Dream State: Eight Generations of Swamp Lawyers, Conquistadors, Confederate Daughters, Banana Republicans, And Other Florida Wildlife

by Diane Roberts

Part family memoir, part political commentary, part apologia, Dream State tells the grand and sometimes crazy story of Florida through the eyes of one of its native daughters. Acclaimed journalist and NPR commentator Diane Roberts has many family secrets to tell. Roberts’s ancestors helped settle Florida, kill off its pesky Indians, enslave some of its inhabitants, clear its forests, lay its train tracks, and pave its roads, all the time weaving themselves into the very fabric of the state.            With a storyteller’s talent for setting great scenes, Roberts lays out the sweeping history of eight generations of Browards and Bradfords, Tuckers and Robertses. From Florida’s first inhabitants to those involved in the recent past with the botched presidential election of 2000, Roberts renders them all with a deep, familial affection. While exposing the real people whom Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard have been fictionalizing for

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Memoir, American

355 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2004

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am ready to quit my job and go be Diane Roberts' graduate assistant, despite the fact that I've already had several Tallahassee nearmisses. Could there be a fourth? I grew up reading her columns in the St. Pete Times, and I love her even more after reading this book. If you're from dear F-L-A, this is a must read. I can see the light now.

[Alison Mewborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cleaver humorous history of North Florida. As a transplant it was a fun read

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are at all interested in the peculiar state that I call home then you must read this book. Yes, it is a history book; however it is not written like a traditional monograph. She interweaves her personal family history with myth and lore. Each story that she tells could potentially be a book on its own and I find myself wanting to put the book down and do further research on all sorts of topics. For now, I just want to finish reading it and then go back and find out more. When I started reading it, I was on a family vacation and I was that annoying person who continually stopped reading to say, “hey did you know this?” or “have you heard about that?” Great fun...but only if you love the great state of Florida.

[Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must for any Floridian.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book about Florida, probably, and I laughed hysterically--although of course the laughter is tragicomic because, well, our state.

[Nicole]

Irreverent, conflicted, sprawling, personal, acerbic—this book distills Florida’s Southernness and attempts to deny its Southernness in meandering, twisty, sarcastic sentences. I have never read anything like this. It is disturbing and compelling in turns.

The book is saturated with references to (and infuriation with) the mishandling of the 2000 presidential election here in the Sunshine State, which makes it hard to assign/teach some of its best passages without needing to do a lot of contextual work for the kids I teach, who were not born yet in 2000. I’m thinking I’ll teach some excerpts though.

Diane Roberts has to own her confederate heritage in order to write this book that’s part family history, part state history, part memoir, and it’s ethically thorny territory I haven’t encountered before. A lot of the book covers extremely specific stuff that I forgot immediately (about people who lived around Tallahassee 200 years ago), but the method and some of the stories are really sticky, especially for me once it got into the 20th century.

[Juan Sanmiguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of the state of Florida as told by some whose family lived it. Ms. Roberts family has lived in Florida for eight generations. The book looks at all the aspects that are Florida. The roots of the goofiness go back a long way. Its an interesting story. It shines a light to the highs and lows in not just the state's history but the country's

[Brett Maragni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up from the public library... Subtitle is “Eight Generations of Swamp Lawyers, Conquistadors, Confederate Daughters, Banana Republicans, and Other Florida Wildlife.”

Have to look past the liberal politics and shameless swipes at conservatives (albeit some deserved), once past that… an entertaining and enlightening book on my adopted home state (moved here at 22 yrs. ago).

[Tim O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of Florida, past and present, even though it is sometimes difficult to keep all Ms Roberts relations straight (should add a family flow chart for reference). Well written and worth the read.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting book, would like to find more books like this about Florida. The chapter about the indigenous peoples who lived and continue to live in FL is quite compelling, and that chapter reminded me with clear details about why Andrew Jackson was such a horrible person and monster.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author just comes across as mean-spirited and angry. The book is just not well written.

[Dana Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I’ll come back to it. I wanted it to be something it wasn’t. Got about 1/3 through

[Alda Balthrop-Lewis]

Andrew Jackson was such a bad guy.

[Maria Hiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

🫶

[Margaret]

I enjoyed reading about Florida’s insane history. And the author is ideally poised (8th generation Floridian) and talented (scholar and NPR commentator) to tell the story. I believe this book is best read by Floridians with some knowledge of Florida, especially the panhandle and Tallahassee areas because I enjoyed the parts about the west coast of Florida where I live (St. Pete area) the most. I felt some of her wit was unclear unless one has insider knowledge, then it was hilarious. It’s a book that will be fun to re-read and I hope she updates the book with more Florida’s insane history – think Rick Scott (Gov) and Charley Crist (ex-Gov) campaigns for next governor. I thank friend and colleague Suzanne for recommending.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dream State: Eight Generations of Swamp Lawyers, Conquistadors,, Confederate Daughters, Banana Republicans, and Other Florida Wildlife by Diane Roberts (Free Press 2004)( 975.9). A Florida native shares observations about her home state. My rating: 7/10, finished 2006.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice bit of nostalgia that makes me remember fondly the bits of Florida that haven't yet been paved. Not too many surprises, however, for someone well-versed in Florida folklore and disinterested in the author's particular family history.

[Carolyn Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A factual but casual look at Florida history, stretching from Ponce de Leon to Katherine Harris. The author includes in each chapter information on what her relatives were up to at the time. Fun social and cultural history.

[Anna&Scott Stockdale/Guggenheimer · Rating 2 out of 5]

i didn't finish the book. maybe if i had more a connection to florida it would have held my interest better.

[H. P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Terri Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love. It.