Manatee Insanity - (Florida History and Culture) by Craig Pittman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The quiet manatee has long been a flash point of frequent environmental debates. It is Florida's most famous endangered species, as well as its most controversial. Manatees appear on hundreds of license plates, attract hordes of tourists, and expose the uneasy relationships between science and the law and between freedom and responsibility like no other animal.



As passions have flared and resentments have grown, the battle over manatee protection has evolved into a war, and no reporter has followed the story more closely than Craig Pittman, the first environmental writer to explore the complex history, culture, and science of the controversies and concerns surrounding this remarkable creature.



With an abiding interest in the uncertain fate of this unique species, Manatee Insanity provides the first in-depth history of the attempts to provide legal protection for the manatee. Pittman follows Florida's gentle giants through time and space, detailing interactions with a variety of human actors, from Jacques-Yves Cousteau to Jeb Bush to Jimmy Buffett, from a popular children's book author to a federal lawman who dressed in a gorilla suit for the ultimate undercover assignment.

Review Quotes

"Manatee Insanity lives up to its name. .
. . A fascinating look beyond the headlines."--Bay Soundings

"An
important book. . . . Enjoyable to read. . . . Much more than a description of
the struggle over the survival of the manatee. It is a depiction of a much
larger struggle--one for the very soul of the place we call Florida."--H-Net

"Superbly
researched, highly readable, and thought-provoking."--Environmental History

"A
wonderfully written book about a wide range of issues affecting the Florida
manatee."--Choice

"A
thorough, enjoyable, and moving study of the myriad players involved in the
fate of Florida's gentle manatees."--Florida Historical Quarterly

"Pittman
. . . takes on powerboat owners, policy makers and environmentalists to tell
the sea cow's story."--SEJournal

About the Author

Craig Pittman is a native Floridian and
an award-winning journalist. He wrote for the Tampa Bay Times for 30 years and now writes for the Florida Phoenix. He is the author of
several books, including the New York
Times bestseller Oh, Florida!: How
America's Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country; Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the
Florida Panther; and The Scent of
Scandal: Greed, Betrayal, and the World's Most Beautiful Orchid. He is
cohost of the Welcome to Florida
podcast. Pittman was named a Florida Literary Legend by the Florida Heritage
Book Festival in 2020.

A
volume in the Florida History and Culture series, edited by Raymond Arsenault
and Gary R. Mormino