Bubble in the Sun: The Florida Boom of the 1920s and How It Brought on the Great Depression

Florida was a Southern state brimming with promise and possibility. The ocean adjacent and swamp pervaded land remained undeveloped until the turn of the century. By the end of the 1920s, Florida served as a focal point for the economic catastrophe that was the Great Depression. The story of Florida’s meteoric rise and fall in the boom and bust nature of business is complex and multilayered. The business visionaries who helped construct the towering edifices that dotted urban skylines and sought to create oases for the affluent never seemed to see a downside. Henry Flagler took his profits as an oil tycoon and found a second act in producing and promoting a luxury hotel. His hotels were successful, yet his railroads wound up in the red. The other gentleman who dominated the narrative, from George Merrick to Addison Mizner lived and died by their creations, offering future prosperity to investors, yet history would prove bleak. A lesson to be learned the hard way.

Bubble in the Sun fascinates the reader with multiple biographies of movers, shakers and prominent voices in the Florida land boom. From Flagler to Marjory Stoneman Douglas, each persona proves immensely interesting. The author takes the reader for a trip back to a time where rich was admirable, ignorance was bliss and intolerance entirely too predominant. The author remains impartial in opinions, but the results speak loud. Grade A History!