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The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea
Winner • Pulitzer Prize for History
Winner • Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction
Finalist • National Book Critics Circle Award (Nonfiction)
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post , NPR, Library Journal , and gCaptain
Booklist Editors’ Choice (History)
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence In this “cri de coeur about the Gulf’s environmental ruin” ( New York Times ), “Davis has written a beautiful homage to a neglected sea” (front page, New York Times Book Review ). Hailed as a “nonfiction epic . . . in the tradition of Jared Diamond’s best-seller Collapse , and Simon Winchester’s Atlantic ” ( Dallas Morning News ), Jack E. Davis’s The Gulf is “by turns informative, lyrical, inspiring and chilling for anyone who cares about the future of ‘America’s Sea’ ” ( Wall Street Journal ). Illuminating America’s political and economic relationship with the environment from the age of the conquistadors to the present, Davis demonstrates how the Gulf’s fruitful ecosystems and exceptional beauty empowered a growing nation. Filled with vivid, untold stories from the sportfish that launched Gulfside vacationing to Hollywood’s role in the country’s first offshore oil wells, this “vast and welltold story shows how we made the Gulf . . . [into] a ‘national sacrifice zone’ ” (Bill McKibben). The first and only study of its kind, The Gulf offers “a unique and illuminating history of the American Southern coast and sea as it should be written” (Edward O. Wilson). 26 illustrations
Winner • Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction
Finalist • National Book Critics Circle Award (Nonfiction)
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post , NPR, Library Journal , and gCaptain
Booklist Editors’ Choice (History)
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence In this “cri de coeur about the Gulf’s environmental ruin” ( New York Times ), “Davis has written a beautiful homage to a neglected sea” (front page, New York Times Book Review ). Hailed as a “nonfiction epic . . . in the tradition of Jared Diamond’s best-seller Collapse , and Simon Winchester’s Atlantic ” ( Dallas Morning News ), Jack E. Davis’s The Gulf is “by turns informative, lyrical, inspiring and chilling for anyone who cares about the future of ‘America’s Sea’ ” ( Wall Street Journal ). Illuminating America’s political and economic relationship with the environment from the age of the conquistadors to the present, Davis demonstrates how the Gulf’s fruitful ecosystems and exceptional beauty empowered a growing nation. Filled with vivid, untold stories from the sportfish that launched Gulfside vacationing to Hollywood’s role in the country’s first offshore oil wells, this “vast and welltold story shows how we made the Gulf . . . [into] a ‘national sacrifice zone’ ” (Bill McKibben). The first and only study of its kind, The Gulf offers “a unique and illuminating history of the American Southern coast and sea as it should be written” (Edward O. Wilson). 26 illustrations
592 pages, Paperback
First published March 14, 2017
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About the author
Jack Emerson Davis
12 books63 followersJack Emerson Davis is Professor of History and the Rothman Family Chair in the Humanities at the University of Florida. He is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea.
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June 26, 2018
Last summer I noticed a new nonfiction book entitled The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea. With a cover featuring birds and palm trees along a coastline, I viewed this book as a must read. Having vacationed or visited family and even lived in Florida although not on the Gulf side, I feel a special affinity for Florida even though I am not a native of the state. While I did not get a chance to read this book last summer, something else reintroduced me to this book: this year's Pulitzer announcement. A comprehensive study of the history of the Gulf of Mexico, Jack E. Davis' definitive study merited the award for history. As I was already intrigued by concept of a book, I made it a point to include The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea on my summer reading list.
Jack E. Davis is a professor at The University of Florida at Gainesville. He took over a year sabbatical to work on this book, and the research shows. Previously, in another ode to the state of Florida, he composed a biography of Florida environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. He has edited various works on Florida ecological history. Davis' expertise as a ecological historian is evident throughout his ode to the Gulf of Mexico. He divides the book into four sections, including both history and environmental impact throughout. Although partial to Florida, he deftly balances content on all the states abutting the Gulf- Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. While exploration gets glossed over in most history books, Davis reveals the actual stories of Jose Ponce de Leon, Hernando de Soto as well as other Spaniards seeking treasure, setting the stage for the formation of the Gulf states today. While Florida did not get its name for its flora and fauna, de Leon's discovery of vibrant plant and animal species throughout the region gave way to the vibrant gulf economy of the future. Yet, Davis chooses to keep each aspect of the region- exploration, economy, and history- separate in order to keep readers enthralled and engaged throughout.
While neither the Spaniards or English settlers of the gulf region viewed the sea as a body of water teeming with food and tradable goods, the Native Americans who lived there for millennia did. Unlike the Europeans who also obliterated bison and other native land mammals, the Native peoples such as the Calusa and Seminole, only took from the sea what they needed. Species such as red fish, mullet, oysters, and shrimp flourished because fishing was for subsistence only, not to provide for the world. The coast endured for thousands of years due to what Davis describes as a balance with nature rather than taking it for granted. Trees such as sea grass and mangroves as well as channel islands and sounds protected the coast from seasonal storms and had so since the formation of the gulf. It is not until recent times that hurricanes causing destruction of the coast has become an issue plaguing society. Yet, as with the rest of the western world, Europeans viewed the natives as primitive, wiped out all but a few people who had endured for centuries, and started on the path toward the human dominance of a region.
As one who enjoys history, I favored the sections from the 19th century onward describing the modernization of the gulf region. With railroads and electricity making there way south in the late 19th century, Northeastern and Midwestern residents slowly made their way south and west. Davis introduces readers to a cast of characters who settled the region and made it what it is today. From poets and painters looking for a warm place to spend their winter months to fishing families from the Northeast looking for new waters to satiate the upper class preference for oysters to those smitten with the idea of getting rich on oil, the gulf offered pieces of the American dream for all who desired it. Eventually hotels, bridges, and a demand for fish and turtle soup turned the Gulf into a key destination for all. Cities like New Orleans, Houston, and Tampa, as well as Mobile and Galveston flourished. Even without air conditioning, people were drawn to the warmth and beauty of living on the coast. When these towns were still sleepy beach villages, the balance between people and the environment still allowed for the region to be a paradise on earth in which to raise generations of families.
The second half of the twentieth century has brought issues as over fishing, pollution, over building creating erosion and the danger of towns being wiped out by hurricanes. The gulf region in some sections of coastline relies on imported sand to satiate the desire of tourists to spend their vacation on the beach. These issues, Davis notes, are not going away, and it will take a region of devoted citizens to demand that polluting companies are accountable for the destruction they brought to a region that has stood for millions of years. Some areas such as Sanibel and Captiva Island and the Chandeleur Islands are making a comeback. Other communities have citizens demanding their state governments that the offending polluters clean up the water, land, and air around them so that gulf becomes a vibrant sea once again. Davis suggests that living cleanly as the Native peoples did and having less of a dependence on resources as oil and natural gas will allow for the sustaining of birds, fish, plants, and wildlife throughout the gulf coast. There have been a few success stories, and Davis hope is that they motivate others to keep the gulf as a natural paradise for future generations.
The Gulf has been an American Sea since the Louisiana Purchase annexed the abutting states into the United States. With key economy such as fishing, oil production, and tourism, the Gulf of Mexico in character belongs to the United States. Jack E. Davis in his definitive study of the region has urged people to be more careful in balancing human activity and nature going forward or there may not be red fish, warbler birds, sea turtles, or towns wiped out by hurricanes in the future. Davis' cast of characters past and present understand the gulf as a vibrant region for better and worse and some have made it their personal cause to bring the balance back to nature. Mangrove trees have made a comeback, sea grasses have been replanted, and coral reefs have begun to thrive again. Davis' hopes with this new knowledge of science and how the entire ecosystem is affected by one's actions, that the Gulf will still be a definitively beautiful American Sea for years to come.
4.5 stars
Jack E. Davis is a professor at The University of Florida at Gainesville. He took over a year sabbatical to work on this book, and the research shows. Previously, in another ode to the state of Florida, he composed a biography of Florida environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. He has edited various works on Florida ecological history. Davis' expertise as a ecological historian is evident throughout his ode to the Gulf of Mexico. He divides the book into four sections, including both history and environmental impact throughout. Although partial to Florida, he deftly balances content on all the states abutting the Gulf- Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. While exploration gets glossed over in most history books, Davis reveals the actual stories of Jose Ponce de Leon, Hernando de Soto as well as other Spaniards seeking treasure, setting the stage for the formation of the Gulf states today. While Florida did not get its name for its flora and fauna, de Leon's discovery of vibrant plant and animal species throughout the region gave way to the vibrant gulf economy of the future. Yet, Davis chooses to keep each aspect of the region- exploration, economy, and history- separate in order to keep readers enthralled and engaged throughout.
While neither the Spaniards or English settlers of the gulf region viewed the sea as a body of water teeming with food and tradable goods, the Native Americans who lived there for millennia did. Unlike the Europeans who also obliterated bison and other native land mammals, the Native peoples such as the Calusa and Seminole, only took from the sea what they needed. Species such as red fish, mullet, oysters, and shrimp flourished because fishing was for subsistence only, not to provide for the world. The coast endured for thousands of years due to what Davis describes as a balance with nature rather than taking it for granted. Trees such as sea grass and mangroves as well as channel islands and sounds protected the coast from seasonal storms and had so since the formation of the gulf. It is not until recent times that hurricanes causing destruction of the coast has become an issue plaguing society. Yet, as with the rest of the western world, Europeans viewed the natives as primitive, wiped out all but a few people who had endured for centuries, and started on the path toward the human dominance of a region.
