Miami Babylon

Miami Babylon PDF Author: Gerald Posner
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416576563
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
Here, in all its neon-colored, cocaine-fueled glory, is the never-before-told story of the making of Miami Beach. Gerald Posner, author of the groundbreaking investigations Case Closed and Why America Slept, has uncovered the hair-raising political-financial-criminal history of the Beach and reveals a tale that, in the words of one character, "makes Scarface look like a documentary." From its beginnings in the 1890s, the Beach has been a place made by visionaries and hustlers. During Prohibition, Al Capone had to muscle into its bootlegging and gambling businesses. After December 1941, when the Beach was the training ground for half a million army recruits, even the war couldn't stop the party. After a short postwar boom, the city's luck gave out. The big hotels went bankrupt, the crime rate rose, and the tourists moved on to Disney World and the Caribbean. Even after the Beach hosted both national political conventions in 1972, nobody would have imagined that this sandy backwater of run-down hotels and high crime would soon become one of the country's most important cultural centers. But in 1981, 125,000 Cubans arrived by the boatload. The empty streets of South Beach, lined with dilapidated Art Deco hotels, were about to be changed irrevocably by the culture of money that moved in behind cocaine and crime. Posner takes us inside the intertwined lives of politicians, financiers, nightclub owners, and real estate developers who have fed the Beach's unquenchable desire for wealth, flash, and hype: the German playboy who bought the entire tip of South Beach with $100 million of questionable money; the mayoral candidate who said, "If you can't take their money, drink their liquor, mess with their women, and then vote against them, you aren't cut out for politics"; the Staten Island thug who became king of the South Beach nightclubs only to have his empire unravel and saved himself by testifying against the mob; the campaign manager who calls himself the "Prince of Darkness" and got immunity from prosecution in a fraud case by cooperating with the FBI against his colleagues; and the former Washington, D.C., developer who played hardball with city hall and became the Beach's first black hotel owner. From the mid-level coke dealers and their suitcases of cash to the questionable billions that financed the ocean-view condo towers, the Beach has seen it all. Posner's singular report tells the real story of how this small urban beach community was transformed into a world-class headquarters for American culture within a generation. It is a story built by dreamers and schemers. And a steroid-injected cautionary tale.

Miami Babylon

Miami Babylon PDF Author: Gerald Posner
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416576563
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
Here, in all its neon-colored, cocaine-fueled glory, is the never-before-told story of the making of Miami Beach. Gerald Posner, author of the groundbreaking investigations Case Closed and Why America Slept, has uncovered the hair-raising political-financial-criminal history of the Beach and reveals a tale that, in the words of one character, "makes Scarface look like a documentary." From its beginnings in the 1890s, the Beach has been a place made by visionaries and hustlers. During Prohibition, Al Capone had to muscle into its bootlegging and gambling businesses. After December 1941, when the Beach was the training ground for half a million army recruits, even the war couldn't stop the party. After a short postwar boom, the city's luck gave out. The big hotels went bankrupt, the crime rate rose, and the tourists moved on to Disney World and the Caribbean. Even after the Beach hosted both national political conventions in 1972, nobody would have imagined that this sandy backwater of run-down hotels and high crime would soon become one of the country's most important cultural centers. But in 1981, 125,000 Cubans arrived by the boatload. The empty streets of South Beach, lined with dilapidated Art Deco hotels, were about to be changed irrevocably by the culture of money that moved in behind cocaine and crime. Posner takes us inside the intertwined lives of politicians, financiers, nightclub owners, and real estate developers who have fed the Beach's unquenchable desire for wealth, flash, and hype: the German playboy who bought the entire tip of South Beach with $100 million of questionable money; the mayoral candidate who said, "If you can't take their money, drink their liquor, mess with their women, and then vote against them, you aren't cut out for politics"; the Staten Island thug who became king of the South Beach nightclubs only to have his empire unravel and saved himself by testifying against the mob; the campaign manager who calls himself the "Prince of Darkness" and got immunity from prosecution in a fraud case by cooperating with the FBI against his colleagues; and the former Washington, D.C., developer who played hardball with city hall and became the Beach's first black hotel owner. From the mid-level coke dealers and their suitcases of cash to the questionable billions that financed the ocean-view condo towers, the Beach has seen it all. Posner's singular report tells the real story of how this small urban beach community was transformed into a world-class headquarters for American culture within a generation. It is a story built by dreamers and schemers. And a steroid-injected cautionary tale.

