George Merrick, Son of the South Wind: Visionary Creator of Coral Gables

The City of Coral Gables was incorporated 95 years ago on April 29, 1925. This was almost 30 years after the City of Miami was incorporated on July 28, 1896.In those days spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries South Florida was mostly dirt roads, mangroves, mosquitos, and difficult farms scattered among the swampland.Much has happened in the nearly 100 years since, including a yellow fever epidemic, an influenza pandemic, two world wars, waves of arrivals of people from lands near and far, and as many magnificent sunsets as there are grains of sand on the shore.This beautiful biography is essential reading, providing unique insight on South Florida and even United States history up the East Coast. It enhaces one's appreciation for many things, and among them is the life and work of the generous and inspirational George Merrick.The author is beloved historian Arva Moore Parks, who devoted ten years to conducting original research for this book and considered it her life's greatest work as well as a labor of love.There is a permanent exhibit on George Merrick and the early days of South Florida at Coral Gables Museum that was curated by Ms. Parks. It is the perfect sequel to reading this book, preceded or followed by long walks exploring the surrounding areas where Mr. Merrick and his contemporaries crafted the treasures that delight visitors today.

The book itself was interesting and informative. The illustrations could have been better and more numerous.

Having grown up in Miami, I was always around Coral Gables for one reason or another. Went to the same places Mrs. Parks took her children. Worked with her husband, Bob. I am a great fan of Miami and South Florida history. This book has incredible details from the open fields of what would become Coral Gables- which is still distinguishable and easy to identify by Mrs. Parks' descriptive narrative- to the horrible story of the draining the Everglades for development. Mrs. Parks does an amazing job of bringing to life the people, including Mr. Merrick, and the places they inhabited and expanded on, that make the area the marvelous piece of South Florida history that it is. It is worth taking a trip into Mr. Merrick's world of Coral Gables and its environs, by using this book as a reference guide. Thanks, Mrs. Parks, for bringing me back to a place of wonder and beauty that is known as Coral Gables.

A gift - but I read some of it before I gifted it.

A fascinating complete look at one of South Florida's most important figures. Beyond being a beautiful city, Coral Gables has a wonderful history and it all started with George Merrick. Calling George Merrick a visionary doesn't even quite capture it - he was showman, architect, developer, deal maker and dreamer - and a poet to boot! Coral Gables was booming before the Florida Boom of 1924-1926, but the wave crashed in on Merrick as it did on almost everyone. The book was meticulously researched by Arva Moore Parks, who has written many sentinel books on South Florida history. Although there have been other books about Merrick, this one will serve as the classic work. A must for any South Florida or Miami history fan or serious scholar on the subject.

A very pleasant surprise; I wanted to learn more about Miami and especially Coral Gables and this was a great choice. The author did an excellent job keeping the book entertaining and paced. She definitely writes like a Miami/Coral Gables socialite but that's OK, it doesn't come across too strongly. She is very passionate about the topic and that helps a lot. The book is well annotated, contains good resource materials for further reading but not sure why that would be needed given the level of detail in this book. The next time I'm in Miami I look forward to investigating more of the sites and buildings described in this book.

I am reading all I find about George Merrick. This book is extremely accurate and very well written. A must if you are interested about the history of Coral Gables!

A perfect gift for a friend that lives in CoralGables

Why hasn't Hollywood jumped on this?