-Disney Florida while admitting that even then the state played by different rules than the rest of the country. If there was ever any doubt about the true nature of the Sunshine State—where "what people think happened is always more important than what really happened"—Roberts puts it to rest in this splendid unofficial history. Agent, David McCormick.

Starred review from November 15, 2004
Quick! What do you think of when someone mentions Florida-sun and sand, hurricanes, disputed elections, Cuban Miami? In the best tradition of Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey mixed with a smattering of Peter Matthiessen, Alabama English professor and NPR commentator Roberts (Made You Look) tells us all about the Everglades State, from its European discovery to Kathryn Harris and the controversial 2000 election. Mixed in with wit and humor one will find the search for the fountain of youth, Old Hickory's heavy-handed justice, and the evolution of a vacationers' paradise after Henry Flagler developed swampland into a mouse mecca and South Beach. Told with Roberts's family history as context, the book provides a fascinating cast of true characters, none more so than the author's own relatives. Nowhere is Roberts better than in describing Florida's boosters, the best of whom she calls either myopic or liars-or both. A great way to tell the state's history, this book is highly recommended for all libraries.-Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., AL

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2004
A history of Florida written by a woman whose Floridian roots stretch back to the colonial days? Is such a thing possible? As Roberts points out, Florida prides itself on being a place without a past, a state built on cartoon mice and plastic flamingos. But Florida--European and Indian, southern and Yankee, FSU and UF--is home to many of the great conflicts in American history. From Ponce de Leon to the Seminole wars to the hanging chads of the 2000 election, Roberts tells the story of Florida through her relatives and ancestors. It would seem she is kin to most every prominent figure in northern Florida (Floridians will recognize several of the surnames in her family tree as counties), and it is through them that we come to know the state. Roberts' rough-edged colloquial style matches her subject matter nicely but contains frequent ramblings about Andrew Jackson, Jeb Bush, and her cousin the Tallahassee lawyer. But it's a fun ride, nonetheless, and proof positive that despite its pretenses, Florida does have a history--and a wild one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)