Florida: A Short History (Columbus Quincentenary) Paperback – July 1, 2003

I always feel like Florida as a state is never explained in history class. Like you learn about Ponce de Leon, and maybe Andrew Jackson's acts of terror, but then nothing up through the Civil War, but there Florida is on the map. This was an excellent introduction to the very interesting history of Florida from the sixteenth century up through the present. I hadn't known about Florida's role in the civil war or contemplated how and why Florida's population is so diverse. A good and quick read.

Easy to read, extremely informative, and with a balanced, well-researched perspective, this book makes me proud to be a Floridian! Michael Gannon provides just the right amount of illustrations, backed up with facts on every page.

This is a nicely written book - an informative and totally accurate read on Florida's history.It's well worth the time to read it if you can't do Mr. Gannon's original book, which is a must have for any Floridian or history lover.

I was curious about the transition from Spanish to U.S. status. There are so many signs and names of the Spanish past.Yet, I didn't want a 3 volume tome. I checked with the Historical Society in Port Charlotte and they recommended thebook by Michael Gannon.It answered my questions .

I think my title says it all.. I thought history books were supposed to be boring and for some reason I couldn't put this one down! I took a course on the history of Florida at FSU to fulfill some requirements, so I actually had to read several texts on Florida. This was the only one to truly keep my attention. It offers information to help you learn about Fl's history, but not too detailed of information to bore you with superfluous statistics.. it's easy to retain! And isn't that the REAL goal of taking collegiate courses??

This is an abbreviated yet nice consolidated history of one of the fastest growing economies in the US. Florida will successfully diversify it's economy as a pro business state that is now also making new key investments in technology, infrastructure and education...

This book is spectacular. Lots of pictures, loads of historical references, absolutely riveting if you want a history of Florida without all of the flowery descriptions. This book is jam-packed with all you need to know about Florida's history and great pictures of the people who made Florida what it is today.

It's a history book. So it can be pretty dry. But overall I have learned a bunch about the state I'll be moving to and would buy this book again.