As one who enjoys history, I favored the sections from the 19th century onward describing the modernization of the gulf region. With railroads and electricity making there way south in the late 19th century, Northeastern and Midwestern residents slowly made their way south and west. Davis introduces readers to a cast of characters who settled the region and made it what it is today. From poets and painters looking for a warm place to spend their winter months to fishing families from the Northeast looking for new waters to satiate the upper class preference for oysters to those smitten with the idea of getting rich on oil, the gulf offered pieces of the American dream for all who desired it. Eventually hotels, bridges, and a demand for fish and turtle soup turned the Gulf into a key destination for all. Cities like New Orleans, Houston, and Tampa, as well as Mobile and Galveston flourished. Even without air conditioning, people were drawn to the warmth and beauty of living on the coast. When these towns were still sleepy beach villages, the balance between people and the environment still allowed for the region to be a paradise on earth in which to raise generations of families.
The second half of the twentieth century has brought issues as over fishing, pollution, over building creating erosion and the danger of towns being wiped out by hurricanes. The gulf region in some sections of coastline relies on imported sand to satiate the desire of tourists to spend their vacation on the beach. These issues, Davis notes, are not going away, and it will take a region of devoted citizens to demand that polluting companies are accountable for the destruction they brought to a region that has stood for millions of years. Some areas such as Sanibel and Captiva Island and the Chandeleur Islands are making a comeback. Other communities have citizens demanding their state governments that the offending polluters clean up the water, land, and air around them so that gulf becomes a vibrant sea once again. Davis suggests that living cleanly as the Native peoples did and having less of a dependence on resources as oil and natural gas will allow for the sustaining of birds, fish, plants, and wildlife throughout the gulf coast. There have been a few success stories, and Davis hope is that they motivate others to keep the gulf as a natural paradise for future generations.
The Gulf has been an American Sea since the Louisiana Purchase annexed the abutting states into the United States. With key economy such as fishing, oil production, and tourism, the Gulf of Mexico in character belongs to the United States. Jack E. Davis in his definitive study of the region has urged people to be more careful in balancing human activity and nature going forward or there may not be red fish, warbler birds, sea turtles, or towns wiped out by hurricanes in the future. Davis' cast of characters past and present understand the gulf as a vibrant region for better and worse and some have made it their personal cause to bring the balance back to nature. Mangrove trees have made a comeback, sea grasses have been replanted, and coral reefs have begun to thrive again. Davis' hopes with this new knowledge of science and how the entire ecosystem is affected by one's actions, that the Gulf will still be a definitively beautiful American Sea for years to come.
4.5 stars
March 6, 2020
This is an immersive, readable account of the history of the Gulf of Mexico. Jack E. Davis does an incredible job bringing the Gulf to life in this ambitious undertaking of a book. The reader is taken on a journey from the early days of the Pleistocene era to the present. Davis uses geological, ecological, social, environmental, colonial, economical and biological frameworks to provide a detailed analysis of what the Gulf of Mexico means to the United States.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys epic, sweeping non fiction narratives with environmental undertones.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys epic, sweeping non fiction narratives with environmental undertones.
September 1, 2019
I’ll be the first to admit I would never have picked this up if it wasn’t a book club selection.
The good news is that it’s well written with interesting facts. After a few initial chapters that bring us up to the 19th century, the author then concentrates each chapter on a specific interest - fishing, birding, Beachgoing, oil, etc. I have to admit to learning a lot, not just about the gulf about American history in general. I can’t begin to imagine the amount of research needed to put a book like this together.
It starts off a little on the dry side, but stick with it and you will be rewarded. I found myself highlighting right and left. Literally over 130 highlights, mostly of fun facts to know and tell.
What it consistently points out is how we’re our own worst enemies.
May 19, 2022
3.5 ☆
Wrested from Pangaea's division into multiple continents 150 million years ago, a basin formed and was eventually filled by glacial ice melts and by saltwater from what is now the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf of Mexico is almost entirely encompassed by three countries: the US, Mexico, and Cuba. The US hosts the most shoreline with 1,631 miles from Texas to the tip of Florida, just edging past Mexico's cumulative shoreline of 1,500 miles. The Gulf is one of the world's largest estuarine regions as it consists of 200+ individual estuaries. As the author is a professor of environmental history at the University of Florida, Davis offered a novel perspective and he posited the Gulf of Mexico as an American Sea.
Davis arranged the chapters in a general chronological order, which for the most part started in the 1500s after the Spanish conquistadors blundered their way through the indigenous peoples in their search for gold. Shell mounds created by Native Americans provide one source of knowledge about sustainable lifestyles along the Gulf coastlines.
The majority of The Gulf is about how Americans have exploited the natural resources in the Gulf - from fishing for food (red snapper and turtles) and for sport (the inedible tarpon) to killing birds for their plumage and finally to oil. Florida chapters focused on reclaiming land from the sea to support the post-WWII population boom. Texas sections emphasized oil extraction and other industrialization which used the Gulf as dumping grounds for their toxic effluent.
Given the author's perspective, The Gulf occasionally felt like a eulogy for the lost paradise of the Gulf coast. It was when Davis wrote about the natural world that his prose turned lush and lyrical.
Davis alluded to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon spill. Davis' motivation was not to deliver an indictment but to offer lessons from the past in order to face our challenges of global warming and rising sea levels.
I can readily understand why The Gulf was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. There was a need for a comprehensive history, especially from the perspective of the nature / human dynamic. Nevertheless, I would have enjoyed it more if the book had been a bit shorter, more maps had been included, and the organization was more linear and less elliptical. This was an information-dense book with so many persons mentioned over different points in time that I occasionally lost track of Davis' train of thought.
Nature's object in making plants and animals might possibly be first of all the happiness of each one of them, not the creation of all for the happiness of one.The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in history, but that wasn't my motivation for reading it. I love the earth's seas and I've read several ocean-themed nonfictions in the past year. When this title was suggested as a buddy read in the NFBC, I decided that this would be a good complement.
- John Muir's journal entry
Wrested from Pangaea's division into multiple continents 150 million years ago, a basin formed and was eventually filled by glacial ice melts and by saltwater from what is now the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf of Mexico is almost entirely encompassed by three countries: the US, Mexico, and Cuba. The US hosts the most shoreline with 1,631 miles from Texas to the tip of Florida, just edging past Mexico's cumulative shoreline of 1,500 miles. The Gulf is one of the world's largest estuarine regions as it consists of 200+ individual estuaries. As the author is a professor of environmental history at the University of Florida, Davis offered a novel perspective and he posited the Gulf of Mexico as an American Sea.
Eighty-five percent of the river water [or 280 trillion gallons a year from 116 rivers] coming to the Gulf spills out of the US. That's why estuaries concentrate in the Gulf's upper region.
... the Gulf is an American sea.
Davis arranged the chapters in a general chronological order, which for the most part started in the 1500s after the Spanish conquistadors blundered their way through the indigenous peoples in their search for gold. Shell mounds created by Native Americans provide one source of knowledge about sustainable lifestyles along the Gulf coastlines.
... two cultures, native and European, can take the same environment and turn it into different things: friends of one and adversary of another.
... positioning humans above nature was one of Western society's greatest conceits.
Waste was a sign of success.
The majority of The Gulf is about how Americans have exploited the natural resources in the Gulf - from fishing for food (red snapper and turtles) and for sport (the inedible tarpon) to killing birds for their plumage and finally to oil. Florida chapters focused on reclaiming land from the sea to support the post-WWII population boom. Texas sections emphasized oil extraction and other industrialization which used the Gulf as dumping grounds for their toxic effluent.
Given the author's perspective, The Gulf occasionally felt like a eulogy for the lost paradise of the Gulf coast. It was when Davis wrote about the natural world that his prose turned lush and lyrical.
In their timeless way, rivers are geography's most persistent architect. ... They are restless wanderers disposed to changing course, taking land away from one territory and adding it to another, but more important, reminding us of their independent nature.
Davis alluded to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon spill. Davis' motivation was not to deliver an indictment but to offer lessons from the past in order to face our challenges of global warming and rising sea levels.
The American Sea has long been and will continue to be a gift to humankind. It brings beauty into our lives and invigorates the human spirit. It gives us food, moderates our climate, removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and puts oxygen we breathe into the same.
We will live longer on this planet if we take command of our excesses ... and understand that nature is most generous when we respect its sovereignty. We cannot destroy or control the sea, although we can diminish its gifts, and when we do, we turn away from our providence and diminish ourselves.
I can readily understand why The Gulf was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. There was a need for a comprehensive history, especially from the perspective of the nature / human dynamic. Nevertheless, I would have enjoyed it more if the book had been a bit shorter, more maps had been included, and the organization was more linear and less elliptical. This was an information-dense book with so many persons mentioned over different points in time that I occasionally lost track of Davis' train of thought.
June 26, 2018
What a brilliant, deeply researched, beautifully written book this is. I've lived on or near the Gulf of Mexico almost all my life, and covered environmental issues in Florida for 20 years, and still this book taught me a lot that I did not know. My hat's off to University of Florida professor Jack E. Davis for this stunning achievement, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about the Gulf or its coastline.
