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.

One irritating point...

Two, actually, and both are probably crotchets. One is the pronunciation of St. Augustine by the narrator. I have always heard it pronounced as “AWE-guss-teen.” A call to the city hall confirms that. The narrator says “ow-GUSS-tin.” Ok, minor, but it takes away from the listening experience. Second is the use of the long “a.” I suppose it is personal preference, but consistently hearing that brings me up short. One more as I continue to listen. The narrator talks about the “binder boys” and pronounces it the “binn-der” boys. I’m fairly certain it should be pronounced with a long “i,” as in “insurance binder.” Those are my only quibbles with the narration. The narrator has a great voice and pace.

10/10 would read again and again and again

This book is a wonderful retelling of the history of florida and it’s early development. great attention to detail was paid in the presentation of information in a factual and interesting manner. would have liked if the author highlighted the development of broward county a bit more. still a spectacular read!

Excellent overall

Wonderfully told economic and development history of Florida peppered with jaw-dropping anecdotes and statistics. The author weaves the stories of four of Florida’s most notorious developers together with those of other important citizens or observers such as Marjorie Stoneman Douglas. Knowlton connects the Florida boom’s role in sparking the decline into the Great Depression to the 2008 financial crisis and other current day trends. A good narrator and highly recommended despite some jarring mispronunciations of certain Florida place names and terms.