From the Swamp to the Keys: A Paddle Through Florida History

Johnny Molloy, author of several best-selling outdoor guides to Florida, is always game for adventure. In his latest, he travels the Sunshine State from north to south along some of its most famous rivers, swamps, salt marshes, and open waters in search of Florida’s disappearing history. This personal travelogue of his two-month expedition begins in a canoe at the Okefenokee Swamp, headwaters of Florida’s best-known river. Paddling the dark Suwannee, Molloy curves through the scenic and sometimes wild Big Shoals, past sparkling clear springs - Troy and Turtle and Rock Bluff and more - to the Gulf of Mexico, where he transfers his grub, life jacket, and portable computer into a sea kayak. He continues past Tampa Bay into the Everglades and then heads due south, ending his voyage at Long Key and the Atlantic Ocean. Molloy focuses here on the state’s history, human and natural, and on the interplay between the land and the water around it. He describes attempts made through the centuries to explore them, conquer them, and, finally, to coexist with and preserve them. He also invites readers to eavesdrop on his conversations with characters along the way, from anglers on the Suwannee River to crabbers off the shore of Everglades City. Best of all, Molloy invites readers to join him on this remarkable excursion - either from their armchairs, following his references to bridges, highways, and towns along the route and charting his journey on the maps provided, or by taking to the water themselves - to soak up the sunshine and soft Florida air, to listen to the evening frogs and crickets, and to ponder the mystery of what has been lost and what might yet be saved in the state.