Davis starts off the book in an unusual way, showing us how painter Winslow Homer, in visits to Homossassa Springs in Florida, came to regard the vast body of water on which he frequently fished. Then he rewinds back to the ancient people who lived along the coast in harmony with nature, takes us through the Spanish and English and French invaders and colonists, then tackles the efforts to map the coastline.
Over the decades and generations he introduces us to Louisiana Cajuns, Texas roughnecks, and Florida oystermen and shady developers, and we come to see the Gulf from their particular perspective in each era. In addition to Homer, such celebrities as novelist Randy Wayne White, hotel and railroad magnate Henry Plant, Tabasco progenitor Edward McIlhenny, inventor Thomas Edison and the incomparable Ernest Hemingway show up. I was particularly happy to see him include the story of Dewey Destin, the shipwrecked New England fisherman who founded the Florida town that became known as "The World's Luckiest Fishing Village."
By charting the change from when the Gulf was seen as a source of a natural bounty full of tarpon to catch and other blessings, to our modern day habit of regarding it more as an industrial area full of oil rigs and commercial fish stocks, he shows how humans have abused the massive sea. He takes pains, too, to show how we have frequently underestimated its ability to strike back through hurricanes.
My one quibble with the book is that I thought the BP oil spill of 2010 deserved more space. Davis makes the completely accurate point that the Deepwater Horizon disaster is just one of many indignities visited upon the Gulf, and perhaps not the worst one overall. But I think that he missed a good chance here to point out -- as many oceanographers have told me since Deepwater Horizon -- that until that disaster occurred, there was little scientific study of what was IN the Gulf that could be lost because of such a disaster and thus no baseline for knowing what Deepwater Horizon inflicted upon this American Sea. The money BP has spent trying to make up for what it did wrong has actually aided a massive advance in our knowledge of what lives in the Gulf and where and how -- studies that should have taken place before the first drilling occurred, but of course did not.
That said, I must add one more thing. This is not a quick read. Davis' book is rich in vivid prose and compelling stories, and that means a smart reader will take it slow, and savor every page like a sunset over rippling waters.
Davis starts off the book in an unusual way, showing us how painter Winslow Homer, in visits to Homossassa Springs in Florida, came to regard the vast body of water on which he frequently fished. Then he rewinds back to the ancient people who lived along the coast in harmony with nature, takes us through the Spanish and English and French invaders and colonists, then tackles the efforts to map the coastline.
Over the decades and generations he introduces us to Louisiana Cajuns, Texas roughnecks, and Florida oystermen and shady developers, and we come to see the Gulf from their particular perspective in each era. In addition to Homer, such celebrities as novelist Randy Wayne White, hotel and railroad magnate Henry Plant, Tabasco progenitor Edward McIlhenny, inventor Thomas Edison and the incomparable Ernest Hemingway show up. I was particularly happy to see him include the story of Dewey Destin, the shipwrecked New England fisherman who founded the Florida town that became known as "The World's Luckiest Fishing Village."
By charting the change from when the Gulf was seen as a source of a natural bounty full of tarpon to catch and other blessings, to our modern day habit of regarding it more as an industrial area full of oil rigs and commercial fish stocks, he shows how humans have abused the massive sea. He takes pains, too, to show how we have frequently underestimated its ability to strike back through hurricanes.
My one quibble with the book is that I thought the BP oil spill of 2010 deserved more space. Davis makes the completely accurate point that the Deepwater Horizon disaster is just one of many indignities visited upon the Gulf, and perhaps not the worst one overall. But I think that he missed a good chance here to point out -- as many oceanographers have told me since Deepwater Horizon -- that until that disaster occurred, there was little scientific study of what was IN the Gulf that could be lost because of such a disaster and thus no baseline for knowing what Deepwater Horizon inflicted upon this American Sea. The money BP has spent trying to make up for what it did wrong has actually aided a massive advance in our knowledge of what lives in the Gulf and where and how -- studies that should have taken place before the first drilling occurred, but of course did not.
That said, I must add one more thing. This is not a quick read. Davis' book is rich in vivid prose and compelling stories, and that means a smart reader will take it slow, and savor every page like a sunset over rippling waters.
April 13, 2020
Like Homer Winslow and Walter Anderson, author Jack Davis has painted a bucolic and pristine picture of the Gulf of Mexico when Europeans invaded this inland sea. Men continued to coexist with the bounty and miracle of a naturally rejuvenating ecosystem for many centuries ... that is, until gluttony and excess impeded this waterway’s ability to remain healthy and productive.
Davis methodically unveils a compelling argument which is tirelessly researched and beautifully presented so readers are unable to ignore the raping and pillaging of this truly astounding natural wonder of the Earth. Like the glaring, flashing beacon light from a Gulf of Mexico lighthouse, Davis has written a stern warning of an impending wreckage. The question now is, “How do we get out of this mess?”
Davis methodically unveils a compelling argument which is tirelessly researched and beautifully presented so readers are unable to ignore the raping and pillaging of this truly astounding natural wonder of the Earth. Like the glaring, flashing beacon light from a Gulf of Mexico lighthouse, Davis has written a stern warning of an impending wreckage. The question now is, “How do we get out of this mess?”
October 23, 2018
The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea by Jack E. Davis, an environmental historian, was a sweeping history and riveting exploration of the Gulf of Mexico from Galveston, Texas to Key West, Florida, documenting its impact over time from the earliest Aborigine settlers to the Spanish explorers and conquistadores to modern day. Davis keeps one interested by interspersing not only history and science but literature and art through the ages, as well as featuring some very interesting people and the beautiful wildlife and fauna. It is easy to see why Davis was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for history in 2018. Florida is where we spend quite a few months each year so I was particularly interested in the environmental concerns that have been raised. It should be noted that in all of the crazed development along the entire Gulf coast Sanibel and Captiva Islands in Florida have been pioneers in attempting to preserve the coast and how many other communities are beginning to follow their example. This was a beautifully written book with lessons for all of us.
"The Gulf is the country's hurricane alley, yet Americans have been aggressively committed to building in the middle of it. Many of the Gulf's beaches, where migrating hordes have amassed, are not altogether natural, but the product of a continuing taxpayer-funded struggle against the sea."
"Islands and pirates, mystery and romance, truth and fable: the lore of one is the lore of the other."
"Gulf states are struck by hurricanes fifteen percent more often than all other US states combined, and coastal dwellers in the eastern and northern Gulf, from Key West to Galveston, have to batten down their homes and flee danger more often than any other Americans."
"The Gulf is the country's hurricane alley, yet Americans have been aggressively committed to building in the middle of it. Many of the Gulf's beaches, where migrating hordes have amassed, are not altogether natural, but the product of a continuing taxpayer-funded struggle against the sea."
"Islands and pirates, mystery and romance, truth and fable: the lore of one is the lore of the other."
"Gulf states are struck by hurricanes fifteen percent more often than all other US states combined, and coastal dwellers in the eastern and northern Gulf, from Key West to Galveston, have to batten down their homes and flee danger more often than any other Americans."
May 15, 2022
The Gulf by Jack E. Davis
I am a fan of environmental books but I’m not a huge fan of lengthy books with brief threads that while individually interesting often have little flow or depth. Every paragraph or two in this book details yet another person and a different place and even interesting topics that quickly become ephemeral.
Here is a typical example.
Whatever one’s version of the ideal, Southwest Florida still had expansive tracts of undeveloped land available to transform into it. Redfish Point, where Jack and Leonard Rosen were preparing to roll out blacktop, was a wild land corner of the Caloosahatchee River and Malatcha Pass. Fort Myers and Punta Rassa lay southeast across the River, and Pine Island, west across the pass. Living on the point had not historically been easy. In 1836, Seminole, restricted, by military rule to a designated area on the peninsula, attacked the white man’s trading post and fort on the point, killing fourteen soldiers and escalating the Second Seminole War.
And by the next two paragraphs the reader is launched into the 20th century learning about Franklin Miles from Elkhart Indiana and William T. Belvin “a widower and former minister from Georgia”.
With that said there is a lot of useful information in this book. I enjoyed Chapter 7 on The Wild Fish that Tamed the Sea [the Tarpon]. I never knew any of this about the Gulf Coast.
Part 4 Post-1945, was perhaps the best part of the book for me as it deals with more current environmental issues. Of which there are many. In particular the chapters called Rivers of Stuff and Runoff and Runaway were enlightening and a clarion call to the oxygen-depleted dead zones around the estuaries in the Gulf. For example, I had no idea that the metropolis of Atlanta was causing so much destruction in the Gulf through polluted rivers.
3.5 stars. I can’t say that Davis is a bad historian which is a large part of this book but I simply didn’t fall in love with the writing. However his insights on the Gulf’s more current environmental issues are convincing and informative.
I am a fan of environmental books but I’m not a huge fan of lengthy books with brief threads that while individually interesting often have little flow or depth. Every paragraph or two in this book details yet another person and a different place and even interesting topics that quickly become ephemeral.
Here is a typical example.
Whatever one’s version of the ideal, Southwest Florida still had expansive tracts of undeveloped land available to transform into it. Redfish Point, where Jack and Leonard Rosen were preparing to roll out blacktop, was a wild land corner of the Caloosahatchee River and Malatcha Pass. Fort Myers and Punta Rassa lay southeast across the River, and Pine Island, west across the pass. Living on the point had not historically been easy. In 1836, Seminole, restricted, by military rule to a designated area on the peninsula, attacked the white man’s trading post and fort on the point, killing fourteen soldiers and escalating the Second Seminole War.
