For Sale -- American Paradise: How Our Nation Was Sold an Impossible Dream in Florida

by Willie Drye

Overview

Silver Medal Winner of the Independent Publisher Book Awards for Best Regional Nonfiction in the Southeast

The story of how Florida became entwined with Americans’ 20th-century hopes, dreams and expectations, and how it was the site of mass delusion, real estate collapses, and catastrophic hurricanes. For Sale--American Paradise focuses on the experiences of William Jennings Bryan and Edwin Menninger, who were among the people who shaped the image of Florida that we know today and who sold that image as America’s paradise. It's also a tale of the euphoria and mass delusion that inevitably happens when times are good and people convince themselves that they’ve found a foolproof way to have it all, have it now, and keep it forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493036516
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Willie Drye has been a journalist for thrity-three years and is a contributing editor for National Geographic News. His first book Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, was made into a documentary for the History Channel. He lives in North Carolina, dividing his time between Plymouth and Wilmington.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 An Old Man's Memories 1

Chapter 2 Railroad to Dreamland 10

Chapter 3 Dreamers and Thieves 27

Chapter 4 Leave Your Brain at Home 56

Chapter 5 The Stars Shine Brightest in Florida 86

Chapter 6 The Bootlegger's Curse 107

Chapter 7 "Many Die; Cities Razed" 123

Chapter 8 Spinning the Tempest 139

Chapter 9 Hope from the Swamp 157

Chapter 10 Mr. Brown in Paradise 174

Chapter 11 Blown Away 192

Chapter 12 Dreamland After All 221

Acknowledgments 234

A Note about Sources 236

Notes 238

Index 282

Editorial Reviews

"A fun read and a very interesting and engaging book. For Sale-American Paradise is a paradigmatic American story—looking for the good life. It captures a ton of this deep American restlessness, idealism and determination." William J. Bennett, host of Bill Bennett's Morning in America

From the Publisher

"Check out For Sale: American Paradise. Drye tells history the way it should be told."

Florida Times-Union

In the early years of the twentieth century, it took the efforts of some very determined people – including William Jennings Bryan and Henry Flagler, cofounder of Standard Oil – to draw the country’s attention to the state of Florida, which so the claims went, represented a huge opportunity for real-estate investors. In addition to developers, the relatively untamed state also attracted the attention of the criminal element: religious leader and Hollow Earth proponent Cyrus Teed; outlaw bank robber, murderer, and pop-culture hero John Ashley; and of course, furniture salesman Al Brown, who’s probably better known by his real surname, Capone. This lively, fascinating look at Florida’s early years profiles all these figures and describes not only the early growth but also the bursting of the bubble in the late 1920s, the result of a declining economy, the increasing profile of the crooks, and a hurricane that destroyed entire cities. Revealing reading for anyone interested in early-twentieth-century American history, boom-and-bust stories, and tales of outlaws.

Booklist

In the early years of the twentieth century, it took the efforts of some very determined people – including William Jennings Bryan and Henry Flagler, cofounder of Standard Oil – to draw the country’s attention to the state of Florida, which so the claims went, represented a huge opportunity for real-estate investors. In addition to developers, the relatively untamed state also attracted the attention of the criminal element: religious leader and Hollow Earth proponent Cyrus Teed; outlaw bank robber, murderer, and pop-culture hero John Ashley; and of course, furniture salesman Al Brown, who’s probably better known by his real surname, Capone. This lively, fascinating look at Florida’s early years profiles all these figures and describes not only the early growth but also the bursting of the bubble in the late 1920s, the result of a declining economy, the increasing profile of the crooks, and a hurricane that destroyed entire cities. Revealing reading for anyone interested in early-twentieth-century American history, boom-and-bust stories, and tales of outlaws.

Booklist