Oh, Florida!: How America's Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country

To some people, Florida is a paradise; to others, a punch line. As Oh, Florida! shows, it’s both of these and, more important, it’s a Petri dish, producing trends that end up influencing the rest of the country. Without Florida there would be no NASCAR, no Bettie Page pinups, no Glenn Beck radio rants, no USA Today, no “Stand Your Ground,” ...You get the idea.

To outsiders, Florida seems baffling. It’s a state where the voters went for Barack Obama twice, yet elect...