For anyone living in or travelling to The Sunshine State, this guide is a must-have. Not only does it have information about the flora and fauna that live in Florida, but it also has information on the weather patterns year round, habitats, parks and preserves, and constellation charts.

The book is divided into three main parts: an overview, flora and fauna, and parks and preserves. Included in the overview section is a subsection on Conservation and Ecology. It discusses the history of human settlement in Florida and how this has impacted the environment. For example, species such as the Snowy Egret, the American Alligator, and the Great Egrets were hunted to near extinction because of fashion dictates like plume hats and alligator skin purses and shoes. The Audubon Society was formed because of the infamous plume trade. Because of the ban on hunting alligators, the animals have built their populations back up and are no longer endangered. Florida has many introduced species, too, such as Brazilian Pepper and Giant Toad. These have become pests because they choke out the native species and can be hard to remove from the environment.

Throughout the flora and fauna section there are many colour photos to illustrate the entries so that the reader can see what is being described in each short article. The listings are extensive, including the introduced species of plants and animals as well as the natives. For the dangerous ones, such as Jack 'O Lantern Mushroom, Man 'O War Jellyfish, and Coral Snake there are cautionary statements describing why one should avoid these. If a plant or animal is edible, this too is noted in the article. Ranges of all the flora and fauna are given, as well as what habitats they occupy.

The Parks and Preserves section lists the natural places one might want to visit in Florida. This section is sub-sectioned into parts of the state. Colour pictures illustrate some of the articles and contact information and directions to the parks and preserves are listed.

Generally, this is a useful guide to the State of Florida for anyone living there or wanting to travel there. There are many interesting natural sights to see and this book gives information on each of them. The articles on poisonous flora and fauna are useful to anyone because they show you which species to be cautious around. In the front is a small Florida map that shows the National Parks so that the reader can see at a glance where they are located. The pocket size of this guide helps to make it easy to have on hand at all times while travelling.

This is the story of the twentieth century, from 1901 to 1999, in stories and pictures. In 100 years, the world has come a long way in technology and medicine. However, although it has come far in civil rights in some places like the United States, there are still many changes to make in the years to come.

There are many spectacular pictures in this book, as well as personal stories told by people who were actually "there" at certain times in history. A Jewish boy describes his journey from the anti-Semitic Russia of the first part of the twentieth century to New York City. An American boy from Pittsburg tells of the pollution in the river there because of sewers being drained there and hospitals dumping body parts into the sewage system. A 1910 photograph of a white Florida tobacco farmer and his subservient black field hands shows what an underclass minorities were before civil rights made them equal citizens in the American South.

Two African Americans related what measures were taken to keep the races separate, such as segregated schools and separate restrooms and water fountains. It was believed that this was not legally wrong because the African Americans had their own facilities just as the whites did. This concept was called "separate but equal". At first it was upheld by the Supreme Court but later struck down because separate was not considered equal. Women did not always have things easy, either. At the beginning of the 19th century, they were not allowed to vote and were expected to stay home and be good wives and mothers instead of working and being their own people.

The demoralising first World War could be described as the first "modern" war because it involved trenches and technologies such as machine guns and heavy artillery. Europe switched from monarchies to presidencies for the most part with such figures as Tsar Nicholas and Kaiser Wilhelm either going into exile or being executed by new regimes. Communism had arrived and changed the face of Russia. There are many pictures of the Second World War and other important events like School Integration, Civil Rights Protests, the Vietnam War and the resulting protests against it, and the return of the Ayatollah Khomeini to Iran.

This book was well written and the personal stories of the people in it make it more understandable to young people. Through the stories one can see the history of the past century come to life. The photos and pictures also help in comprehending history because they tell stories of their own.