Dream State - 2nd Edition by Diane Roberts (Paperback)

About the Book

Part family memoir, part political commentary, part apologia, Dream State tells the grand and sometimes crazy story of Florida through the eyes of author and journalist Diane Roberts.

Book Synopsis

Part family memoir, part political commentary, part apologia, Dream State tells the grand and sometimes crazy story of Florida through the eyes of one of its native daughters. Acclaimed journalist and NPR commentator Diane Roberts has many family secrets to tell. Roberts's ancestors helped settle Florida, kill off its pesky Indians, enslave some of its inhabitants, clear its forests, lay its train tracks, and pave its roads, all the time weaving themselves into the very fabric of the state. With a storyteller's talent for setting great scenes, Roberts lays out the sweeping history of eight generations of Browards and Bradfords, Tuckers and Robertses. From Florida's first inhabitants to those involved in the recent past with the botched presidential election of 2000, Roberts renders them all with a deep, familial affection. While exposing the real people whom Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard have been fictionalizing for years, Dream State ultimately reveals the cogs and wheels that make the state tick.

Review Quotes

"With hurricane-force prose,
journalist and Florida native Roberts hits the land of orange groves, theme
parks and mobile homes with a torrential outpouring of love and hate, affection
and disgust . . . If there ever was any doubt about the true nature of the
Sunshine State--'where what people think happened is always more important than
what really happened'--Roberts puts it to the test in this splendid unofficial
history."--Publishers Weekly



"A fun ride. . . and proof positive that despite its
pretenses, Florida does have a history--and a wild one."--Booklist

"A raucous but also sensitive
and insightful view of why the Sunshine State really is different."--Kirkus
Reviews

About the Author

Diane
Roberts is
the University Alumni Distinguished Writer and Professor of English at Florida
State University. Roberts's books include Tribal: College Football and
the Secret Heart of America. Her
work has appeared in the Atlantic, New York Times, the
Washington Post, the Guardian, and on NPR and the BBC.