Bubble in the Sun

The Florida Boom of the 1920s and How It Brought on the Great Depression

By: Christopher Knowlton

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Christopher Knowlton, author of Cattle Kingdom and former Fortune writer, takes an in-depth look at the spectacular Florida land boom of the 1920s and shows how it led directly to the Great Depression.

The 1920s in Florida was a time of incredible excess, immense wealth, and precipitous collapse. It was the largest human migration in American history, far exceeding the settlement of the West. It spawned the suburbs as we know them and the first large-scale assault on the environment in the name of “progress.” Thousands flocked to the grand hotels and new cities rose rapidly from the teeming wetlands. Nowhere was the glitz and excess of the Roaring Twenties more blatant than in Florida. It was Vegas before there was Vegas; gambling was legal and so was drinking (prohibition was not enforced). Tycoons and celebrities flocked to this new frontier. Yet, the import and deep impact of this historical moment has never been explored thoroughly until now.

In Bubble in the Sun Christopher Knowlton shows us the grand artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Mar-a-Lago, Miami Beach, and other storied sites. It was a time when the nightlife raged more raucously than anywhere else in America; workers, mostly black, who built and maintained the boom endured grievous abuses; and the pure beauty of the Everglades suffered wanton ruination. Knowlton also breathes dynamic life into the four forces that made and/or broke Florida in the time: the real estate moguls Carl Fisher, George Merrick, and Addison Mizner, and the once-in-a-century storm whose aftermath included the stock market crash. This essential account is a revelatory - and relevant - history of a specific time that is still affecting our country today.

©2020 Christopher Knowlton (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio

Essential History

This should be in the curriculum of every business school in the country. Great read.

an eye-opening performance

so well done as a moving pictorial of what we see in South Florida today

As A Longtime Fan And Resident I Loved It’s Remarkable History!

I Truely Enjoyed All Of This Book! There Is No Question Of its Value! The Benefit For Any Reader Is It’s Tremendous Value To It As. Residency.

highly recommended

very revealing and educational and entertaining
I couldn’t put it down, and I didn’t
loved the book

I loved this book!

As a lifelong Florida resident, I found this book fascinating. The history of the development of our state starting with Henry Flagler and continuing on with the other key players, their motivations right or wrong, and the consequences of their decisions then and now, was eye opening. I highly recommend this book, particularly to those who are multi-generational Floridians.

SO GOOD

This book is magnificent. As a resident of south Florida, the history is so robust and gives color to everything around me. I’ve recommended it to at least 10 people so far.

Fascinating listen

Very cool history of 1900s Florida. Love how the author weaved environmentalism in with the history of real estate development and profiled all the developers/architects along with Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

Excellent!

Simply put, a fantastic read. I thought I would enjoy this book but I found it even better than I expected! I thought it was very well written, well researched, and very interesting. Plus, there are a lot of lessons from this time period that are applicable now (2020) and to any time period with a lot of speculation. Riding the highs and lows of all the characters during this time was entertaining and really well done. I thought the author provided lots of very meaningful and interesting information - not too little and not too much, just right.

I've visited St Augustine and toured the Ponce de Leon, the Biltmore, Miami Beach, driven several times across the Everglades, Key West, and more and this book helped bring them all to life by providing helpful and interesting context.

I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who lives in Florida or anyone who loves history, economics, real estate, or just a great story. So much to learn and enjoy from this book and I'll be looking for more of Mr. Knowlton's books.

Also, I was not at all put off by how a few words are pronounced slightly differently or incorrectly. Great narrator overall that in no way takes away from an incredible story.

Knowlton Knows Florida!

This is a master class on how to write a compelling, entertaining, fascinating history book about one of the US states. It is meticulously researched, and the author weaves a very good story to tie everything together. Granted, it helps if you know (or are a fan of) some of the biggest cities in the state, but even if you're just curious about Florida, this is a great book.

Narrator was very good.

Couldn’t put it down

Great writing and narration. Loved learning about the history of Florida development and the individuals behind it. Fascinating read, especially the link between the Florida land boom of the 1920s and the Great Depression. I couldn’t put it down.