And by the next two paragraphs the reader is launched into the 20th century learning about Franklin Miles from Elkhart Indiana and William T. Belvin “a widower and former minister from Georgia”.
With that said there is a lot of useful information in this book. I enjoyed Chapter 7 on The Wild Fish that Tamed the Sea [the Tarpon]. I never knew any of this about the Gulf Coast.
Part 4 Post-1945, was perhaps the best part of the book for me as it deals with more current environmental issues. Of which there are many. In particular the chapters called Rivers of Stuff and Runoff and Runaway were enlightening and a clarion call to the oxygen-depleted dead zones around the estuaries in the Gulf. For example, I had no idea that the metropolis of Atlanta was causing so much destruction in the Gulf through polluted rivers.
3.5 stars. I can’t say that Davis is a bad historian which is a large part of this book but I simply didn’t fall in love with the writing. However his insights on the Gulf’s more current environmental issues are convincing and informative.
January 16, 2025
The Gulf encompasses birds, sea creatures, wind, rain, hurricanes, sand, islands, shells, and every aspect of the natural world for thousands and thousands of years. Since I have lived on the Gulf coast of Florida for over fifty years, I fully appreciate the rich descriptions of water, sun, and life that have enriched my life as a part of this incredible ecosystem.
The human impact has been enormous, although the indigenous peoples managed to flow with the tides and take only what they needed without changing the landscape too much. However, once the Europeans arrived, this lush habitat was viewed with eyes on exploitation and each and every life form from mangroves to birds to clams and soil have been diminished, many near to extinction before an enlightened observer activated public attention.
The main concern that I have is with the levels of toxins that have been allowed to flow freely, without regard to life itself, by huge manufacturers and the oil industry, all by local governments, as well as fertilizers that have runoff and destroyed life forms that have been the source for so much more than beauty.
Living here in the Tampa Bay Area I have witnessed the degradation of the bay by chemicals, sewage dumps (much more frequently than reported), and over building, to name a few. Many people here are invested in these lawns that require immense amounts of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and then all of the gasoline fueled equipment that has become a very destructive industrial complex. Runoff fuels algal blooms that kill water environs, including our beloved manatees.
For a number of years I have not felt safe entering the water like I once did. Flesh eating bacteria does not appeal to me, believe it or not. The hurricanes of late have wrecked countless leaky hazardous contaminant containers and spilled their contents into the waters that we drink, that still sparkles in the sunshine.
There is much more that I can say but I recommend that you read this book instead. Jack E. Davis has provided us with a comprehensive history of our own gulf and we will all increase our awareness how precious it is and how vital that we preserve as much as we can.
The human impact has been enormous, although the indigenous peoples managed to flow with the tides and take only what they needed without changing the landscape too much. However, once the Europeans arrived, this lush habitat was viewed with eyes on exploitation and each and every life form from mangroves to birds to clams and soil have been diminished, many near to extinction before an enlightened observer activated public attention.
The main concern that I have is with the levels of toxins that have been allowed to flow freely, without regard to life itself, by huge manufacturers and the oil industry, all by local governments, as well as fertilizers that have runoff and destroyed life forms that have been the source for so much more than beauty.
Living here in the Tampa Bay Area I have witnessed the degradation of the bay by chemicals, sewage dumps (much more frequently than reported), and over building, to name a few. Many people here are invested in these lawns that require immense amounts of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and then all of the gasoline fueled equipment that has become a very destructive industrial complex. Runoff fuels algal blooms that kill water environs, including our beloved manatees.
For a number of years I have not felt safe entering the water like I once did. Flesh eating bacteria does not appeal to me, believe it or not. The hurricanes of late have wrecked countless leaky hazardous contaminant containers and spilled their contents into the waters that we drink, that still sparkles in the sunshine.
There is much more that I can say but I recommend that you read this book instead. Jack E. Davis has provided us with a comprehensive history of our own gulf and we will all increase our awareness how precious it is and how vital that we preserve as much as we can.
January 31, 2019
This Pulitzer Prize winning book for History, by Jack Davis, by an environmental historian, gave a riveting history and exploration of the Gulf of Mexico. Davis does an impressive job of bringing the Gulf to life in this incredible work. He documents the impact of the Gulf from the earliest settlers and explorers to the development of the Gulf to modern days. He uses geological, ecological, social, environmental, colonial, economical and biological frameworks to analyze the Gulf of Mexico.
The Gulf of Mexico was a habitat of plentiful sea life and birds but the oil industry, over fishing and pollution have changed that. But as the author states we cannot destroy the Gulf it will persist.
"We cannot destroy or control the sea, although we can diminish its gifts, and when we do, we turn away from our providence and diminish ourselves."
The author has written a masterful book in describing all aspects of the Gulf and made it incredible must reading. It is well-deserving of the Pulitzer Prize Award of 2018.
The Gulf of Mexico was a habitat of plentiful sea life and birds but the oil industry, over fishing and pollution have changed that. But as the author states we cannot destroy the Gulf it will persist.
"We cannot destroy or control the sea, although we can diminish its gifts, and when we do, we turn away from our providence and diminish ourselves."
The author has written a masterful book in describing all aspects of the Gulf and made it incredible must reading. It is well-deserving of the Pulitzer Prize Award of 2018.
March 2, 2021
3.5 thoughts soon.
April 5, 2020
This was terrific--entertaining, insightful, relevant, depressing and inspiring by turns. I've long been fascinated by many aspects of what goes on in the Gulf of Mexico--my own family's ties to Galveston and the petrochemical coast of east Texas, my dad's stories of the childhood summers in Panama City, and an amateur weather-buff's fascination with tropical storms--and this gave me the backstory and context I wanted in style. A great blend of natural, social, cultural history, with a good dose of history of science and technology in it too. I usually like smaller slices of history as windows onto a world, but this was epic in scope and worth the trip.
November 20, 2018
"It means managing our own behavior, not nature's."
"We cannot destroy or control the sea, although we can diminish its gifts, and when we do, we turn away from our providence and diminish ourselves."
Great book. Reminds one that the environment matters and we can make a difference for good or evil.
"We cannot destroy or control the sea, although we can diminish its gifts, and when we do, we turn away from our providence and diminish ourselves."
Great book. Reminds one that the environment matters and we can make a difference for good or evil.
February 25, 2021
An extensive and detailed book about the Gulf of Mexico and its coastal areas from the early days of the Spanish explorers to the present. The central message is environmental. The human relationship with the Gulf environment has been lopsided and exploitative - whether it's sport and commercial over-fishing, the wholesale killing of birds for feathers, onshore and offshore drilling and the subsequent pollution, or the dredging of the Gulf to expand the waterfront for resort development, just to name a few. Over the same time, there have been individuals and organizations that have advocated a more balanced stewardship of the Gulf resources, to varying degrees of success. One success story is Sanibel Island.
Davis has a very entertaining writing style and highlights a number of fascinating people throughout the book who played important roles in some aspect of Gulf communities and cultures. One of my favorites was the eccentric, nature-loving recluse and artist, Walter Anderson. As with any book of this scope, some chapters were more interesting to me than others, but overall a very engaging and beautifully written book.
Davis has a very entertaining writing style and highlights a number of fascinating people throughout the book who played important roles in some aspect of Gulf communities and cultures. One of my favorites was the eccentric, nature-loving recluse and artist, Walter Anderson. As with any book of this scope, some chapters were more interesting to me than others, but overall a very engaging and beautifully written book.
November 28, 2018
"We should abandon the impulse to lead and instead follow, holding ourselves to the precept that nature takes better care of itself than do humans." (p 529)
"We cannot destroy or control the sea, although we can diminish its gifts, and when we do, we turn away from our providence and diminish ourselves." (p 530)
A very well-written history and assessment of the health of the Gulf of Mexico. There is a lot of bad news along the way that was depressing to read, and the struggles continue. There are also, however, little victories along the way, and hopefully an increasing awareness of the damage we as humans and consumers have done and the ways we can begin to repair the damage, even if that means hands-off and let nature heal itself.
"We cannot destroy or control the sea, although we can diminish its gifts, and when we do, we turn away from our providence and diminish ourselves." (p 530)
A very well-written history and assessment of the health of the Gulf of Mexico. There is a lot of bad news along the way that was depressing to read, and the struggles continue. There are also, however, little victories along the way, and hopefully an increasing awareness of the damage we as humans and consumers have done and the ways we can begin to repair the damage, even if that means hands-off and let nature heal itself.
January 6, 2017
I managed to procure an advanced copy of this breathtaking book and it is brilliant and important work--highly academic yet completely accessible and filled with the kinds of insightful vignettes that Davis was a keen eye for. This body of water defines the lives of millions of people, and here is a work that manages to capture the complexity and contrasts of an American tragedy in the making. It reads like a novel--a very fine novel. Davis is one of the finest writers of prose in the English language, an author who labors over each word with the mastery of a surgeon. Considering how much Davis fits in, it's a remarkable achievement of storytelling and analysis.
