My (potential) Reading List

Hello,
as part of the art component of this blog, I thought I would share some books that I'm currently involved with. It will include a little blurb as to subject if I've read them. And they aren't listed in any particlar order, though I may include books I've recently finished reading. This will become an intermittent entry as books come up in the rotation.

Recent reads:

"Crab Wars: A tale of horsehoe crabs, bioterrorism, and human health" by William Sargent. Set mostly in the mid Atlantic states, this book is all things horseshoe crab and 'limulus amoeboecyte lysate' or lysate for short. Lysate being the derivitive substance that is the basis of biological research using this blood component. The story starts in the 1950's and goes up through current times.

"Disaster at Dawn, the Cedar Keys Hurricane of 1896", by Alvin Oickle. Those of you that have been on the Atsena Otie tour, have heard me talk of this storm and its affects on the area. I've read some of the news articles at the CK museum, and you could get just as much doing that. The book is repetitive with regards to stats.

"Cedar Key Florida, A History" by Kevin McCarthy. Short historical account of the Cedar Key area from prehistory to modern times. Chapters are divided up by decades, with most of the information coming from newspaper articles, interviews, and other books.

"The Wilderness World of John Muir" edited by Edwin Way Teale. A compilation of stories from John Muir's books. Starts with the history of Muir back in Scotland and his family's immigration to the US. I'm finishing up the book/section about his experience with glaciers. Excellent source of all things Muir.

"A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf" by John Muir. Gulf meaning Gulf of Mexico, and he started off this trek in Indiana in 1867. Walked overland to Savannah Ga. took a steamer ahip to Fernandina, and then continued his walk along the Yulee railroad tacks from there into Cedar Key. He was in Florida before he made his famous journey out west and discovered the Sierra mountains. Survived a bout with malaria while in CK.

The following are in the wings waiting to be read:
"Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S." by Cynthia Barnett;
"When the Rivers Run Dry: Water-The Defining Crisis of the Twenty First Century" by Fred Pearce;
"The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise" by Michael Grunwald;
"Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida's Future" by Steven Noll and David Tegeder (former customers via SFCC);
"Paving Paradise: Florida's Vanishing Wetlands and the Failure of No Net Loss" by Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite;
and my newest acquisition- "Ill Nature: Rants and Reflections on Humanity and Other Animals" by Joy Williams.

And one (of many) reference book of continuous use for my outdoor adventures - "Stalking the Blue-eyed Scallop" a field guide, by Euell Gibbons.

Enjoy!