reading (The Swamp)

I finished The Swamp yesterday morning. A hardcover with 370 pages of text and another 80 of notes, it is a fairly weighty tome. It is truly a history of the place and of the people who've abused it over the years. It starts with a brief geologic history, then moves quickly into human history. Grunwald intersperses personal history of key players to explain motivation and no doubt give interest. You'd be hard pressed to find a history more filled with con-men, cheaters, graft, and corruption. For one reason, the winners usually pay for the publication. But in Florida history, winning is a temporary condition and the next crook to come along loves to discredit the last crook. To spice the pot there are well meaning fools and some not so well meaning ones. For a history it does stay quite readable.

I think Grunwald would like to think things are going to better, that things are going to improve. A Hollywood ending with our heron, wings outspread, wading in slow motion through a hail of machine gun fire and mortars to secure the beach and rescue a wounded bass. Well, there is a Hollywood in Florida, but it is well paved and no place for our heron. I've seen Florida continue to sprawl and pave and sell its soul for $3.99. There will be no movie ending with triumphant music. "And musak filled the air, from Fort Myers Shores to Royal Palm Beach" -- not exactly The Pretenders

13. Michael Grunwald The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise

reading (Northanger Abbey)

I just finished Northanger Abbey after having started it yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed Austen's use of language and her humor. I was quite smitten. However, this novel felt like three different works. The first portion, taking place in Bath, featured a very naive but sensible young woman. The habits of Society were given a good thrashing. The second part featured and equally naive, but much less sensible woman. The final portion was a brief summary of what might have been the final third of the novel if the author hadn't gotten tired of writing it and didn't want to be bothered to work out the details. Despite this disjointed feel, I enjoyed the writing and the way Austen plays with the medium and the 4th wall.

14. Jane Austen Northanger Abbey