August 16, 2017
The Gulf of Mexico used to be a bounteous habitat of sea life and birds, but the oil industry, pollution, and overfishing have changed that, according to the author. Davis is an engaging writer, but the last half of the book is a drag to get through. Also, this is a book about the northern Gulf; he doesn't explore the southern Mexican coast.
May 6, 2019
There are so many angry things I can say about the treatment of The Gulf, but I can't organize my thoughts. Maybe I can just list them:
1. There's this one cutesy commercial that plays (I'm assuming if the Hulu algorithms determine you are a Gulf coast resident) ecouraging you to vote for "safe offshore drilling" and it is made up of cute little blocks dancing around the screen and making little houses and families and such. I hate this commercial.
2. There was an amendment on the ballot in the 2016 election to ban vaping indoors - but that vote to ban vaping indoor was also a yes vote for more intensive offshore drilling. Cool. Those two things definitely belong together.
3. I hate being a part of the destruction of the ecosystem of Florida and the Earth in general.
However, I really did like this book. Basically every single thing in this book was something I didn't know and I was born and have lived in Florida my entire life. This is really a book that should be what the kids read in high school and such. I believe there are a lot of Florida schools offering Florida History courses and I wonder if this is a part of them.
1. There's this one cutesy commercial that plays (I'm assuming if the Hulu algorithms determine you are a Gulf coast resident) ecouraging you to vote for "safe offshore drilling" and it is made up of cute little blocks dancing around the screen and making little houses and families and such. I hate this commercial.
2. There was an amendment on the ballot in the 2016 election to ban vaping indoors - but that vote to ban vaping indoor was also a yes vote for more intensive offshore drilling. Cool. Those two things definitely belong together.
3. I hate being a part of the destruction of the ecosystem of Florida and the Earth in general.
However, I really did like this book. Basically every single thing in this book was something I didn't know and I was born and have lived in Florida my entire life. This is really a book that should be what the kids read in high school and such. I believe there are a lot of Florida schools offering Florida History courses and I wonder if this is a part of them.
January 1, 2019
A wonderful study of 'America's Sea' from its very creation all the way up to the Deepwater Horizon spill. Unsurprisingly, Davis' main objective is to illustrate our damning behavior towards our gift-giving Gulf and the need to let nature do its thing and stay out of the way. And he succeeds, but the most enjoyable parts of this book are some of the individual characters Davis introduces and their bold and strange exploits. This is not nearly as dry of a read as you might expect. Well deserving of its Pulitzer Prize award.
April 8, 2017
Gulf: the Making of an American Sea (2017) is Jack E. Davis’s history of the Gulf of Mexico, a body of water overlooked in most histories of America’s growth and of growth’s consequences. Davis, a professor of environmental history at the University of Florida, has written a masterpiece. For those of us who live in the southwest Florida, the Gulf is an all-important body of water, and Davis’s history is both relevant and enlightening. The book is filled with information new to many of us, and it is written in an openly breezy style that pulls us into the political, commercial, and social history of the Gulf of Mexico.
Gulf History
Contrary to popular thought, the Gulf of Mexico was not formed by the arrival of an asteroid, though one did arrive off Yucatán long after the Gulf was formed; rather, it was created by the breakup of the original supercontinent called Pangaea, itself surrounded by a single ocean called Panthalassa. During this process the Yucatán Peninsula broke off from Florida and drifted southwestward, allowing water to rush into the new basin and flood the land as far north as Illinois. Since than the water level has fallen to create the much smaller Gulf of Mexico.
Davis begins his history in southwest Florida between Charlotte Harbor (north of Fort Myers) and the southern tip of Florida (though it effectively ends at Everglades City in the Ten Thousand Islands). He breaks into that history with an 1895 archeological find on Marco Island by William D. Collier, owner of the island who settled there in 1870 and no relationship to Barron Collier who developed a huge swath now called Collier County. Marco Island is about 40 miles south of Charlotte Harbor and ten miles north of Everglades City, both large estuarial areas. And it is the estuaries that defined early Florida and determined its future.
In the estuaries fresh water from inland rivers meets salt water from the Gulf to create a perfect marine environment for fish and birds; fish can find optimal salinity, currents feed the fish, and the fish feed the birds. The first known human beneficiaries of the estuary’s largess were the Calusa Indians, who emerged in 500BC to create the Caloosahatchee Culture and disappeared by 1750. They created ancient shell mounds from the detritus of the abundant oysters and fish that fed them. These mounds were sufficiently high to create small islands on which the Calusa could live. The Calusas were discovered in William Collier's find at Marco Island. Frank Hamilton Cushing, a Smithsonian Institution archaeologist, was brought to Marco Island to investigate Collier’s discovery. He concluded that it was the remnants of an ancient Indian village. This changed the image of the southwest Florida coast—no longer was it simply the place of a few hundred mean and hungry post-Civil War settlers; now it had a long history of occupation and an ancient culture.
When the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century they described the Calusa as “giants:” the Calusa diet—heavy on fish, with few vegetables and little meat—made them several inches taller than the Spaniards. The Calusa lived in inland vallages often reached by canals they dug. Canals were also dug to create shorter routes for canoe travel; the longest is a 2½ mile canal on Pine Island in Charlotte Harbor. At their peak they formed a population of about 20,000 scattered throughout the region from Punta Gorda at the north end of Charlotte Harbor to Everglades City.
The first European known in the area was Ponce de Leon, who entered Charlotte Harbor only to be driven away by the Calusa. In 1521 de Leon tried again but was hit by a poisoned dart and died in Cuba. Where force could not prevail, perhaps religion could—the first Spanish missionary arrived circa 1560. He could drum up no interest in the new ideas he brought (a new god with a strange message of resurrection, cloth clothing, renunciation of the pagan rituals that had served the Calusa well for centuries).
The Calusa population disappeared by the 1750’s. Their demise, mirrored in the decline of Indian populations all along the Gulf Coast, was the consequence of European disease and European enslavement; to be fair, the Indians enslaved Europeans, but Europeans were just better at it. By the time of the American Revolution the Gulf Coast was under the influence of three powers: the British, the French, and the Spanish—the French and Spanish in the west; the Spanish and British in the east.
In its early days Florida was split into two parts: prior to 1763, western Florida (the Panhandle) and modern Louisiana were under Spanish and French control. After the 1763 British victory in the French and Indian War the area was ceded to the British, along with eastern (peninsular) Florida. The British split it into two territories: West Florida (the Panhandle and Louisiana) and East Florida (the Peninsula).
So it remained until 1781 when Spain invaded West Florida and Britain—bogged down in the American Revolution—ceded both Floridas back to Spain. Border disputes between Spanish West Florida and America led to the formation of the Republic of West Florida in 1810; it was quickly annexed to America. In 1819 America purchased the remainder of West Florida and all of East Florida, and in 1822 the two Floridas were merged as the Florida Territory of the United States. Interestingly, Davis argues that at the time of the American Revolution there were really 15 colonies even there were no Founding Fathers from the two Floridas.
Jefferson’s 1803 Louisiana Purchase—so helpful in financing the Napoleonic Wars, the main thorn in Britain’s side—was prompted less by his interest in the American west than by his belief that the new U. S. should control both the Mississippi River, an important trade and strategic path into the U.S., and New Orleans, the most important port in the south. This meant controlling the Gulf passage to the Mississippi and New Orleans.
Jefferson also advocated bringing Cuba under the American umbrella, a view shared by Polk who, in 1854, offered Spain $100 million for Cuba. Polk was soundly rejected, at which American anger led to a view that having been rejected, the U.S. was now free to wrest control of Cuba from the Spanish. That, of course, had to wait until the Spanish American War in 1898.
Gulf Commerce: Fish, Birds, Hospitality, Real Estate, and Oil
The Gulf’s early commercial history is spelled FISH. In the 1880s two fish were “discovered” that changed the Gulf. The first was the red snapper, a fish with a delightful taste that found fans in the far north. Called the “snapper” because it snapped greedily at bait, the Red was soon followed by other snappers—Mangrove, Lane, Yellow, Hog, and so on. Mullet—a fish eaten by the poor—were so abundant that they jumped into boats. Oysters, a bottom feeder that cleansed the shallows, were abundant all along the coast—William Collins’s oyster dredge at Marco Island was a significant source of oysters until it closed in 1910. Shrimp became a popular commercial catch, first the brown shrimp and then the pink.
Much of the early fishing catch was from the shallow estuaries, easily reached by rowboat or light sailboat. The arrival of the powerboat increased the fishing range, and with it the type of fish sought: swordfish, marlin and other deep sea fish began to arrive on platters. And as the quantity and variety of aquatic life claimed from the Gulf exploded, the technology improved: boat size and range increased, the types of nets used changed, and so on. The arrival of refrigeration and the flash-freezing method kept caught fish fresher for longer and increased the demand for Gulf fish.
The second fish—the tarpon or "Silver King"—brought sport-fishing and tourists to the Gulf. An international fish found in abundance around Pine Island Sound, tarpons feed in shallow waters and have no practical use other than to become fertilizer (fine bones woven throughout its meat make it edible only for the very poor). But the tarpon is a glorious fighting fish known for its tail-walks on the water and for its fierce resistance to line and rod. The first known tarpon catch was in 1885, a 93-pounder near Tampa—and with it began a flood of tarpon-seekers: for many years there was an annual tarpon tournament at Boca Grande Pass on northern Charlotte Harbor; it was recently terminated when it became so congested that it produced more fights than fish. At the apex of the tarpon-fishing hierarchy is the fly-fishing devotee, a remarkable skill given that a 150-pound tarpon is common and the record is 280 pounds. (Davis’s discussion of the tarpon relies on the famous fishing guide and crime-thriller author Randy Wayne White, whom Davis seems to think is dead; Mr. White, a Pine Island resident—might disagree.)
