Up for Grabs: A Trip Through Time and Space in the Sunshine State

by John Rothchild

A wandering Floridian who made his way home in the early 1970s, John Rothchild writes about the state with the savvy of a native and the perspective of an outsider. His personal and historical travelogue reads alternately like a litany of 20th-century ills and a Monty Python rendering of the Great American Dream. In Florida, both versions are true.

Settled through the chicanery of a few enterprising brokers and real estate wizards, Rothchild’s Florida is a civilization built from scratch, out of the most unusual ingredients. While much of the state seems younger than many of its inhabitants, he observes, it hosts all the modern demographic, economic, and social problems. Still, those ills don’t dispel the magic of its sunshine, beaches, and exotic fauna or undermine its status as a great American myth.

Told within the framework of Rothchild’s travels from Miami to the Everglades, around the state and back again, Up for Grabs is part history, part travelogue, part journalism, part autobiography―a humorous and appreciative tour of a society fabricated from a state of mind and erected on land that was "ninety percent underwater ninety percent of the time."

John Rothchild , a former editor of Washington Monthly , columnist for Time and Fortune , and contributor to Esquire, Rolling Stone, Harper’s Magazine , and the New York Times Magazine , is author or coauthor of nine books, including A Fool and His Money and Voice of the River , the autobiography of Marjory Stoneman Douglas. He lives in Miami Beach, Florida.

Genres: Nonfiction

244 pages, Paperback

Published December 25, 2000

About the author

John Harmon Rothchild was a freelance writer specializing in financial matters. He authored or co-authored more than a dozen books on finance and investing, and served as an editor of Washington Monthly as well as a columnist for Time and Fortune.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting stories and data points in this memoir/history of south Florida, but the content is haphazard and the manuscript doesn’t appear to have been edited.

[Nick Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive account of "what makes Florida weird."

[Laura Keane · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Up for Grabs" is one of those books that didn't get the accolades it richly deserves. Funny and fact-filled, it's another "must" for Florida geeks.

[Erik Yakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Rothchild has an interesting approach to talking about the demographics and history of Florida. He tells stories of the state as if it were a lifelong journey. Perfect for those studying Florida and who need a little more background information. The material is simple enough for any casual reader to grasp the concepts. Might want to study some background information on Florida's immigration patterns before reading this piece.