There’s something about summer that has us clamoring for a cool spot in the shade and the company of a good book. Whether you’re seeking adventure on the high seas or merely to revel in nature’s beauty and drama, ample choices abound. Bay Soundings asked a few of its readers to share their favorites. Hammock anyone?
Jeff Klinkenberg recommends: The Outlaw Sea
I recently finished “The Outlaw Sea,’’ by William Langewiesche, one of the great narrative journalists working today. A wake-up call for we water rats, his new book chronicles the growing anarchy in the world’s oceans, from piracy to terrorism. There are 43,000 giant ships out there, and many have no allegiances to any country, and if they do, the allegiances often are without meaning. Meanwhile, the sea is the tough place it always has been. In the most chilling chapter, the author devotes many pages to the sinking of the ferryboat “Estonia’’ in the Baltic Sea in 1994. Poorly maintained and incompetently sailed, the ship dragged 852 passengers to their deaths. “There was no God to run to for mercy,’’ Langewiesche writes about the panic onboard. “There was no government to provide order. Civilization was ancient history, Europe a faint and faraway place.’’ You’ll want to wear a life vest while curled up with this book!
Jeff Klinkenberg is a staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times. His new book, a collection of essays, is called “Seasons of Real Florida.’’
Charlie Hunsicker recommends: A Land Remembered
Action, adventure, romance, intrigue — wait, did I mention this novel is educational too? Patrick D. Smith weaves together a three-generation saga that spans from 1863 to 1968 in a fictional pioneer settlement. The account draws upon the historic cattle and citrus families of Florida at a time when “property” was carried with you, constructed, or carted from the wilderness atop a marshtackie, a Florida-bred quarter horse prized for its marsh-navigating prowess. As Smith draws you in with “can’t-put-it-down” narrative, you become absorbed in the characters’ virtues of honor, environmental ethics, Native American values and disdain for unbridled growth and development.
After moving to Florida 28 years ago, and living most of these years in the bay area, I recognize that the dynamic forces of change in our state are evident from our past, discernable in the present and predictable for our future. The author imparts a sense of place and challenges the reader to take up the call for protective stewardship of the environmental resources that remain. This novel appears on the recommended reading list for the members of Florida’s Council of 100. I believe it belongs on your list as well.
Charlie Hunsicker is the ecosystems administrator for Manatee County and strives to recognize and respect the balance that nature demands to sustain the healthy ecosystems of Tampa Bay.
Suzanne Cooper recommends: Seasons of Real Florida
Reading “Seasons of Real Florida” is like sitting on the front porch swing with your favorite aunt and listening to stories about her childhood. Klinkenberg’s style matches his subjects perfectly — so rich you can visualize Dessie Prescott fishing for bass in Cross Creek and taste the barbecue at Peebles, yet truly disquieting when depicting the conflicted soul of Al Baker or Coconut’s alligator encounter. The characters and scenarios seem almost real — wait, they are real! The stories about modern-day people and events are terrific, and the tales of old-timers and by-gone days are really superb. This is a book for the present and the future, one sure to be appreciated for generations to come.
Perhaps the fact that was I was born and raised in Florida made these snapshots so enjoyable. I do know that there are more fascinating people and places still remaining for Klinkenberg to tell us about. But time is running out on some of the gems, sand I’m anxious for him to get busy and capture them in his wonderful style.
Suzanne Cooper is a principal planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and staff to the Agency on Bay Management. Her spare time is devoted to her husband and daughter, keeping tabs on the fauna in her neighborhood and kayaking the beautiful waters of Tampa Bay.
Editor’s Note___
One More for the Tackle Box
Fly-fishing is poetry in the hands of Tampa writer Nanette Holland, whose story about the kindness of strangers in the aftermath of Sept. 11 landed her a coveted spot in the latest book in the bestselling “
Chicken Soup for the Soul” series.
Holland joins an august group of avid anglers — including former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush and retired General Norman Schwarzkopf — contributing to “Chicken Soup for the Fisherman’s Soul,” a collection of inspiring and humorous tales. Her story was one of just 88 selected from over 1,500 submissions.
After nearly canceling her fly-fishing trip to the Pacific Northwest a week after the terrorist attacks, Holland ultimately decided that was where she needed to be. A chance encounter and invitation from a trio of fellow fly fishermen on a Montana river restored her faith in the goodness of people.
“We waded a while, spreading out in companionable solitude along the river. A bald eagle flew overhead. The river’s gentle lullaby gradually took the place of the CNN static still rattling around in my brain from days of non-stop news watching. As it always has, the rhythm of fly-fishing worked its mental massage on me and also on the three strangers scattered nearby.”
A frequent contributor to Bay Soundings, Holland is a former Tampa Tribune reporter who has served as public outreach coordinator for the Tampa Bay Estuary Program since 1998.