The delights of Florida—warmth, beaches, a relaxed life style, and the Silver King—became popular when the railroads to the west coast were constructed and northerners flooded Paradise; railroads were much later in serving the west coast of Florida and the Panhandle area. To serve them, a hotel industry began with emphasis on the Silver King. Once again, Charlotte Harbor was the seminal location: Punta Gorda on the mainland, Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, Pine Island, and Fort Myers were particular sites. A small but powerful site was Useppa Island near Boca Grande where John Roache, a Chicago streetcar company owner, built the Tarpon Inn and welcomed the glitterati as his guests. In 1911 Barron Collier, who instituted the idea of advertising on Roache’s streetcars, bought Useppa Island; much later it would be used to train for the ill-fated Bay of Bigs invasion in 1961. In the 1920s Collier would move his interests southward to the Ten Thousand Islands, building Everglades City into his company town. At his Everglades City Rod & Gun Club he would fete Presidents and industrial tycoons like Firestone and Edison.
Tarpon, oysters, snapper, grouper and others that once populated the Gulf would be taken in such abundance that eventually the population dwindled and the pickings became sparse. The same would happen to another species—the birds that migrated along main migration paths from the Yucatán Peninsula and further south to the northern U. S. Entire rookeries were destroyed in a single day, some of it in the area of Everglades City but also along the entire coast up through Texas. As many as five million birds were killed annually for plumes at the height of the put-a-feather-in-your-cap fad of plumage in ladies hats. The large wading birds—egrets, heron, ibis and so on—were particularly favored for their long feathers. A name often associated with this is Jean Chevalier, a bird hunter who started destroying rookeries around Tampa when plumage became valuable in 1870 and moved down the coast, killing birds in the Ten Thousand Islands in the mid-1880s.
As tourism increased, the Gulf Coast—especially — very large resort and spa hotels sprouted along the Gulf coast especially the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts. The hospitality industry blossomed. One hotel clocked in at 860,000 square feet. Interest shifted a bit from fishing to the health benefits of warm salt water, mineral springs, and a day on the beach. But it was not all balmy winds and calm seas—roughly every eight years the northern coast of the Gulf was hit by a major hurricane. In 1893 and 1898 hurricanes swept spas and hotels away under storm surges up to 16 feet, and in 1900 a major storm obliterated Galveston, Texas. The 1900 storm remains the most devastating American natural disaster, with up to 12,000 dead and all of Galveston Island destroyed. In 1910 a hurricane hit the Ten Thousand Islands with much damage; another in 1927. But fortunately, there wasn't a lot to damage in the Ten Thousand Islands.
Tourism brought with it a land rush. Men called “binders” sat at street corners selling real estate: the binder was a transferable contract to buy property with a ten percent deposit. Most buyers planned not to occupy the land but to sell the binder at a higher price; it was a tool for speculation. Land prices increased until the Florida Land Bust of 1925, of which Grouch Marx remarked,
The first salt dome to be exploited was near Beaumont, Texas. The flood of oil found there in 1890 at a hill called Spindletop did not last long, but it began a flood of oil rigs to the area. The rigs soon went farther afield and into the Gulf itself, first as shoreside rigs located on piers and later, as technology improved, as stand-alone platforms well out into the Gulf. By the 1930s oil was the Gulf's growth industry. It was discovered just in time to fuel the growth of the automobile industry, repower the shipping industry, and replace coal a the primary source of fuel. Davis reports that during World War II German submarines marauded the Gulf and the light from blazing oil tankers and rigs was a common sight along the shore.
This synopsis carries Gulf from its earliest days through WWII and into the modern era. It is long—reflecting the depth of information in the book, and its length (550 pages). But it masks the delightfully breezy style that Davis brings to the people and events that drove the Gulf coast through its remarkable periods of growth and decline. It also masks the primary message of the book: each phase of growth created ecological consequences that moved Florida further away from it origin as a coastal paradise.
Anything less than five stars would be an unwarranted insult. This history is destined for the bookshelves at homes and universities for a long time to come, long after it leaves its well-earned spot on bedside tables.
Five Stars!
Gulf History
Contrary to popular thought, the Gulf of Mexico was not formed by the arrival of an asteroid, though one did arrive off Yucatán long after the Gulf was formed; rather, it was created by the breakup of the original supercontinent called Pangaea, itself surrounded by a single ocean called Panthalassa. During this process the Yucatán Peninsula broke off from Florida and drifted southwestward, allowing water to rush into the new basin and flood the land as far north as Illinois. Since than the water level has fallen to create the much smaller Gulf of Mexico.
Davis begins his history in southwest Florida between Charlotte Harbor (north of Fort Myers) and the southern tip of Florida (though it effectively ends at Everglades City in the Ten Thousand Islands). He breaks into that history with an 1895 archeological find on Marco Island by William D. Collier, owner of the island who settled there in 1870 and no relationship to Barron Collier who developed a huge swath now called Collier County. Marco Island is about 40 miles south of Charlotte Harbor and ten miles north of Everglades City, both large estuarial areas. And it is the estuaries that defined early Florida and determined its future.
In the estuaries fresh water from inland rivers meets salt water from the Gulf to create a perfect marine environment for fish and birds; fish can find optimal salinity, currents feed the fish, and the fish feed the birds. The first known human beneficiaries of the estuary’s largess were the Calusa Indians, who emerged in 500BC to create the Caloosahatchee Culture and disappeared by 1750. They created ancient shell mounds from the detritus of the abundant oysters and fish that fed them. These mounds were sufficiently high to create small islands on which the Calusa could live. The Calusas were discovered in William Collier's find at Marco Island. Frank Hamilton Cushing, a Smithsonian Institution archaeologist, was brought to Marco Island to investigate Collier’s discovery. He concluded that it was the remnants of an ancient Indian village. This changed the image of the southwest Florida coast—no longer was it simply the place of a few hundred mean and hungry post-Civil War settlers; now it had a long history of occupation and an ancient culture.
When the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century they described the Calusa as “giants:” the Calusa diet—heavy on fish, with few vegetables and little meat—made them several inches taller than the Spaniards. The Calusa lived in inland vallages often reached by canals they dug. Canals were also dug to create shorter routes for canoe travel; the longest is a 2½ mile canal on Pine Island in Charlotte Harbor. At their peak they formed a population of about 20,000 scattered throughout the region from Punta Gorda at the north end of Charlotte Harbor to Everglades City.
The first European known in the area was Ponce de Leon, who entered Charlotte Harbor only to be driven away by the Calusa. In 1521 de Leon tried again but was hit by a poisoned dart and died in Cuba. Where force could not prevail, perhaps religion could—the first Spanish missionary arrived circa 1560. He could drum up no interest in the new ideas he brought (a new god with a strange message of resurrection, cloth clothing, renunciation of the pagan rituals that had served the Calusa well for centuries).
The Calusa population disappeared by the 1750’s. Their demise, mirrored in the decline of Indian populations all along the Gulf Coast, was the consequence of European disease and European enslavement; to be fair, the Indians enslaved Europeans, but Europeans were just better at it. By the time of the American Revolution the Gulf Coast was under the influence of three powers: the British, the French, and the Spanish—the French and Spanish in the west; the Spanish and British in the east.
In its early days Florida was split into two parts: prior to 1763, western Florida (the Panhandle) and modern Louisiana were under Spanish and French control. After the 1763 British victory in the French and Indian War the area was ceded to the British, along with eastern (peninsular) Florida. The British split it into two territories: West Florida (the Panhandle and Louisiana) and East Florida (the Peninsula).
So it remained until 1781 when Spain invaded West Florida and Britain—bogged down in the American Revolution—ceded both Floridas back to Spain. Border disputes between Spanish West Florida and America led to the formation of the Republic of West Florida in 1810; it was quickly annexed to America. In 1819 America purchased the remainder of West Florida and all of East Florida, and in 1822 the two Floridas were merged as the Florida Territory of the United States. Interestingly, Davis argues that at the time of the American Revolution there were really 15 colonies even there were no Founding Fathers from the two Floridas.
Jefferson’s 1803 Louisiana Purchase—so helpful in financing the Napoleonic Wars, the main thorn in Britain’s side—was prompted less by his interest in the American west than by his belief that the new U. S. should control both the Mississippi River, an important trade and strategic path into the U.S., and New Orleans, the most important port in the south. This meant controlling the Gulf passage to the Mississippi and New Orleans.
Jefferson also advocated bringing Cuba under the American umbrella, a view shared by Polk who, in 1854, offered Spain $100 million for Cuba. Polk was soundly rejected, at which American anger led to a view that having been rejected, the U.S. was now free to wrest control of Cuba from the Spanish. That, of course, had to wait until the Spanish American War in 1898.
