Florida Man (and Woman) History, part 3

         I recently had the privilege of meeting two Florida authors at a book event hosted by a local book store, Joshua Ginsburg and Craig Pittman, and I've read their books. All of their books are extremely entertaining and informative, great reads for people who want to know more about my new home state, Florida.

        Joshua Ginsberg is the author of Secret Tampa Bay: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure, and the upcoming “TB Scavenger.” He is a writer, entrepreneur, blogger and curiosity seeker who moved to the Tampa Bay Area from Chicago in 2016. He has had numerous published works of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, and has been a business proposal writer and professional resume writer for over 10 years. Secret Tampa is a guidebook to local history that even native Tampans probably don't know. Just open the book to any page, and the reader will find a wacky story about some site, even sites the reader may think he or she is familiar with. Since I am now a resident of the area, the book gives me a lot of ideas for trips around the Tampa Bay area. Learn more about Ginsburg in our 7 Questions: http://chattingwiththehistocrats.blogspot.com/2021/04/7-questions-with-author-joshua-ginsburg.html

        Craig Pittman is a native Floridian. Born in Pensacola, he graduated from Troy State University in Alabama, where his muckraking work for the student paper prompted an agitated dean to label him "the most destructive force on campus." Since then he has covered a variety of newspaper beats and quite a few natural disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires and the Florida Legislature. Since 1998, he has covered environmental issues for Florida's largest newspaper, winning several awards for journalism. He's written several books about Florida and Floridians, including New York Times  bestsellers Cat Tale  and Oh, Florida!   This year will see the publication of his latest book Florida Men, Florida Women, and Other Wildlife. For more information about his projects, here is his website: http://craigpittman.com/Home_Page.php   You can also hear Craig and his podcast partner Chadd Scott on their weekly podcast called "Welcome to Florida." The concept is that 900 new people move to Florida every day but nobody tells them what they've gotten themselves into, so they're  trying to do it. So far they've interviewed a python hunter, a gator wrangler, a guy who wrote a book on The Villages, a cockroach expert, a shark biologist and Carl Hiaasen, among others. Find it at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1169570 or wherever you listen to podcasts.

    Cat Tale is the fascinating story of the ongoing efforts to bring the Florida panther back from near extinction. The Florida panther is a subspecies of the big cats which once roamed throughout the United States. Growing up in South Georgia, I'd heard stories of encounters with big cats in rural areas, and even today, one hears reports or sees game camera photos and videos. Unfortunately, by the 1970s, there were thought to be only a couple of dozen Florida panthers left. Pittman, a journalist whose beat is the environment, documented the race to save the animal, interviewing all the major players. The story is sad, hilarious, maddening , depressing, and uplifting. Fortunately, despite all debacles, Florida panthers are better off now --- still not safe by any stretch of the imaging.

    Maybe you've noticed  on these book covers one of the most commonly used adjectives to describe Florida: weird. It's true. Florida is the weirdest state in the country. Floridians seem to embrace the weird. Oh, Florida! is Pittman's catalog of the weird. Each chapter tackles a different facet - environment, education, race, history politics, etc. With every page turned, I learned something new and weird about the state. You will be able to learn more about Pittman in our 7 questions to be published on May 14, 2021 https://chattingwiththehistocrats.blogspot.com/2021/05/7-questions-with-florida-author-craig.html