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Bubble in the sun : the Florida boom of the 1920s and how it brought on the Great Depression / Christopher Knowlton.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2020Copyright date: ©2020Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover editionDescription: xix, 411 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781982128371
  • 1982128372
  • 9781982128388
  • 1982128380
Subject(s):
Contents:
The last frontier. The pharaoh of Florida ; A railroad goes to sea ; New arrivals ; Ballyhoo -- Grand plans. A Spanish dreamscape ; Merrick's ideal city ; Great migrations ; A writer's education ; Trail blazers ; Habitual intemperence -- Tropical fever. Miznerland ; Weigall whoops it up ; A house in Coconut Grove ; Crime waves ; "A parade of pink elephants and green monkeys" ; Pirates of promotion ; Lull before the storm -- Graveyard of dreams. Hurricanes ; Speculative dementia ; The death of ballyhoo and hokum ; "I used to make dreams come true" ; A legacy of greed and folly.
Summary: "Christopher Knowlton, author of Cattle Kingdom and former Fortune writer, takes an in-depth look at the spectacular Florida land boom of the 1920s and shows how it led directly to the Great Depression"-- Provided by publisher.Summary: The 1920s in Florida was a time of incredible excess, immense wealth, and precipitous collapse. The new cities that rose rapidly from the teeming wetlands spawned a new subdivision civilization-- and an egregious large-scale assault on the environment in the name of progress. Knowlton examines the grand artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Miami Beach, and other storied sites, as well as the darker side of the frenzy. Giant fortunes were made-- and lost; the nightlife raged raucously, and the pure beauty of the Everglades suffered wanton ruination while the workers, mostly black, who built and maintained the boom endured grievous abuses. -- adapted from jacket
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 333.3309 K73 Available 33111009419736
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 333.3309 K73 Available 33111009586781
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Christopher Knowlton, author of Cattle Kingdom and former Fortune writer, takes an in-depth look at the spectacular Florida land boom of the 1920s and shows how it led directly to the Great Depression.

The 1920s in Florida was a time of incredible excess, immense wealth, and precipitous collapse. The decade there produced the largest human migration in American history, far exceeding the settlement of the West, as millions flocked to the grand hotels and the new cities that rose rapidly from the teeming wetlands. The boom spawned a new subdivision civilization--and the most egregious large-scale assault on the environment in the name of "progress." Nowhere was the glitz and froth of the Roaring Twenties more excessive than in Florida. Here was Vegas before there was a Vegas: gambling was condoned and so was drinking, since prohibition was not enforced. Tycoons, crooks, and celebrities arrived en masse to promote or exploit this new and dazzling American frontier in the sunshine. Yet, the import and deep impact of these historical events have never been explored thoroughly until now.

In Bubble in the Sun Christopher Knowlton examines the grand artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Miami Beach, and other storied sites, as well as the darker side of the frenzy. For while giant fortunes were being made and lost and the nightlife raged more raucously than anywhere else, the pure beauty of the Everglades suffered wanton ruination and the workers, mostly black, who built and maintained the boom, endured grievous abuses.

Knowlton breathes dynamic life into the forces that made and wrecked Florida during the decade: the real estate moguls Carl Fisher, George Merrick, and Addison Mizner, and the once-in-a-century hurricane whose aftermath triggered the stock market crash. This essential account is a revelatory--and riveting--history of an era that still affects our country today.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The last frontier. The pharaoh of Florida ; A railroad goes to sea ; New arrivals ; Ballyhoo -- Grand plans. A Spanish dreamscape ; Merrick's ideal city ; Great migrations ; A writer's education ; Trail blazers ; Habitual intemperence -- Tropical fever. Miznerland ; Weigall whoops it up ; A house in Coconut Grove ; Crime waves ; "A parade of pink elephants and green monkeys" ; Pirates of promotion ; Lull before the storm -- Graveyard of dreams. Hurricanes ; Speculative dementia ; The death of ballyhoo and hokum ; "I used to make dreams come true" ; A legacy of greed and folly.

"Christopher Knowlton, author of Cattle Kingdom and former Fortune writer, takes an in-depth look at the spectacular Florida land boom of the 1920s and shows how it led directly to the Great Depression"-- Provided by publisher.

The 1920s in Florida was a time of incredible excess, immense wealth, and precipitous collapse. The new cities that rose rapidly from the teeming wetlands spawned a new subdivision civilization-- and an egregious large-scale assault on the environment in the name of progress. Knowlton examines the grand artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Miami Beach, and other storied sites, as well as the darker side of the frenzy. Giant fortunes were made-- and lost; the nightlife raged raucously, and the pure beauty of the Everglades suffered wanton ruination while the workers, mostly black, who built and maintained the boom endured grievous abuses. -- adapted from jacket

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