Gulf Commerce: Fish, Birds, Hospitality, Real Estate, and Oil
The Gulf’s early commercial history is spelled FISH. In the 1880s two fish were “discovered” that changed the Gulf. The first was the red snapper, a fish with a delightful taste that found fans in the far north. Called the “snapper” because it snapped greedily at bait, the Red was soon followed by other snappers—Mangrove, Lane, Yellow, Hog, and so on. Mullet—a fish eaten by the poor—were so abundant that they jumped into boats. Oysters, a bottom feeder that cleansed the shallows, were abundant all along the coast—William Collins’s oyster dredge at Marco Island was a significant source of oysters until it closed in 1910. Shrimp became a popular commercial catch, first the brown shrimp and then the pink.
Much of the early fishing catch was from the shallow estuaries, easily reached by rowboat or light sailboat. The arrival of the powerboat increased the fishing range, and with it the type of fish sought: swordfish, marlin and other deep sea fish began to arrive on platters. And as the quantity and variety of aquatic life claimed from the Gulf exploded, the technology improved: boat size and range increased, the types of nets used changed, and so on. The arrival of refrigeration and the flash-freezing method kept caught fish fresher for longer and increased the demand for Gulf fish.
The second fish—the tarpon or "Silver King"—brought sport-fishing and tourists to the Gulf. An international fish found in abundance around Pine Island Sound, tarpons feed in shallow waters and have no practical use other than to become fertilizer (fine bones woven throughout its meat make it edible only for the very poor). But the tarpon is a glorious fighting fish known for its tail-walks on the water and for its fierce resistance to line and rod. The first known tarpon catch was in 1885, a 93-pounder near Tampa—and with it began a flood of tarpon-seekers: for many years there was an annual tarpon tournament at Boca Grande Pass on northern Charlotte Harbor; it was recently terminated when it became so congested that it produced more fights than fish. At the apex of the tarpon-fishing hierarchy is the fly-fishing devotee, a remarkable skill given that a 150-pound tarpon is common and the record is 280 pounds. (Davis’s discussion of the tarpon relies on the famous fishing guide and crime-thriller author Randy Wayne White, whom Davis seems to think is dead; Mr. White, a Pine Island resident—might disagree.)
The delights of Florida—warmth, beaches, a relaxed life style, and the Silver King—became popular when the railroads to the west coast were constructed and northerners flooded Paradise; railroads were much later in serving the west coast of Florida and the Panhandle area. To serve them, a hotel industry began with emphasis on the Silver King. Once again, Charlotte Harbor was the seminal location: Punta Gorda on the mainland, Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, Pine Island, and Fort Myers were particular sites. A small but powerful site was Useppa Island near Boca Grande where John Roache, a Chicago streetcar company owner, built the Tarpon Inn and welcomed the glitterati as his guests. In 1911 Barron Collier, who instituted the idea of advertising on Roache’s streetcars, bought Useppa Island; much later it would be used to train for the ill-fated Bay of Bigs invasion in 1961. In the 1920s Collier would move his interests southward to the Ten Thousand Islands, building Everglades City into his company town. At his Everglades City Rod & Gun Club he would fete Presidents and industrial tycoons like Firestone and Edison.
Tarpon, oysters, snapper, grouper and others that once populated the Gulf would be taken in such abundance that eventually the population dwindled and the pickings became sparse. The same would happen to another species—the birds that migrated along main migration paths from the Yucatán Peninsula and further south to the northern U. S. Entire rookeries were destroyed in a single day, some of it in the area of Everglades City but also along the entire coast up through Texas. As many as five million birds were killed annually for plumes at the height of the put-a-feather-in-your-cap fad of plumage in ladies hats. The large wading birds—egrets, heron, ibis and so on—were particularly favored for their long feathers. A name often associated with this is Jean Chevalier, a bird hunter who started destroying rookeries around Tampa when plumage became valuable in 1870 and moved down the coast, killing birds in the Ten Thousand Islands in the mid-1880s.
As tourism increased, the Gulf Coast—especially — very large resort and spa hotels sprouted along the Gulf coast especially the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts. The hospitality industry blossomed. One hotel clocked in at 860,000 square feet. Interest shifted a bit from fishing to the health benefits of warm salt water, mineral springs, and a day on the beach. But it was not all balmy winds and calm seas—roughly every eight years the northern coast of the Gulf was hit by a major hurricane. In 1893 and 1898 hurricanes swept spas and hotels away under storm surges up to 16 feet, and in 1900 a major storm obliterated Galveston, Texas. The 1900 storm remains the most devastating American natural disaster, with up to 12,000 dead and all of Galveston Island destroyed. In 1910 a hurricane hit the Ten Thousand Islands with much damage; another in 1927. But fortunately, there wasn't a lot to damage in the Ten Thousand Islands.
Tourism brought with it a land rush. Men called “binders” sat at street corners selling real estate: the binder was a transferable contract to buy property with a ten percent deposit. Most buyers planned not to occupy the land but to sell the binder at a higher price; it was a tool for speculation. Land prices increased until the Florida Land Bust of 1925, of which Grouch Marx remarked,
You can get anything you want in Florida. You can even get stucco. Boy, can you get stuck-o.The next miracle growth medicine for the Gulf Coast was oil. Prospectors had a simple way of finding oil—look for salt domes, of which there were 500 along the Gulf coast. Salt domes were land upthrusts from that vast ancient sea that had once gone up to Illinois—the dome was a sign of pressure from below, possibly from natural gas, pushing upward on an impervious layer of salt, forcing the subsurface rock to rise and creating ridges on the earth’s surface. The primary locations of salt domes were Texas, Louisiana, and the Gulf itself.
The first salt dome to be exploited was near Beaumont, Texas. The flood of oil found there in 1890 at a hill called Spindletop did not last long, but it began a flood of oil rigs to the area. The rigs soon went farther afield and into the Gulf itself, first as shoreside rigs located on piers and later, as technology improved, as stand-alone platforms well out into the Gulf. By the 1930s oil was the Gulf's growth industry. It was discovered just in time to fuel the growth of the automobile industry, repower the shipping industry, and replace coal a the primary source of fuel. Davis reports that during World War II German submarines marauded the Gulf and the light from blazing oil tankers and rigs was a common sight along the shore.
This synopsis carries Gulf from its earliest days through WWII and into the modern era. It is long—reflecting the depth of information in the book, and its length (550 pages). But it masks the delightfully breezy style that Davis brings to the people and events that drove the Gulf coast through its remarkable periods of growth and decline. It also masks the primary message of the book: each phase of growth created ecological consequences that moved Florida further away from it origin as a coastal paradise.
Anything less than five stars would be an unwarranted insult. This history is destined for the bookshelves at homes and universities for a long time to come, long after it leaves its well-earned spot on bedside tables.
Five Stars!
June 21, 2023
Lots of great information!
February 6, 2021
I read this book for buddy read at GR Nonfiction Book Club and for my personal challenge 21 All About Texas in 2021. To read a book about Texas--with a focus on South Texas requires a book on the Gulf of Mexico.
The discussion in The Gulf focuses mostly on Florida, some on US Gulf Coast, less in Caribbean islands, and less on South American Gulf Coast. It is a large work of environmental history. I wish it had been labelled better. I wish the that when Davis said "American sea" and "America's sea" that he would have defined the sea he would be mostly talking about the the "US Gulf Coast". Better yet, I would have had Davis say that he had made some effort to include Pan American Gulf Coast, that he hoped others would later further the dialogue.
That's what I would rather. Might be best to talk about what is.
The argument presented does cover important aspects of the topic of the Gulf of Mexico, including.
• aquatic life that is accidentally and intentionally destroyed.
• shore life that is accidentally and intentionally destroyed.
• weather dangers faxed and infrastructure damage sustained by those who live and work on the coast.
The most important message--Beware Humans of Damage We Cause--has been made clear.
The discussion in The Gulf focuses mostly on Florida, some on US Gulf Coast, less in Caribbean islands, and less on South American Gulf Coast. It is a large work of environmental history. I wish it had been labelled better. I wish the that when Davis said "American sea" and "America's sea" that he would have defined the sea he would be mostly talking about the the "US Gulf Coast". Better yet, I would have had Davis say that he had made some effort to include Pan American Gulf Coast, that he hoped others would later further the dialogue.
That's what I would rather. Might be best to talk about what is.
The argument presented does cover important aspects of the topic of the Gulf of Mexico, including.
• aquatic life that is accidentally and intentionally destroyed.
• shore life that is accidentally and intentionally destroyed.
• weather dangers faxed and infrastructure damage sustained by those who live and work on the coast.
The most important message--Beware Humans of Damage We Cause--has been made clear.
Read
February 2, 2020This book was fine but it didn’t really pull me along so I stopped reading. I don’t think I have enough curiosity about the history of the Gulf of Mexico to be compelled to finish.
January 20, 2020
For me, the book started very slow, but then took off. It took me about 2 weeks to finish the first third and 2 days to finish the last 2/3rds!
The book starts out talking about the physical features and geology of the Gulf of Mexico. It discusses what constitutes a Gulf vs Sea vs Ocean vs inlet etc. It talked about the earlies names for the Gulf. It wasn’t always the Gulf of Mexico. It covers the earliest known usages for the Gulf and early European exploration of the Gulf. Some of this section bore me.
As we approached the modern era, the book took on new light. Some of the insights that I gained pertained to Florida. Florida could have become one of the earliest permanent colony on the East Coast, but a hurricane ensured that did not happen. For hundreds of years, European descendants chose not to live there because of the rugged landscape and vicious storms that approached from both the east and west. As recently as the 1950/60s Florida was vastly underpopulated. The story about how two brothers and infomercials made Florida a retirement destination was fascinating. The brothers literally sold swampland with the promise of paradise!
