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Acknowledgments
- University Press of Florida
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247 Acknowledgments There are several great pleasures in writing a book, not the least of which is completing it. For me, having the opportunity to express appreciation to those who have greatly aided this process certainly ranks among the most important and gratifying. I have benefited particularly from the generous support, wise counsel , and goodwill of many people. Their friendship and professionalism cannot be overstated. At the University of Florida, Jeffrey Adler, who had his own book project nearing completion, read the first edition in its entirety. I badgered him further for advice about revised chapters on several other occasions. He never complained, although I am sure he was as pleased as I when the book was finished. Near the final stages of the first edition, I asked David Lawrence, former publisher of the Miami Herald and now president of the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation, to read it. Few people understand Florida or Florida politics as well as David Lawrence. He said that if I could send it to him soon, he thought he could get to it in a couple of weeks. Three days later he called to tell me he had finished and would be sending his extended comments shortly. Two days later, they arrived. Dave’s comments were instrumental in helping me polish the manuscript’s prose and in adding several sections to provide greater clarity and fuller explanation of key political developments. Outside the University of Florida, Cynthia Barnett, formerly senior writer for Florida Trend magazine—who was in the final stages of publishing her own book on Florida’s environment—read the entire manuscript . She gave me a short course on what it takes to tell this story to the general reading public. I am not sure I have got it right yet, but Cynthia and Dave Lawrence provided me with as good an education as one can get in writing for a general audience. Readers will have to judge for themselves whether I learned my lessons well. I also want to express 248 · Acknowledgments my appreciation to Jane Healy, previously the managing editor of the Orlando Sentinel, who has been a friend and wise counselor on state political developments. Gary Mormino, distinguished historian and professor emeritus of history at the University of South Florida, also read the entire manuscript and prevented me from making several historical errors of omission and commission as well as offering me his insight into some of the important events of the post-1940 period in Florida that warranted further analysis. Gary is a dedicated historian and, over the years, has sent numerous documents and citations to me and many others to assist us in our research efforts. Gary’s wonderful book on Florida, Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida, is a model of historical writing about this unique place and its people. It has established a standard for the rest of us to emulate. Julian Pleasants, retired director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida, helped identify interviews that would assist me greatly in this process and gave me a copy of his book Hanging Chads: The Inside Story of the 2000 Presidential Recount in Florida , which was extraordinarily useful in understanding the unique and many bizarre election developments in the state. This book deserves much more attention from readers and political writers than it has so far received. Two other colleagues—David Chalmers and Michael Gannon —each wrote extensively on Florida’s racial past, its Spanish heritage , and the events of World War II that defined and redefined Florida. Together with the late Samuel Proctor, distinguished state historian and director of the Oral History Program that now bears his name, these three served as mentors to many of us as we began our scholarly careers at the University of Florida and were of great help to me in grappling with Florida politics and culture. Charles Frazier, a distinguished sociologist at UF, proved a great sounding board for some of my ideas and a good friend throughout. I also owe a great deal to James Button and George Pozzetta, two close friends and colleagues who died much too young. Before their untimely deaths, I had the privilege of teaching courses with both of them and writing with them, and learning a great deal in the process about what it takes to pursue serious scholarship. From Jim, I learned much about local politics in Florida and about the influence...