Homegrown in Florida Hardcover – 30 September 2012

I could have written a lot of this book, being a native Floridian. Don't live there anymore but have to go back to the Guif of Mexico at least once a year to get over the world in general.

As a fairly new transplant to Florida (from, of all places, California), I am eager to learn about my new adopted State. So when I heard about this collection of stories, via an enthusiastic interview with its editor on the Gainesville NPR/PBS radio station, I did not delay in ordering it from Amazon. Normally, I never buy a book until I have exhaustively vetted it by a thorough perusal of Amazon's Reader Reviews. In this case, I couldn't, because the book was so new that there was only one (supportive) review. Never again. Based on the radio interview, I expected a collection of stories that would give me a sense of old-time Florida, the Florida that has already disappeared or is fast vanishing, from a variety of viewpoints. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, these stories (most of them presumably true, a handful fictional) are nothing more than pedestrian accounts of incidents from their authors' childhoods which could have occurred virtually anywhere in America. In the great majority of these stories Florida was incidental; Florida just happened to be the place where these kids were living at the time. As a professional non-fiction author for over 25 years, I know that good writing is not easy. I do not accept that great writing is a "gift": it requires imagination; the hard work of observation; intelligence and an open mind, the keys to insight; great command of language; and endless rewriting. Creating fiction is extraordinarily difficult, certainly far beyond my powers. Creating non-fiction is easier, but it too falls flat if the writer is not conveying captivating incidents, people, experiences, places. No doubt we all have warm feelings about parts of our long past youth. These authors, and their editor, have apparently assumed that the mundane childhood stories these various authors hold dear will also captivate others who didn't live those experiences. I suppose it is conceivable that, in the hands of great writers, these stories might have accomplished that; regrettably, by the evidence presented between the covers of this book, these writers fall well short of that description.

Wonderful book for anyone that grew up in Florida 50 years our so ago. So many personal stories that bright back memories of my own life. Highly recommend.

As one of the participants of Steve Orlando's tale of "The Other Campout", I can attest to the feelings of joy and gratefullness that come from growing up in Florida as a young boy. Our adventures together in "The Committee" are memories that last a lifetime, and have resulted in friendships that are timeless.

Good read for native Floridians