"This wide-ranging volume reminds us consistently that the U.S. South has always been an invention but one that exerts uncanny mobility across multiple borders and histories."—Melanie Benson Taylor, author of Reconstructing the Native South: American Indian Literature and the Lost Cause "The quality and variety of the essays, the intelligent introduction, the rich topic, and … Continue reading Creating and Consuming the American South
March Review Roundup: Sorghum, Swamps, Sinkholes!
Over 130 reviews, news stories, and magazine articles featured our authors and books this month. We're pleased to share highlights from a select few. . One of our new titles for spring, Sorghum's Savor by Ronni Lundy, gave one blogger reason to celebrate Pi Day. Nancie McDermott made Lundy's sorghum pecan pie and served it for breakfast! The book "shares … Continue reading March Review Roundup: Sorghum, Swamps, Sinkholes!
Southern Historical Association 2014
In honor of last month’s Southern Historical Association meeting, we are proud to present a lineup of titles in Southern History published by the University Press of Florida in the past year. We displayed these titles at our booth just a few weeks ago at the SHA meeting in Atlanta. The Year in Review: … Continue reading Southern Historical Association 2014
Recalling Deeds Immortal
Recalling Deeds Immortal: Florida Monuments to the Civil War William B. Lees and Frederick P. Gaske One hundred and fifty years ago, Florida was shaken by battle, blockade, economic deprivation, and the death of native sons both within and far outside its borders. Today, tributes to the valor and sacrifice of Florida's soldiers, sailors, and … Continue reading Recalling Deeds Immortal
When Tobacco Was King
When Tobacco Was King: Families, Farm Labor, and Federal Policy in the Piedmont Evan P. Bennett In When Tobacco Was King, Evan Bennett examines the agriculture of tobacco, the South's original staple crop. Advances in technology and shifts in labor and farming policy have altered the way of life for tobacco farmers, but rather than putting an … Continue reading When Tobacco Was King
Stinking Stones and Rocks of Gold
Stinking Stones and Rocks of Gold: Phosphate, Fertilizer, and Industrialization in Postbellum South Carolina By Shepherd W. McKinley From our New Perspectives on the History of the South series comes the first ever book on the role of phosphates in the South Carolina plantation economy. In this top-down, bottom-up history, Shepherd McKinley shows how phosphate … Continue reading Stinking Stones and Rocks of Gold
LBJ – The Right Man, in the Right Place, at the Right Time
Interview with Sylvia Ellis author of Freedom’s Pragmatist: Lyndon Johnson and Civil Rights Available now, Freedom's Pragmatist: Lyndon Johnson and Civil Rights is an eye-opening study of the southern president who came to be a seminal figure of the civil rights movement. University Press of Florida (UPF): When did you know that you wanted to write this … Continue reading LBJ – The Right Man, in the Right Place, at the Right Time
The Fight for Equality in Shared Spaces
To Render Invisible: Jim Crow and Public Life in New South Jacksonville By Robert Cassanello Available Now Today’s "Occupy" movement churned up some important questions about who gets to use urban public spaces. But in fact, the same issues have haunted U.S. cities for over a hundred years. To Render Invisible takes us back to nineteenth-century … Continue reading The Fight for Equality in Shared Spaces
Gary Monroe Considers the Fate of Silver Springs
Florida's vanishing springs, an ongoing concern for the state, have been a hot topic in the news again recently. In this guest post, beloved UPF author and Florida native, Gary Monroe, responds to the state's intention to reclaim Silver Springs from Festival Fun Parks and attempt to prevent further environmental degradation of the natural wonder. The Fate of … Continue reading Gary Monroe Considers the Fate of Silver Springs
The President Often Lost in Lincoln’s Shadow
James Buchanan and the Coming of the Civil War Edited by John W. Quist and Michael J. Birkner Pubdate: 3/19/2013 In 1856, four years before the towering figure of Lincoln, Americans chose James Buchanan to provide the leadership that might calm sectional tensions and prevent the shattering of the nation. Many people think Buchanan failed to … Continue reading The President Often Lost in Lincoln’s Shadow
The Florida Bookshelf 