Davis also talks about the changes that have occurred along the Gulf due to human interaction. Over population, pollution, development, hunting, and fishing are just a few of the examples of how Americans have forever changed the Gulf. Birds, fish, mammals, plants, and trees that used to dominate the Gulf Coast have been driven to virtual extinction by the actions of man---these changes have been known and documented for decades!
The book starts out talking about the physical features and geology of the Gulf of Mexico. It discusses what constitutes a Gulf vs Sea vs Ocean vs inlet etc. It talked about the earlies names for the Gulf. It wasn’t always the Gulf of Mexico. It covers the earliest known usages for the Gulf and early European exploration of the Gulf. Some of this section bore me.
As we approached the modern era, the book took on new light. Some of the insights that I gained pertained to Florida. Florida could have become one of the earliest permanent colony on the East Coast, but a hurricane ensured that did not happen. For hundreds of years, European descendants chose not to live there because of the rugged landscape and vicious storms that approached from both the east and west. As recently as the 1950/60s Florida was vastly underpopulated. The story about how two brothers and infomercials made Florida a retirement destination was fascinating. The brothers literally sold swampland with the promise of paradise!
Davis also talks about the changes that have occurred along the Gulf due to human interaction. Over population, pollution, development, hunting, and fishing are just a few of the examples of how Americans have forever changed the Gulf. Birds, fish, mammals, plants, and trees that used to dominate the Gulf Coast have been driven to virtual extinction by the actions of man---these changes have been known and documented for decades!
September 19, 2022
A Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the Gulf of Mexico or, as the author stylizes it, the American Sea. The first half of the book relates the history of the gulf and its flora and fauna. From its European discovery, the search for the mouth of the Mississippi, the aboriginal inhabitants and their way of life, to the numerous species of fish and birds, and the beautiful coasts, islands and estuaries, Jack E. Davis provides a scintillating story of this unique treasure. The second half is about the environmental impact of American industry. Oil spills, industrial polluters, shoreline development, along with dredging, artificial beaches, canals, fertilizer run-off, etc., etc. The list goes on and on, and it doesn't look to get any better. While well written, the latter half was a chore to get through. The disturbing nature of the rampant trashing of the waters and shore surely cast a melancholy on my reading, and it just didn't captivate the way the book did at the beginning. Not to say it's unimportant, as it undoubtedly is; I'm pro-nature over pro-profit as much as the next lover of the great outdoors, but I prefer an engaging narrative, too. Half of the book delivered, the other half did not.
March 9, 2022
This was a slow and steady read for me. Though it was hard to make progress at times, I thoroughly enjoyed it! The Gulf is such an important part of our history, culture, and economy. It was great to dive into the specific facets of its prominence over time. I learned a great deal and really loved this book.
June 26, 2017
I loved this book. I live about a mile 3 miles from Santa Rosa Sound and a football field's length from Escambia Bay. I love the Gulf of Mexico and my family has been inhabiting the Pensacola area since 1960. This book was eye-opening and easy to follow considering the vast about of time and geography it covers.
The theme is, unchecked Capitalism is bad for nature! Basically, it is a summary of the Anthropocene Extinction in the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes it felt like there was too much about fishing but the fish (along with birds) are the indicator species in this history. I learned about so many interesting characters in the Gulf's history and can't wait to go to Mississippi to see the Walter Anderson museum.
I wish the book had incorporated more of the history of Mexico. I know it's about "an American sea" but Mexico is part of the Americas and our history is not separate from theirs.
I was surprised about the lack of coverage on the oil spill of BP but the author says in a recent newspaper interview, "But a principal reason for my writing the book was because I believed the oil spill had robbed this wonderful sea of its true identity. I wanted to restore the identity, to show Americans what we have in their backyard, that the Gulf is much more that an oil dump" (The Summation Weekly, Sec. A, Page 1; Vol. 14, No. 24; June 21, 2017).
I am a Librarian and can not wait to recommend this title to my customers.
The theme is, unchecked Capitalism is bad for nature! Basically, it is a summary of the Anthropocene Extinction in the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes it felt like there was too much about fishing but the fish (along with birds) are the indicator species in this history. I learned about so many interesting characters in the Gulf's history and can't wait to go to Mississippi to see the Walter Anderson museum.
I wish the book had incorporated more of the history of Mexico. I know it's about "an American sea" but Mexico is part of the Americas and our history is not separate from theirs.
I was surprised about the lack of coverage on the oil spill of BP but the author says in a recent newspaper interview, "But a principal reason for my writing the book was because I believed the oil spill had robbed this wonderful sea of its true identity. I wanted to restore the identity, to show Americans what we have in their backyard, that the Gulf is much more that an oil dump" (The Summation Weekly, Sec. A, Page 1; Vol. 14, No. 24; June 21, 2017).
I am a Librarian and can not wait to recommend this title to my customers.
May 9, 2018
This book took me forever to read -- more a function of too many outside distractions than anything to do with this book.
Davis is a Florida historian who specializes in the environmental history of the Gulf states. The book covers the geology, natural history, weather, and human history of this body of water that much of America outside of the region doesn't give much of a thought. Living just 130 miles from the Gulf myself, it doesn't seem to affect me much. Or so I thought.
I confessed I preferred the early chapters about native people's who lived along it's edge and the early explorers. Davis makes the point that up until the late 19th century, the sea was considered something to be feared, so only those who made their living on or near it tend to settle along it's shores, but all that changed with the rise of sport fishing, accessible automobile travel and the leisure/retirement industry.
But even heavier than the pressure put on the Gulf by development for housing and recreation is the extreme impact of heavy industry, from the oil and gas exploration that takes place both offshore and inland, and the Gulf drainage of a large part of the nation's farmland and all that we pour onto it downstream. It's not all gloom and doom. Thank goodness for the artists, writers, birders, fishermen and environmentalists who are doing their best to keep the Gulf alive.
I want to take a drive and just go stare at it for a while..
Davis is a Florida historian who specializes in the environmental history of the Gulf states. The book covers the geology, natural history, weather, and human history of this body of water that much of America outside of the region doesn't give much of a thought. Living just 130 miles from the Gulf myself, it doesn't seem to affect me much. Or so I thought.
I confessed I preferred the early chapters about native people's who lived along it's edge and the early explorers. Davis makes the point that up until the late 19th century, the sea was considered something to be feared, so only those who made their living on or near it tend to settle along it's shores, but all that changed with the rise of sport fishing, accessible automobile travel and the leisure/retirement industry.
But even heavier than the pressure put on the Gulf by development for housing and recreation is the extreme impact of heavy industry, from the oil and gas exploration that takes place both offshore and inland, and the Gulf drainage of a large part of the nation's farmland and all that we pour onto it downstream. It's not all gloom and doom. Thank goodness for the artists, writers, birders, fishermen and environmentalists who are doing their best to keep the Gulf alive.
I want to take a drive and just go stare at it for a while..
April 25, 2018
This is an important and challenging look at the Gulf with a particular focus on the Gulf Coast of the United States and the human impact on this body of water. The Gulf offered native populations and later European invaders an unsurpassed natural bounties in its sea life, wild life and its petroleum resources. As American's became more comfortable living by the sea, the Gulf's Coast was exploited by developers who saw an opportunity to sell the landlocked middle class the dream of living in a warm climate with views of the water. Though there is a certain democratizing aspect of these development of expanding the coastal dream to the middle classes it might not otherwise be available to, it came at a high cost that we will deal with for some time to come.
The book in my view drags towards the last couple of chapters, the overall book is quite good and an achievement that earned Mr. Davis the Pulitzer Prize. Don't go in expecting a chronological history that covers all of the Gulf story (or all of the Gulf for that matter as this focuses mostly on the parts adjacent to the US), but rather a book that covers different pieces of the Gulf that the author (and most of the time, this reader) finds particularly interesting and important in understanding the importance of this body of water and region.
The book in my view drags towards the last couple of chapters, the overall book is quite good and an achievement that earned Mr. Davis the Pulitzer Prize. Don't go in expecting a chronological history that covers all of the Gulf story (or all of the Gulf for that matter as this focuses mostly on the parts adjacent to the US), but rather a book that covers different pieces of the Gulf that the author (and most of the time, this reader) finds particularly interesting and important in understanding the importance of this body of water and region.
August 15, 2019
This is the 2nd time I've read this book and it blew my mind AGAIN. There's just so much information to absorb and learn that I needed and wanted to read it again. I particularly love the chapters on Louisiana, because that's my home state, but I learned a lot about Walter Anderson, Cedar Key, the Mississippi River, the history of land ownership and usage in the US/Louisiana, and much about the oil industry. I added many books and people to my "to read" list, have many notes and topics to research further, and really appreciate the depth of research that went into creating this encyclopedic and engaging book. I just don't really know how to summarize everything I loved about this book into something manageable in a review but suffice to say I LOVE THIS BOOK. It inspires me to do more, to be a better scientist, to understand the problems more deeply, and to work towards change and conservation even more than I already am. There's always more to do and more to learn and never give up. If you live on the Gulf, or are interested in natural history in any way, I definitely recommend this book.
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