Books published by University Press of Florida

Investigates the ways that commodifying artifacts fuels the destruction of archaeological heritage and considers what can be done to protect it. Examining archaeological site looting, the antiquities trade, and the ruin of cultural heritage resources, the authors argue that the antiquities market is a burgeoning global crisis.

Dade's Battle in December 1835 precipitated the Second Seminole War. It was the first American war fought over the issue of slavery, Frank Laumer writes, and it occurred principally because of white determination to protect the institution.In their search for runaway slaves, white citizens of Georgia and Florida invaded Seminole land and met with resistance; the violent encounters that followed led to Dade's Battle. As a result, Laumer says, the escape hatch was closed, Native Americans were removed from the land, and Florida was made "e;safe"e; for white expansion.Coupling thirty years of research with a passion to understand the fate of Major Dade's command and the motivations of the attacking Seminoles, Laumer has written a vivid account of a battle that changed Florida's history. After walking Dade's route on the Fort King Road from Tampa to the battlefield north of the Withlacoochee River--wearing the complete woolen uniform of an enlisted man, carrying musket, canteen, pack, bayonet, and haversack--Laumer can describe not only the clothing and weapons of the soldiers but also the tension and fear they felt as they marched through Seminole territory. He has also assessed the position of the Seminoles, sympathizing with the choices forced by their leaders. Laumer also describes the backgrounds of the soldiers who marched under Dade and the role of much-maligned black interpreter, Louis Pacheco, and he offers new insights on the mistakes made by the commanders who ordered the march.More than the account of a single military action, Dade's Last Command is the story of good and decent men "e;who died violent and terrible deaths to perpetuate a political and social evil."e;

A guide to the reptiles and amphibians of the southeastern pine forests, which emphasizes their interdependent ecologies and the conservation issues facing pine woods herpetofauna. It includes accounts, range maps, and color photos of the twenty-six native species or subspecies of frogs, snakes, lizards, and turtles in the southern pine woods.

Focuses on the ballets of Balanchine, providing a critical analysis and descriptions of what the dancers actually do. This book discusses the history of various ballets and places them in the context of Balanchine's life and sensibility. It also addresses his taste in music and whether his style can be considered particularly American.

This approach to Faulkner's canon examines his fiction in relation to other writers of the South whose works echo but also supplement, revise, respond to, and even correct his depictions of the South.

"These essays explore the context and meaning of the three Seminole Wars in a way that illustrates how the conflicts intersected the mainstream of American history. America's longest wars truly impacted the country's national development."--Gene Allen Smith, coeditor of Nexus of Empire: Negotiating Loyalty and Identity in the Revolutionary Borderlands, 1760s-1820s "This book makes several important contributions to the history and ethnohistory of the Seminole Wars. This may be the first time a book has placed the wars with the Seminoles in such detailed American political context."--Gregory A. Waselkov, author of A Conquering Spirit: Fort Mims and the Redstick War of 1813-1814 Conventional history narratives tell us that in the early years of the Republic, the United States fought three wars against the Seminole Indians and two against the Creeks. However, William Belko and the contributors to America's Hundred Years' War argue that we would do better to view these events as moments of heightened military aggression punctuating a much longer period of conflict in the Gulf Coast region. Featuring essays on topics ranging from international diplomacy to Seminole military strategy, the volume urges us to reconsider the reasons for and impact of early U.S. territorial expansion. It highlights the actions and motivations of Indians and African Americans during the period and establishes the groundwork for research that is more balanced and looks beyond the hopes and dreams of whites. America's Hundred Years' War offers more than a chronicle of the politics and economics of international rivalry. It provides a narrative of humanity and inhumanity, arrogance and misunderstanding, and outright bloodshed between vanquisher and vanquished as well.

An examination of why Afro-Bahian people are a marginalized racial group despite the fact that Bahia has a majority black population.

This work is about the first manatee ever conceived and born in captivity. Zeiller describes ""mercy"" missions to rescue animals and relates his adventures with Jacques Cousteau. He presents scientific information on the manatee's habitat, physiology, feeding and breeding habits.

Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy is narrated by the title character in a series of digressions and interruptions that purportedly show the ""life and opinions"" - part of the novel's full title - of Tristram.

Following the original steps of pioneering naturalists, this book profiles thirteen men who explored North America's southeastern wilderness between 1715 and the 1940s. It is also a travelogue describing the changes that have occurred along the region's trails and streams.