In Robert Buccallato’s other works about the state we’ve seen the evolution of Florida from small town oriented and reactionary to urban megastate. In Finding Dan McCarty, Buccallato brilliantly articulates an era of Florida politics and growth where the counties of South Florida who were driving the state’s economic growth were in a tussle to wrestle political control away from the largely rural northern part of the state. The 1952 Governor’s race changed Florida in every way imaginable and their was no turning back from that point. In his Rum Runners and Moonshiners of Old Florida, he highlights the action in the northern part of the state.

The Florida Land Boom made southern Florida a very attractive place for newcomers and fundamentally different from the rest of the south in the early 1920’s. The building of the Dixie Highway and Florida East Coast railroad fundamentally changed the state. For the first time since statehood northerners flocked to Florida – this changed the composition of the population as well as the attitudes of the populace. The seeds of the change that were triggered by the 1952 election happened in the 1920’s in southern Florida.

In Rum Runners and Moonshiners of Old Florida, Volume 2 the action moves to the southern part of the state and the incredible era that shaped so much of the state as we know it today. Florida’s explosive growth of the 1920’s was partially connected to the prohibition era and the absurdity of that time. In this work, Buccallato will bring to life some of the colorful characters and anecdotes of this era – a truly unique one in our history.

It’s a must read for anyone interested in Florida History or society.