Bernie Madoff came to mind as I read this! Florida was a disaster waiting to happen (still is in my opinion. Sorry.) It's been trashed! over developed and exploited since it's beginnings. I really feel bad for the state. All that natural, sub tropic beauty and rarity and it's been over run and is being destroyed. Well, the developers in this book got what was coming to them So there is some satisfaction in that. As for the current batch- hope for the same! Well researched book.

I loved this kind of book—an in depth analysis and social history of a specific time and place told through the stories of various interesting personages. Knowlton keeps the story moving with wild and interesting anecdotes. He doesn’t let the history get in the way of his telling us about an interesting time in American history(the Florida land boom and bust of the 20’s) but he really knows his history. A great combo. Highly recommended.

I took a long time reading this book because there was also much valuable information in it for me. The history behind references I had often heard but didn't understand before now were explained.
Bubble in the Sun essentially discusses the population and business boom of Florida in the early 1920s. Living high on the hog, a consumption driven society, mobility and southward migration made easier iin the advent of the automobile. Property developers and snake oil salesmen alike all looking to get rich: some did, some wouldn't be for very long. Basically a time of Go Big or Bust.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest thoughts.

3.5 stars

I'll confess to feeling more than a frisson of schadenfreude at the final fates of the foolish fellows most responsible for the spectacular crash of the Florida real estate boom in the 1920s. They all died impoverished and in poor health, victims of their own greed and extravagant living.

These men made mountains of money early in the boom, and they could have lived richly for the rest of their lives on that money. But their greed and egos and need for prestige knew no bounds. They had to keep trying to one-up each other, building more and more lavish properties, irreparably altering and despoiling Florida's nearly pristine ecosystems. They overextended themselves financially, and got what they deserved. Unfortunately, they ruined a lot of other people's lives in the process.

The bank failures and the bust of Florida's real estate market in 1926 were a preview and perhaps a precursor of what was to come for the entire nation in 1929. I knew nothing of this story, and I found this book to be a fairly comprehensive overview. I had never heard of most of the major figures, so I did have some difficulty keeping track of who was who and what were their backgrounds and eccentricities.

Those who do not learn from the mistakes of their grandcestors are likely to repeat those mistakes, and thus we had the financial crisis of 2008. I found many glaring parallels between the two debacles.

The Florida Boom of the 1920s and How It Brought on the Great Depression by Christopher Knowlton: Christopher Knowlton, author of “Cattle Kingdom” and former Fortune writer, takes a close up look at the massive Florida land boom of the 1920s and how it led directly to the Great Depression, while also telling the fascinating history of the artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Palm Beach, Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Miami Beach, and other Florida historical sites.

Full of detailed history of the people and their families who settled South Florida. Too much detail to finish in a short time. I wanted to go ahead a get a review out there. There were so many colorful personalities arriving, it seemed like reading about a circus come to town. There was such a long parade of circus acts, I found myself experiencing sensory overload, and had to stop for a while, then resume reading. Also a cautionary tale of not paying heed to the delicate ecosystems in place and pushing ahead for the sake of excitement and greed, and destroying the natural surroundings. Very good reference book for anyone interested in the history of how Florida was developed. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this book. I found myself comparing the Florida land rush to the 2008 financial crisis and how uncontrolled greed in real estate effected every aspect of our economy. The cast of characters that basically created the Florida that we know today is amazing. These visionaries took what was swampland and converted into a state that is now the fastest growing in the country. I am a recent Florida transplant myself and you hear people lamenting the disappearance of "Old Florida" but in reading this book you realize that there was no such thing as "Old Florida" it is in fact a state of constant development that started with swamp and continues to develop to this very day. A completely fascinating read.

When a book is written this well history comes alive, in technicolor. It has it all - huge fortunes, huge homes, huge dreams and it all comes together to create the Florida we know today. Billions and billions of dollars spent by today's values and nothing was thought to be impossible. Family fortunes had been made in oil and sewing machines, chemicals and lumber and now that money was being spent to build a tropical playground for America. What a playground it turned out to be. From Flagler building his own railroad through the swamps - one end of the state to the Keys, building hotels along the way - these men didn't let anything stand in their way of realizing their visions. They built bridges to islands and dredged up the sea floor to create land for housing developments. They wanted it, they made it happen.
As history tells us a boom is followed by a bust and the bubble that created Florida burst in 1929 and the Stock Market crashed and lives were ruined, many never to recover. After reading this engaging history of Florida I will forever be in awe of how it came to be.
My thanks to the publisher Simon and Schuster and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an advance of this title in exchange for my honest review. Bubble in the Sun, by author Christopher Knowlton , was like reading about the Gold Rush, of the West, but rather the land rush of the state of Florida. From early discovery of Florida's beaches, to the purchasing of land, through the industrialization of the state, to development, and marketing, Knowlton creates a picture of wealth and glamorous living. We learn of the railroad expansion and the hotel industry. The billions of dollars dumped into the creation of this, America's new playland, were astronomical, by the standards of then and now. Developers and investors were not interested in keeping up with one and other. Bigger, better, newer, more luxurious and more outrageous were the expectations.

