Oh Florida!: How America's Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country

Staff Top Fives 2016

Our favorite books of the year.

As I debated which of my Top Fives to give the top spot, in my heart I knew there was no debate. It had to be Oh, Florida! While I'm passionate about all of my picks (and I wish I could add more), Pittman's book won for the simple fact that I come from the crazy state that is Florida and he captures things perfectly. Reading Oh, Florida! will make you realize how true to reality Carl Hiaasen is in his entertaining mysteries. Within a paragraph of starting the book, I was already texting favorite bits to friends. You'll laugh a lot, learn a lot, and be very, very afraid about what it says about the rest of the country. Recommended By Robin F., Powells.com

A New York Times Bestseller

Oh, Florida That name. That combination of sounds. Three simple syllables, and yet packing so many mixed messages. To some people, it's a paradise. To others, it's a punch line. As Oh, Florida shows, it's both of these and, more important, it's a Petri dish, producing trends that end up influencing the rest of the country. Without Florida there would be no NASCAR, no Bettie Page pinups, no Glenn Beck radio rants, no USA Today, no Stand Your Ground,... you get the idea.

To outsiders, Florida seems baffling. It s a state where the voters went for Barack Obama twice, yet elected a Tea Party candidate as governor. Florida is touted as a carefree paradise, yet it's also known for its perils-alligators, sinkholes, pythons, hurricanes, and sharks, to name a few. It attracts 90 million visitors a year, some drawn by its impressive natural beauty, others bewitched by its manmade fantasies.

Oh, Florida explores those contradictions and shows how they fit together to make this the most interesting state. It is the first book to explore the reasons why Florida is so wild and weird-and why that s okay. Florida couldn't be Florida without that sense of the unpredictable, unexpected, and unusual lurking behind every palm tree. But there is far more to Florida than its sideshow freakiness. Oh, Florida explains how Florida secretly, subtly influences all the other states in the Union, both for good and for ill.

"Craig Pittman is not only a brilliant humorist, he's a terrific historian and arbiter of all things Florida, past and present. Oh, Florida! is everything you hope it will be, yet so much more!" Gilbert King, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Devil in the Grove

"Craig Pittman delivers a convincing case that Florida’s reputation for off-the-chain zaniness is not only historically accurate but an evolving carnival of delight. Pittman has deep roots in the state, and his joyous deconstruction is offered with the humor, zest and storytelling skill of a roomful of uncles telling tall tales at a family funeral. The stories [are] packed with all manner of hilarious factoids and unlikely anecdotes." The Washington Post

"At points, the book is funny, thought-provoking, and infuriating, sometimes all at once, and it’s a credit to Pittman and his encyclopedic knowledge of the state and its history that readers accept the shockingly disturbing and frustrating alongside the shockingly silly. Oh, Florida! reminds us to always look beneath the surface; there could be crocs or treasure to be found." San Francisco Book Review

"Craig Pittman delivers a convincing case that Florida’s reputation for off-the-chain zaniness is not only historically accurate but an evolving carnival of delight. Pittman has deep roots in the state, and his joyous deconstruction is offered with the humor, zest and storytelling skill of a roomful of uncles telling tall tales at a family funeral. The stories [are] packed with all manner of hilarious factoids and unlikely anecdotes." The Washington Post

"An extraordinary catalog of 'weird Florida'...the definitive guide.[T]his fast-roving narrative has a rollicking pace that readers will enjoy." The Los Angeles Times

"Painstakingly reported and researched...compulsively readable. As much as his book is a celebration of Florida, it is also a celebration of journalism." The New York Times

Craig Pittman is the New York Times bestselling author of Oh, Florida! and three other books as well as an award-winning journalist. He is a native Floridian and in 2013 wrote a popular blog for Slate called "Oh, Florida! " which became the genesis for this book, and which led to his appearance on TV and radio discussing why Florida is so odd and entertaining. He lives in St. Petersburg with his wife and two children.