City of Hope, City of Rage

City of Hope, City of Rage PDF Author: Seth A. Weitz
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 0817361472
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Get Book

Book Description
"In 'City of Hope, City of Rage: Miami, 1968-1994,' Seth A. Weitz examines the transformative period when the young city-founded under Jim Crow in 1896 and searching for an identity after the upheavals of the 1950s and 60s-began to strive for maturity. Tracing three turbulent decades marked by mass immigration, racially motivated uprisings, economic inequity, rising crime, and social change, 'City of Hope, City of Rage' tells the story of Miami's evolution from a predominantly white southern city and vacation community into what is now a global, predominantly Hispanic metropolis with an international tourist base-one which nevertheless remains one of the most segregated cities in the United States. Drawing on numerous primary sources, including one-on-one interviews with people who lived the history, Weitz assembles a kaleidoscopic portrait of his hometown's coming of age, returning again and again to the question of how Miami is defined, who gets to define it, and, by extension, the parameters of civic identity and belonging in an increasingly cosmopolitan network of communities"

Lost Miami

Lost Miami PDF Author: David Bulit
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625854463
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Get Book

Book Description
Miami architecture is world renowned, but many historic treasures have been forgotten. The Richmond Naval Air Station was a blimp base destroyed by hurricane in 1945. A Cold War missile base lies covered in graffiti. Homestead's old Aerojet complex was originally used in the testing and construction of experimental rockets but was slowly demolished as part of a project to revitalize the Everglades. The Miami Marine Stadium was declared unsafe after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and stands abandoned today. Author and "Abandoned Florida" blogger David Bulit revives the history and secrets of the Magic City's vanishing gems.

Lonely Planet Miami & the Keys

Lonely Planet Miami & the Keys PDF Author: Lonely Planet
Publisher: Lonely Planet
ISBN: 1787012093
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 574

Get Book

Book Description
Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Miami & the Keys is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Check out Miami's definitive art-deco style, spot alligators in the Everglades, or drive Hwy 1 to see blue waters of the Florida Keys; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Miami & the Keys and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet Miami & the Keys: Full-color maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - architecture, history, cuisine, local lifestyles, environment, wildlife. Covers Miami, the Everglades, Florida Keys, Key West and more eBook Features: (Best viewed on tablet devices and smartphones) Downloadable PDF and offline maps prevent roaming and data charges Effortlessly navigate and jump between maps and reviews Add notes to personalise your guidebook experience Seamlessly flip between pages Bookmarks and speedy search capabilities get you to key pages in a flash Embedded links to recommendations' websites Zoom-in maps and images Inbuilt dictionary for quick referencing The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Miami & the Keys , our most comprehensive guide to Miami & the Keys, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less traveled. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world’s number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveler since 1973. Over the past four decades, we’ve printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travelers. You’ll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

Alas, Babylon

Alas, Babylon PDF Author: Pat Frank
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060741872
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Get Book

Book Description
The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world.

A World More Concrete

A World More Concrete PDF Author: N.D.B. Connolly
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022613525X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 405

Get Book

Book Description
Many people characterize urban renewal projects and the power of eminent domain as two of the most widely despised and often racist tools for reshaping American cities in the postwar period. In A World More Concrete, N. D. B. Connolly uses the history of South Florida to unearth an older and far more complex story. Connolly captures nearly eighty years of political and land transactions to reveal how real estate and redevelopment created and preserved metropolitan growth and racial peace under white supremacy. Using a materialist approach, he offers a long view of capitalism and the color line, following much of the money that made land taking and Jim Crow segregation profitable and preferred approaches to governing cities throughout the twentieth century. A World More Concrete argues that black and white landlords, entrepreneurs, and even liberal community leaders used tenements and repeated land dispossession to take advantage of the poor and generate remarkable wealth. Through a political culture built on real estate, South Florida’s landlords and homeowners advanced property rights and white property rights, especially, at the expense of more inclusive visions of equality. For black people and many of their white allies, uses of eminent domain helped to harden class and color lines. Yet, for many reformers, confiscating certain kinds of real estate through eminent domain also promised to help improve housing conditions, to undermine the neighborhood influence of powerful slumlords, and to open new opportunities for suburban life for black Floridians. Concerned more with winners and losers than with heroes and villains, A World More Concrete offers a sober assessment of money and power in Jim Crow America. It shows how negotiations between powerful real estate interests on both sides of the color line gave racial segregation a remarkable capacity to evolve, revealing property owners’ power to reshape American cities in ways that can still be seen and felt today.