The book goes on to follow the dreams of the movers and shakers of the prospect. The many interesting stories and people were shared in great wonderment and detail. Everyone wanted a piece of this action and there was no shortage of buyers. The prohibition was in full swing, but in Florida, the excesses of alcohol and luxury partying were welcome. People could not get enough or fast enough. At one point in the book it states "4000 people were entering Florida daily by car, an additional 3,000 by train, and hundreds more by ship". The author tells us this is a conservative estimation and does not include vacationers, snowbirds, retirees, etc. Populations soared, realty was booming, and the money flowed.

Finally, as all good things must come to an end, it was the natural disasters of Florida hurricanes that burst it's economic bubble and broke the state of financial strength. This not only devastated investors and developers, but shut down banks and sent people fleeing the state. All those involved were left destitute and broke. They lost, and they lost big, most never again to regain their fortunes and inheritances. Coinciding with Stock Market Crash of 1929, the Florida Sun Bubble became nothing but a poor investment example in greed and excessive overspending.

Very interesting read. Certainly a topic in which I had never considered. Full of fast talkers and big spenders, glitz, and doom. Maybe a bit lengthy, but all the quirky characters were well worth the read.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an advance of this title in exchange for my honest review. I didn't know what to expect from this book, but it looked interesting. I wanted to see where it was going. I'll warn you that the foreward/beginning of the book is a bit slow, but once you get past that the book is so very interesting. Florida was a swamp, and it became a place for the elite to play.
One thing I loved was the author's ability to describe the people, the place and the time to make us feel as if we're there. You get caught up in what this life must have been like.
A mark of a good historical book for me is that I want to learn more, and this set me off on that path. Why did the depression occur? What was the vision for Florida? What was this time like for the people involved in the building of Florida. I learned a lot, and I'm still interested and learning more about a subject I knew nothing about. Well done.

Bubble In The Sun is a thoroughly researched and engagingly written history of the Florida land boom in the 1920s. The book focuses mainly on four real estate speculators: Carl Fisher in Miami Beach, Addison Mizner in Palm Beach and Boca Raton, George Merrick in Coral Gables, and David Paul D. P. Davis in Tampa and St. Augstine. But other important individuals such as Henry Flagler (investor) and Marjory Stoneman Douglas (writer and preservationist) receive attention in this account of how Florida went from swampland to exotic hotel escape and then to exotic and alluringly-named subdivisions in the span of a few short decades.

The history is chronological, starting with Henry Flagler arriving in Florida at the turn of the century and seeing opportunities in the seaside East Coast with its soft sand beaches and excellent weather. He built an initial infrastructure (railroads) to bring the people to Florida and then he built huge and exotic hotels that would cater to the wealthy New Englanders looking for an place for Summer Homes or upscale hotels. From there, the opportunists came and took huge risks and chances in buying and selling Florida land for subdivisions.

Author Knowlton provides a lot of background information on each individual profiled as well as the environment in the country at the time. That big picture was useful to put everything into perspective but as a small nitpick was also bordering on overly tangential filler. But this is definitely not a book where you will be left with questions. If anything, I found myself next to the computer several times to look at old post cards and photographs of the original architecture (I wish there could have been images but understand the costs associated with printing images). The information is nicely presented in a conversational way, as if told by a great storytelling recalling his old days in roaring 20s Florida.

The writing is extremely engaging and we definitely get a feel for each of the individuals - their personality, drives, foibles, weaknesses, and exceptional strengths - along with the wives, friends, servants, etc. that enabled their successes or contributed to their downfalls. As well, other important aspects of the time such as racism and the fate of the black workers who toiled there are also given full treatment. It's a very well rounded approach that really gives a complete picture: the infrastructure, the money, the goals, the pitfalls, the crazy speculation, and finally the factors/events that contributed to the beginning of the Great Depression.

The subtitle gives the best indication of the focus of the book: it about defining how the Florida land speculation and development craze greatly contributed to the Great Depression. Knowlton is careful to separate the stock market crash as NOT being the beginning of the Depression and instead discusses all the signs that were foreshadowing 1929 (especially the sudden reticence/cessation of investments and speculation around 1926 in Florida). So although this may seem like a historical, in reality I would consider the history as fact building in order to support Knowlton's later assertion that Florida was a major cause of the Depression. Unlike many history books, Knowlton's writing isn't dry but it isn't meant to be a simple factual. He freely gives his thoughts and opinions throughout, most of which feel very rooted in facts and not hyperbole.

In all, I greatly enjoyed this book. It gave great perspective on Florida in the 1920s but also on the reasons why the Great Depression was inevitable. It was a period of wild speculation throughout the US but no where more concentrated than in land investment on both coasts of the State of Florida. All perpetrated by, to quote the book, "a handful of daring men who, eager for fame and wealth, took enormous risks to open up Florida for real estate development and then chased the boom to its ruinous conclusion." Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.