Bubble in the Sun
This is such an interesting book, though very long and detailed. It explains the history of Florida’s building boom and connects it to The Great Depression. Florida was fertile and ripe for Real Estate investment. The weather and opportunities for vacation were enormous. Boating, swimming, and beaches inspired the success of communities and hotels. The rich and famous were drawn to this playground, as well as the tourist and just plain curious. The environment and social life were easy to enjoy, until nature intervened. Weather in Florida can be capricious.
Waterfront homes were very desirable. Communities were designed to be independent, offering services to the residents. Well-known names, Mizner, Urban, Douglas, Flagler, Ford, Collier, White, Fisher, Wyeth, investors, architects and builders, and so many others became wealthy and well-known because of Florida’s growth. Not all involved were stellar personalities, but they were innovative and demanding. All were driven by ambition and eventually, greed. Many had already, or soon would, achieve fame elsewhere.
Clearing land, road construction, and the housing boom soon put Florida on the map. Miami Beach, Palm Beach and Coral Gables became centers of hospitality for certain people of “acceptable backgrounds”. The hoi polloi was not welcome. As roads expanded access, cars eliminated horses, machinery improved and remote areas were developed and expanded, the growth continued. The growth and development did not bring advantages to everyone, however. The super rich with acceptable backgrounds, were the residents. Blacks were not welcome, except as employees, or perhaps as work crews from prisons. They were slowly moved from the prime property. Jews were not welcome either. Indigenous people provided entertainment. The rich and famous preferred to be embraced by their own kind. Florida served that need. It was being developed, at first, for the high and the mighty. Only later, was consideration given to those on lower rungs of the ladder.
So many prominent names were involved in the Florida boom. Firestone, Chevrolet, Penny, Stutz, Waugh, Wyatt, Singer, Ziegfeld, Douglas, Hutton, Johnny Weissmuller, Jack Dempsey, Josephine B, Al Capone and Ponzi, criminals and many others of political fame are just a few mentioned. As Miami Beach began to rival Palm Beach under the guidance of Carl Fisher, The Roaring Twenties roared, but at the end of the decade it whimpered with the rest of the country.
The origins of Mar A Lago, The Boca Raton Resort, The Breakers, Hobe Sound, the Cocoanuts, the original owner of the Hope Diamond, the creation of Singer Island, Fisher Island, Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, The Royal Poinciana, The Everglades Club, etc. are all revealed as the growth of Florida in the Roaring Twenties is tied to The Great Depression. There are fun facts and tragic facts. In some places money poured in, lots were sold, but no houses were built. They were akin to stocks on Wall Street, sold and resold for the market price which seemed to keep rising. Money flowed from the North to the South and the financial systems from whence the money came began to suffer. The message was controlled by the movers and shakers and the banks and newspapers were heavily invested in by them, compromising their freedom to act responsibly and reveal the cracks forming. It doesn’t sound like much has changed today.
The ever-expanding growth robbed the state of its natural resources. Wild life and natural inhabitants were removed. Magnificent neighborhoods were created, with access to beautiful beaches, but it altered the natural state of the Everglades permanently. The building and progress also robbed the state of its diversity in certain places, as those living there were forced out as gentrification began and luxurious homes appeared where their homes once stood. Environmentalists were slow to react, and there were few, though eventually they would succeed in some small way, to save The Everglades. The land was bled of water as roads were built. Native life and insects suffered. The Everglades, populated by all sorts of wild life underwent tremendous negative changes that would be felt for years to come. Fashion trends were created, with some considered shameful, as in skimpier bathing suits. Greed propelled the continued expansion of Florida as it also promoted the decline of morality and ethics. It encouraged drinking, sex, and frivolity, in the locations developed.
The character flaws as well as the achievements of many of those involved is detailed and illuminating, especially about those were able to accomplish this gargantuan feat. The personalities were sometimes larger than life with pets that were also unusual. Monkeys, kinkajous and elephants were buddies. The lack of regulations, weather, business conditions, people’s choices coupled with greed, altered the image of Florida. The money invested was in danger when the business climate changed, but the banks were compromised and warnings went unheeded. So, did Florida’s expansion and then decline, cause the market to crash? After reading this, you will certainly believe it was a factor. ( )

A rather fascinating history. I didn't know much about Florida beyond some very, very basic info but this book shows how the 1920s really impacted Florida and the Great Depression. Plus how much environmental damage was done to build up the state to what it is now. Recommend. ( )

