I’ll admit it; the state of Florida is something of a mystery to me. I’ve been there a few times, hiking and bird watching here and there, but I’ve yet to develop anything more than a rudimentary understanding of it in either a social or an ecological sense. Fortunately, there are people who do understand it – at least ecologically (and if you count Carl Hiaasen, socially as well) – people like Susan Cerulean.
Ms. Cerulean has written extensively about Florida, its natural history, and the conservation challenges it faces; subjects about which she seems to be both passionate and exceptionally learned. Which is why I’m very eager to begin reading her most recent book Coming to Pass; Florida’s Coastal Islands in a Gulf of Change; for the opportunity it presents to fill in some of the many gaps in my knowledge about one of the most ecologically fascinating – as well as unfortunately troubled – states in the union.
