A leading Florida historian explores one of the state’s most consequential eras. It was a time of stunning episodes of boom and
bust, an era of extremes, a decade of historic changes that point to Florida’s
future. In this book, eminent historian Gary Mormino illuminates early
twenty-first-century Florida and its connections to some of the most
significant events in contemporary American history. Following Mormino’s milestone work Land of
Sunshine, State of Dreams, which details the dynamic history of
Florida from 1950 to 2000, Dreams in the New Century explores the state’s tumultuous next chapter, a period that included the Bush
v. Gore election, 9/11, the housing bubble and Great Recession, and the
election of Barack Obama. During these years the Elián González story engrossed
the country, Tim Tebow rose to football fame, and Donald Trump became a Florida
celebrity. From hurricanes to Ponzi schemes, red tides, climate change, the “Stand-Your-Ground” gun law, demographic diversity, and more, Florida offered
nonstop news fodder that reflected its extraordinary internal trends and its
importance in the nation. As Mormino shows, Florida is a place of
deep conflicts—North and South, liberal and conservative, newcomer and local,
growth and conservation—with histories that can be traced back centuries. In
2000‒2010, Mormino argues, these tensions collided to produce a “Big Bang” that
will continue to resonate in years to come. Mormino takes stock of this
crucible of change and explains the social, cultural, and political intricacies
of a state the world struggles to understand. Dreams in the New
Century unravels Florida’s complicated recent history in a gripping,
informative, and fascinating narrative.