Customer Reviews

Cypress Gardens, America's Tropical Wonderland: How Dick Pope Invented Florida

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Although I have had a passion for water skiing for over 50 years, I found a surprising amount of information new to me. Much of this book used personal interviews with individuals either in the Pope family or the extended Cypress Gardens community. Quite a bit of the information came from Dick Pope's own book about water skiing which was quite a remarkable book written in the early days of the sport. I had visited Cypress Gardens in the 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's as well as after the park was sold but still operating as "Cypress Gardens" with the added carnival attractions. This book really does a fine job of showing how Dick Pope, Sr. promoted tourism to the Sunshine State, how his wife Julie influenced the start of the ski shows and the southern belles, and, importantly, from a historical viewpoint, how things significantly changed when the Disneys came to Florida. This book includes information about the current park owners Legoland. Lu Vickers did a great job of detailing the relationship Dick Pope, Sr. had with Esther Williams. After reading this book I would highly recommend you obtain a copy of the movie "Easy to Love" (available in VHS) and experience the original Cypress Gardens magic.

I gave this book as a gift to my wife. She had spent her teenage years in Winter Haven, lived just a few minutes from Cypress Gardens, and knew the Pope family. The book brought back many fond memories of the Gardens. More importantly, the book explored Dick Pope's essential role in promoting Florida and creating a thriving tourist industry. Ultimately, the wonderful jewel that was Cypress Gardens became a memory, done in mainly by the arrival of Disney World and the change in how tourists visited the state. Though it is sad that the Gardens no longer exist, this book will provide you with a wonderful reminder of an important part of Florida history.

One of my friends was a water ski performer at Cypress Gardens and when I saw a review of the book, I immediately ordered it and sent it to her as a gift from an old friend. She loves the book and it connected us again after many years living many miles apart.