The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea

"I’ve been captivated by the emerald green Gulf of Mexico since I was a kid, and now I have more reason to be in awe. University of Florida historian Jack Davis provides a colorful, sweeping history of the Gulf with stories about its communities, industries, estuaries, wildlife, people and politics. He says it’s the story of America – from Native Americans and European explorers, to oil wildcatters and fishing guides. Also a professor of sustainability studies, Davis portrays a vulnerable Gulf Coast in ecological crisis. In a chapter about the late artist Walter Anderson (who rode out hurricanes on Mississippi’s barrier islands), Davis writes, “If anything was certain on the Gulf, it was the inevitability of change.”"