Florida: A Short History (Columbus Quincentenary Series) [Hardcover]

Michael V. Gannon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a welcome mini-successor to Charlton Tebeau's out-of-print A History of Florida. Gannon (history, Univ. of Florida) has updated coverage of the state's long history to include minorities, women, and environmental concerns through the year of Hurricane Andrew, focusing more on social than political history. The book contains some minor factual errors: the town of Cedar Key is misspelled several times as Cedar Keys, which is an offshore wildlife refuge; Gannon laments the exclusionary policies of the Universities of Miami and Florida, which in the 1940s excluded blacks from sports teams, while ignoring the opportunities then afforded African Americans at A&M College, which produced renowned athletes Willie Gallimore and Althea Gibson. Despite these slips, Gannon's work belongs on all library shelves.
- Susan Hamburger, Alderman Lib., Univ. of Virginia Lib., Charlottesville
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813011671
• ISBN-13: 978-0813011677
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,254,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, March 21, 2008

By 

G. Arsenault (North Palm Beach, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Florida: A Short History (Columbus Quincentenary) (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book on the overall history of Florida. Loaded with little known facts on nearly every page, Gannon does an excellent job on taking the reader from the very beginnings of Florida (and consequently American history) to the present day. To the point but with adequate detail, Gannon not only avoids boring the reader but makes Florida history entertaining. Highly recommended for anyone looking to get a grasp on the state of Florida and its history.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thought "history book" and "I couldn't put it down" were oxymorons??, December 1, 2009

By 

S. Fox "Stacy Trish" (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Florida: A Short History (Columbus Quincentenary) (Paperback)

I think my title says it all.. I thought history books were supposed to be boring and for some reason I couldn't put this one down! I took a course on the history of Florida at FSU to fulfill some requirements, so I actually had to read several texts on Florida. This was the only one to truly keep my attention. It offers information to help you learn about Fl's history, but not too detailed of information to bore you with superfluous statistics.. it's easy to retain! And isn't that the REAL goal of taking collegiate courses??

13 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction To This Wonderful State, January 14, 1998

By 

W. S. Jones "bibliophile" (Noblesville, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Florida: A Short History (Columbus Quincentenary Series) (Hardcover)

Excellent introduction for any person that wants to have a good introduction to Florida history. Especially recommended for people who know nothing of this land before the malls, beachfront condominiums, and tourists arrived.