ABSTRACT
In the nineteenth-century, settlers in Florida often looked upon water resources as hellish obstacles to development. Watery areas were infested with mosquitoes, blocked by wide expanses of impassable marshes, and frustratingly difficult to drain. Views have changed substantially since then. Even with all of the damage done to its water resources, Florida still is perceived today as a kind of earthly paradise – in large part because of its water. Recent books on Florida natural resource management adopt this theme, such as Paving Paradise (Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite, 2009), The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise (Michael Grunwald, 2006), Paradise Lost? The Environmental History of Florida (Jack Davis and Raymond Arsenault, editors, 2005), Journeys through Paradise (Gail Fishman, 2001), and Some Kind of Paradise (Mark Derr, 1998).
