Sunshine State offers a unique look at Florida, a state whose economically and environmentally imperiled culture serves as a lens through which we can examine some of the most pressing issues haunting our nation.

Rick Ross is an indomitable presence in the music industry, but few people know his full story. Now, for the first time, Ross offers a vivid, dramatic and unexpectedly candid account of his early childhood, his tumultuous adolescence and his dramatic ascendancy in the world of hip-hop. Born William Leonard Roberts II, Ross grew up "across the bridge," in a Miami at odds with the glitzy beaches, nightclubs and yachts of South Beach. In the aftermath...

Investigative journalist M. William Phelps recounts the true story of Jennifer Mee's thwarted desires, betrayed trust and deadly manipulation, ending in a conviction, along with Lamont Newton and Laron Raiford, for the murder of Shannon Griffin.

"The missing-persons case of Heather Strong, a young, beautiful suburban mother, baffled Florida detectives. When the file was handed to a veteran investigator, he knew Heather was dead. The challenge was to find her body - and whoever killed her."--Page 4 of cover.

Snap! Snap! You hear that? That's the sound of the orange and blue rolling up in the title, Florida Gators. Much like being tackled by a 300-lb. lineman, feel the jaws of the gator through colorful, fact-filled storytelling detailing the history, legacy, and prestige of the University of Florida's college football program. Discover the Pride of the Sunshine! (Name contested by several other Florida schools). Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated...

"The Florida Everglades are made up of nine different ecosystems supporting an astonishing variety of wildlife-panthers, manatees, snails, frogs, and a rainbow of bird species. But for years, the Everglades were threatened. They needed a voice to speak upfor them. Marjory Stoneman Douglas became that voice. Her book "A River of Grass" helped the world see the irreplaceable beauty and value of the Everglades. Marjory's activism led to the creation...

"Learn more about the history of the game that helped put Miami, Florida, on the sporting map."--Publisher's website.

Extraordinary environments endure through the efforts of conservationists such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas. In this engaging biography, readers will learn about Douglas's childhood in Massachusetts, her family life and college days at Wellesley College, and her marriage to newspaper editor Kenneth Douglas. Douglas's move to Florida began her writing career as a journalist at the Miami Herald and later as a freelance writer. It also introduced her...

When Henry Flagler arrived at the island of Palm Beach in April 1893 it was a dense tangle of Palmetto brush and mangroves. Within a year he had built the Royal Poinciana Hotel, and two years later what was to become the legendary Breakers. Now Palm Beach has become synonymous with exclusivity, a fabled landscape intertwined with the colorful lives of its famous protagonists. Standiford brings alive a fabled place and the characters-- the rich, famous...

Colorado Territory in 1864 wasn't merely the wild west, it was a land in limbo while the Civil War raged in the east and politics swirled around its potential admission to the union. The territorial governor, John Evans, had ambitions on the national stage should statehood occur, and he was joined in those ambitions by a local pastor and erstwhile Colonel in the Colorado militia, John Chivington. The decision was made to take a hardline stance against...