Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida.

Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida. By Gary R. Mormino. (Gainesville and other cities: University Press of Florida, 2005. Pp. xviii, 457. $34.95, ISBN 0-8130-2818-3.)

This long-awaited book examines numerous facets of Florida's evolution since 1940. Following a chapter tracing the postwar population explosion in the Sunshine State, Gary R. Mormino outlines several land booms, the maturation of the tourist industry, and the so-called graying of the population. He then examines the impact of World War II and the cold war, the development of agriculture, and the positive and negative impacts of modern technology. Mormino concludes with chapters on the internationalization of Florida and the development of a beach culture.

At the end of World War II, tourist attractions were small, low-tech, reasonably intimate, and largely family owned and operated. Florida was not overrun by antiseptic and indistinguishable chain establishments. In one memorable paragraph, Mormino recounts the gastronomical delights that the venturesome tourist encountered: "With little effort, a motorist could discover an old-fashioned fish fry in Crestview, an oyster roast in Apalachicola, baked gopher (land tortoise) in Vernon, rice pilau (pronounced perloo) in St. Augustine... tried mullet and grunts near the docks of Cortez, bread baked in banana leaves at No Name Key" (p. 82). Tourists drove down U.S. highways and state roads to Cypress Gardens and Marineland, where they interacted, more or less directly, with nature. By 2005 typical visitors jammed into jet airplanes and were then herded into crowded, overpriced Disney World, Busch Gardens, and Sea World. They rest in air-conditioned hotels and dine at fast food chains. Virtually everything about the tourist experience is carefully prepackaged; little is left for whimsy or chance. Except for palm trees, warm temperatures, and humidity, they might just as well have visited Illinois.

Mormino provides an unblinking assessment of the triumphs and tragedies of Florida's development over the past sixty years. He describes the tremendous population boom (from fewer than three million to roughly sixteen million between 1950 and 2000) and the accompanying complex patterns of racial and ethnic settlement; the emergence of dazzlingly efficient agribusiness and the cruel exploitation of workers; the imaginative and environmentally catastrophic land development; and the widening chasm between rich and poor. One views the environmental degradation behind the saccharine facade of Disney World along with the exploitation of tens of thousands of part-time workers paid near minimum wage without benefits. Modern technology has largely defeated the swarms of mosquitos and suffocating heat that plagued Floridians and tourists at midcentury; on sultry evenings, modern dwellers recline in air-conditioned living rooms and watch television rather than sit on shady front porches and converse with neighbors. However, they cannot completely escape Mother Nature. Global warming and seasonal hurricanes frequently remind them who is boss: "The Sunshine State has become the Plywood State; the State of Fatigue, and the National Disaster State. A red state in the November presidential sweepstakes, Florida is more accurately a blue tarpaulin state, and September, not April, is the cruelest month" (p. 359).

This book succeeds in most important respects. Mormino's choice of subjects is broad and judicious. A major strength of the work is his coverage of the Gulf Coast, plus the Panhandle, too often ignored in earlier works. Given his occasionally acidic comments about modern development, the reader gets a distinct impression that in many ways the author would like to take Florida back to 1945 and start over.

This reviewer would like to have seen more coverage of professional and college sports. The Miami Dolphins have experienced many successful seasons, including Super Bowl championships and one undefeated season.

Although the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are perpetual cellar-dwellers in the American League East, the Florida Marlins have already won two major-league baseball championships in their brief existence. Can any social history of this state be complete without coverage of tremendous college football rivalries, including Florida State University, the University of Florida, and the University of Miami? Despite these minor caveats, Mormino has presented a welcome, timely book.

MARK S. FOSTER

University of Colorado at Denver