Quarantine Reads for July 2020

As we enter a new month amid the COVID-19 pandemic, University Press of Florida is pleased to offer our readers a new selection of free eBooks. This month’s collection focuses on the natural world, featuring stories of adventurers and conservationists to inspire and entertain readers, plus a few guidebooks to help those who are feeling cooped up at home explore the outdoors.

You can enjoy the digital versions of these ten books for free on eReaders such as Kindle, Nook, and Kobo through July 31, 2020. To access any of these free eBooks, visit our website or your favorite eBook vendor and navigate to the book of your choice.

We hope you enjoy these free reads.

Wetlands, beaches, historic streets, and lots of local history
50 Great Walks in Florida
Lucy Beebe Tobias

Explore Florida’s history, culture, and national wonders on these fascinating, manageable walks that will appeal to residents who want to become better acquainted with their state.

Snook, live oaks, and the Everglades
Bitten: My Unexpected Love Affair with Florida
Andrew Furman

Andrew Furman shares his amazement at the beautiful and the bizarre of his adopted state, showing that falling in love with Florida is a fun and sometimes humbling process of discovery.

The beauty and biodiversity of coral reefs
Corals of Florida and the Caribbean
George F. Warner

This identification guide will enrich any novice’s dive or an expert’s return to the reefs. Written for the amateur naturalist, this handbook makes identifying and learning about corals hassle free—whether on the boat or at home.

Bison, wolves, panthers, manatees, and even Burmese pythons
Encounters with Florida’s Endangered Wildlife
Doug Alderson

Combining adventure, natural history, and cultural history, Doug Alderson travels into prairies, woods, springs, and ocean to come face to face with Florida’s captivating creatures, learning firsthand about their strangled lives and fragile habitats. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about the current state of wild Florida.

Fishermen, rescue teams, and an endangered whale
Entanglements: The Intertwined Fates of Whales and Fishermen
Tora Johnson

This is the story of the struggles between fishermen, scientists, and whale advocates to save both the endangered North Atlantic right whale and the livelihoods of thousands of Atlantic coastal families.

Fish and fishermen from the past through today
Florida’s Fishing Legends and Pioneers
Doug Kelly

Chosen for their contributions to the techniques, equipment, and strategies of fishing, these “hall of fame” legends and pioneers have helped preserve the Sunshine State as a top fishing destination.

Gentle mountains, regal forests, and shadowy swamps
Journeys Through Paradise: Pioneering Naturalists in the Southeast
Gail Fishman

Gail Fishman follows the original steps of thirteen pioneering naturalists who explored North America’s southeastern wilderness between 1715 and the 1940s. Fishman combines natural history and American history into a series of portraits that recapture the Southeast as it was seen by those whose voices urged the preservation of wild places.

Whooping cranes, adventure, and the Endangered Species Act
The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story
Kathleen Kaska

Robert Porter Allen’s tireless efforts to save the whooping crane changed the course of U.S. environmental history and helped lead to the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. His life reads like an Indiana Jones story, full of danger and adventure, failure and success.

Sand dollars, fiddler crabs, and plankton
Waterways: Sailing the Southeastern Coast
Jennifer Frick-Ruppert

In this book, Jennifer Frick-Ruppert takes readers on a sailing journey down the southeastern coast of the United States. Waterways is a book about the relationships between humans and nature, land and sea, learning to sail and learning to see.

Wilderness and development on the St. Johns riverfront
William Bartram and the Ghost Plantations of British East Florida
Daniel L. Schafer

The full story of William Bartram’s famous journey down the St. Johns River and the histories of the plantations he left out of his famous account are uncovered in this eminently readable, highly informative, and extremely entertaining volume.

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The digital versions of these ten books can be accessed for free through July 31, 2020.