All in all, this history of Florida in the 1920s met all my expectations, and a little bit more. Mind you, I'd been aware of this episode of real estate speculation gone mad for years, but Knowlton does the reader a favor by connecting the dots of making a strong argument that the excesses of the 1920s in Florida have a lot in common with the real estates bubble that contributed to the "Great Recession" of 2008. Besides that, you have the cast of characters who made Florida their theater, starting with Henry Flagler, Rockefeller's one-time business partner, and the man who pioneered the commercial building industry in the state with his grand hotels, and whose railroad construction made possible what came after.

From there, this is mostly the story of three men. There was the already successful businessman Carl Fisher (one of the original owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway), who mostly created Miami Beach. The architect Addison Mizner, who wanted great things, and who is mostly associated with Palm Beach. Finally, there was ambitious local son George Merrick, who turned the family citrus farm into Coral Gables. These men had a spirit of empire-building and they ascended to great heights, and arguably made Florida what it now is, before their excesses brought them down. As a foil, Knowlton offers the example of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who was something of a misfit until she found her place as a journalist and a writer, and a naturalist who was a great defender of the Everglades.

Highly recommended. ( )

Babbitt Writ in SOLID CAPS

Sinclair Lewis created a fictional character, George Babbitt, to flog the ballyhoo and boosterism that was just shifting into gear at the start of the Roaring Twenties. But George, also a real estate man, could not hold a candle to the crowd that flocked to Florida, razed its natural beauty, and erected cities, towns, shopping districts, vacation spots, and highways on natural and manufactured land, nor to their exaggeration, and dubious, as well as outright illegal, finances. The Twenties did Roar and they appeared to have Roared loudest in Florida.

Christopher Knowlton has written quite a snappy history of the Florida boom and bust. He focuses primarily on four fascinating, driven, smart, and fatally flawed entrepreneurs of the era: Addison Mizner, who created the boom’s architectural and design palette; George Merrick, a man of great vision who envisioned a complete planned city, Coral Gables; Carl Fisher, perhaps the most daring and resourceful of the bunch, race car and boat competitor, inventor, and builder, who literally burned through life; and D. P. Davis, another man who thought and created on a grand scale only to vanish at sea. Then there was the person who worked in counterbalance to land forming, Margery Stoneman Douglas, the environmentalist and author, who set out to save the Everglades, and who outlived not only the men but that era and a couple more, dying at 108. But he starts at the beginning with Henry Flagler, a founder of Standard Oil, who through development of St. Augustine and his famous railroad laid the foundation for what was to follow. Readers will find each and every page of this history fascinating and crammed with information and facts they may not have been aware of. As an example,

“And in sheer numbers, the flow of people to Florida in the mid-1920s would exceed any of the great land rushes of the past: the 300,000 or so to California from 1848 to 1852, for instance, or the 50,000 to Oklahoma in 1889. By 1925, it would be conservatively estimated that 4,000 people were entering Florida daily by car, an additional 3,000 by train, and a hundred more by ship. In total, some 2.5 million entered the state that year alone.” The facts, all quite astounding, keep coming page after page.

History offers up lessons for those who follow, if they are willing to read and listen. Naturally, everyday people and leaders either don’t or deny the facts in favor of expediency of the moment. Those in Florida should have known a bust was coming, that in some ways the whole adventure was a bit like a Charles Ponzi, con man of the day, concoction. But when the money is rolling in, it seems it will roll forever, and even if you think it might end. And, well, who wants to be the sucker who pulls up stakes too soon? Knowlton, a past financial executive and writer, contends that the Florida real estate bust was a major contributor to the Great Depression. Further, he draws striking parallels to the recent Great Recession. For many interested in busts and learning from them, these chapters, “Speculative Dementia” and “A Legacy of Greed and Folly,” may prove to be of most interest. Drawing on viewpoints of various economists in the monetarist and macroeconomic camps, he marshals strong support for his contention. As an example, from the latter chapter comes this that at the very least makes one aware that history in fact repeats time and again:

“In many ways, the Florida of the 1920s was a precursor of America one hundred years later. In Florida then, as in the United States at the moment, two affluent coasts were separated by an often impoverished, largely agricultural interior. Inequitable wealth distribution, racial intolerance, xenophobia, and rising nationalism—the KKK being the most blatant manifestation back then—were combined with a dangerous over reliance on laissez-fare economics and a governance structure where bankers and businesspeople wielded inordinate influence on policy. To complete the analogy, the political leadership of day displayed profound indifference to the fate of the environment and to society’s less fortunate. It didn’t end well then, which portends a dismal future for us now unless we change course.”

