Dream State, with a New Preface: Eight Generations of Swamp Lawyers, Conquistadors, Confederate Daughters, Banana Republicans, and Other Florida Wildl - Paperback

by Diane Roberts (Author)

A sweeping story of Florida told through eight generations of family history

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 as she reveals how her ancestors settled in Florida and wove 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. Continuing into the recent past with the botched presidential election of 2000, Roberts renders Florida's inhabitants with a deep, familial affection. While exposing the real people whom Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard fictionalized for years, Dream State ultimately reveals the cogs and wheels that make the state tick.

Author Biography

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, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, and on NPR and BBC.