Cubans, an Epic Journey

Cubans, an Epic Journey PDF Author: Sam Verdeja
Publisher: Reedy Press LLC
ISBN: 1935806203
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 801

Get Book

Book Description
This book is a collection of more than thirty essays by renowned scholars, historians, journalists, and media professionals that portray the experience of Cubans exiled in the United States and other countries in the last sixty years.

The Year of Dangerous Days

The Year of Dangerous Days PDF Author: Nicholas Griffin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501191039
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book

Book Description
"MIAMI 1980, by journalist and author Nicholas Griffin, is a narrative of a pivotal but forgotten year in American history. With a cast that includes iconic characters such as Jimmy Carter, Fidel Castro, and Janet Reno, this slice of history is brought to life through fascinating, intertwining personal stories. At the core, there's Edna Buchanan, a beautiful reporter for the Miami Herald who breaks the story on the wrongful murder of a black man, and the resultant police cover-up; Captain Marshall Frank, the hardboiled homicide detective tasked with investigating the murder; and Mayor Maurice Ferre, the charismatic politician who watches the case, and the city, fall apart. A roller coaster of national politics and international diplomacy, these three figures cross paths and socio-economic lines as their city explodes in one of the worst race riots in American history; as over 120,000 Cuban refugees land on the Miami coast; and as foreign drug cartels flood the city with cocaine and infiltrate all levels of law enforcement and government. In a battle of wills, Buchanan has to keep up with the 150% uptick in murders; Captain Frank has to scrub and then rebuild his police department; and Mayor Ferre has to find a way to reconstruct his smoldering city. Against all odds, they persevere, and a stronger, more vibrant Miami is forged in the crucible. But the new Miami, literally built on corruption and drug money, will have severe ramifications for the rest of the country"--

Running with Raven

Running with Raven PDF Author: Laura Lee Huttenbach
Publisher: Citadel Press
ISBN: 0806538449
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 310

Get Book

Book Description
In 1975, Robert “Raven” Kraft made a New Year’s Resolution to run eight miles on Miami’s South Beach each evening. Over 125,000 miles and seven hurricanes later, he has not missed one sunset—and he has changed the lives of thousands who have run with him. From all fifty states and over 85 countries, across all age groups and backgrounds, people come to run with Raven. In the process they find friendship, inspiration—and a nickname. Among them is author Laura Lee “White Lightning” Huttenbach, who has logged over a thousand miles of Raven Runs. Here she explores the stories of dozens of others about why they started running with Raven—and why they keep coming back. Raven is a legend of the running world, and his story is an invaluable reminder that the journey means little without the connections forged along the way. “Raven left an indelible impression upon me, as he has countless others. Raven, long may you run.” —Dean Karnazes, New York Times bestselling author of Ultramarathon Man “An inspiring tale of unbreakable discipline and one-of-a-kind endurance.” —Gerald Posner, New York Times bestselling author of Miami Babylon “Raven’s tale of perseverance, understanding, and courage will inspire anyone.” —Publishers Weekly

Book Lust to Go

Book Lust to Go PDF Author: Nancy Pearl
Publisher: Sasquatch Books
ISBN: 1570617015
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book

Book Description
Adventure is just a book away as bestselling author Nancy Pearl returns with recommended reading for more than 120 destinations — both worldly and imagined — around the globe. From Las Vegas to the Land of Oz, Naples to Nigeria, Philadelphia to Provence, Nancy Pearl guides readers to the very best fiction and nonfiction to read about each destination. Even within one country, she traverses decades to suggest titles that effortlessly capture the different eras that make up a region’s unique history. This enthusiastic literary globetrotting guide includes stops in Korea, Sweden, Afghanistan, Albania, Parma, Patagonia, Texas, and Timbuktu. Book Lust To Go connects the best fiction and nonfiction to particular destinations, whether your bags are packed or your armchair is calling. From fiction to memoir, poetry to history, Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust to Go takes the reader on a globetrotting adventure — no passport required.