So not only is Bubble in the Sun a terrific read regarding ballyhoo and boosterism, of business run amok, of government corruption, and of gigantic personalities, but it also serves up a helping of history that pointed to our fate in 2008 and perhaps one not too far in our 20s future. ( )

Babbitt Writ in SOLID CAPS

Sinclair Lewis created a fictional character, George Babbitt, to flog the ballyhoo and boosterism that was just shifting into gear at the start of the Roaring Twenties. But George, also a real estate man, could not hold a candle to the crowd that flocked to Florida, razed its natural beauty, and erected cities, towns, shopping districts, vacation spots, and highways on natural and manufactured land, nor to their exaggeration, and dubious, as well as outright illegal, finances. The Twenties did Roar and they appeared to have Roared loudest in Florida.

Christopher Knowlton has written quite a snappy history of the Florida boom and bust. He focuses primarily on four fascinating, driven, smart, and fatally flawed entrepreneurs of the era: Addison Mizner, who created the boom’s architectural and design palette; George Merrick, a man of great vision who envisioned a complete planned city, Coral Gables; Carl Fisher, perhaps the most daring and resourceful of the bunch, race car and boat competitor, inventor, and builder, who literally burned through life; and D. P. Davis, another man who thought and created on a grand scale only to vanish at sea. Then there was the person who worked in counterbalance to land forming, Margery Stoneman Douglas, the environmentalist and author, who set out to save the Everglades, and who outlived not only the men but that era and a couple more, dying at 108. But he starts at the beginning with Henry Flagler, a founder of Standard Oil, who through development of St. Augustine and his famous railroad laid the foundation for what was to follow. Readers will find each and every page of this history fascinating and crammed with information and facts they may not have been aware of. As an example,

“And in sheer numbers, the flow of people to Florida in the mid-1920s would exceed any of the great land rushes of the past: the 300,000 or so to California from 1848 to 1852, for instance, or the 50,000 to Oklahoma in 1889. By 1925, it would be conservatively estimated that 4,000 people were entering Florida daily by car, an additional 3,000 by train, and a hundred more by ship. In total, some 2.5 million entered the state that year alone.” The facts, all quite astounding, keep coming page after page.

History offers up lessons for those who follow, if they are willing to read and listen. Naturally, everyday people and leaders either don’t or deny the facts in favor of expediency of the moment. Those in Florida should have known a bust was coming, that in some ways the whole adventure was a bit like a Charles Ponzi, con man of the day, concoction. But when the money is rolling in, it seems it will roll forever, and even if you think it might end. And, well, who wants to be the sucker who pulls up stakes too soon? Knowlton, a past financial executive and writer, contends that the Florida real estate bust was a major contributor to the Great Depression. Further, he draws striking parallels to the recent Great Recession. For many interested in busts and learning from them, these chapters, “Speculative Dementia” and “A Legacy of Greed and Folly,” may prove to be of most interest. Drawing on viewpoints of various economists in the monetarist and macroeconomic camps, he marshals strong support for his contention. As an example, from the latter chapter comes this that at the very least makes one aware that history in fact repeats time and again:

“In many ways, the Florida of the 1920s was a precursor of America one hundred years later. In Florida then, as in the United States at the moment, two affluent coasts were separated by an often impoverished, largely agricultural interior. Inequitable wealth distribution, racial intolerance, xenophobia, and rising nationalism—the KKK being the most blatant manifestation back then—were combined with a dangerous over reliance on laissez-fare economics and a governance structure where bankers and businesspeople wielded inordinate influence on policy. To complete the analogy, the political leadership of day displayed profound indifference to the fate of the environment and to society’s less fortunate. It didn’t end well then, which portends a dismal future for us now unless we change course.”

So not only is Bubble in the Sun a terrific read regarding ballyhoo and boosterism, of business run amok, of government corruption, and of gigantic personalities, but it also serves up a helping of history that pointed to our fate in 2008 and perhaps one not too far in our 20s future. ( )