Customer Reviews

Florida Enchantments (Blue Water Classics)

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Fascinating recounting of Dimock's nature adventures in Florida in the early 1900s. A.W. Dimock was a prominent New York financier who was three times a millionaire and three times wrecked on Wall Street in the 1800s - 1900s. That tells you right there he was a different sort of bird, which makes for interesting perspectives. He was also an adventurer, and one of his expeditions took him to Florida, which is the subject of this book.

It's a charming recounting of an old Florida where things that one could do without the least concern or disapproval would nowadays land one in jail. He tells of such things as hunting manatees for capture, shooting or harpooning alligators and crocodiles, harpooning dolphins, and even digging up loggerhead eggs (and eating them raw!). Of course these things cannot and should not be done today because of the problems relating to man's overpopulation and over-hunting. But still it's fascinating to read about how it was way back in that completely different time.

The book is filled with photographs with interesting captions. Start out by looking at them and reading the captions and you will be hooked on reading the whole text of the book. He writes with a distinct 1900 or so writing style and with a good bit of wry humor, which makes for entertaining reading. (Similar in a general way to Daniel Streeter's 1926 book "Denatured Africa", which describes a big game hunting trip in Africa way back in a completely different era. I found Streeter's book after Hemingway refrered to it in "Green Hills Of Africa". I highly recommend both of those books as well)