Review: Frolicking Bears, Wet Vultures, and Other Oddities: A New York City Journalist in Nineteenth-Century Florida

Frolicking Bears, Wet Vultures, and Other Oddities: A New York City Journalist in Nineteenth-Century Florida by Jerald T. Milanich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A glimpse into a land of flowers that no longer exists, where fish and wildlife thrived and tourists would steam upriver on the St. Johns randomly killing alligators as they passed by. One could say it's the price of progress and development, but I enjoyed this look at where we came from.

One point in the book that's been made somewhat better by progress is mosquito control, and when we talk about the good old days in Florida it's also important to remember those were the days of Yellow Fever and malaria, so some things have improved and it's no wonder that the man credited with inventing air conditioning is honored with Florida's official statue in the nation's capitol.

I do recommend this collection to those who wish to know more about Florida's history in the Reconstruction era, and how the strides made by the federal occupation army and the free enslaved people were rolled back by corruption and racism.

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