Death in the Everglades: The Murder of Guy Bradley, America's First Martyr to Environmentalism - Brossura

McIver, Stuart B.

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0813034426 ISBN 13: 9780813034423

Casa editrice: Univ Pr of Florida, 2009

Riassunto

”Guy Bradley’s colorful life and violent death have always seemed the stuff of myth. . . . Death in the Everglades is both compelling history and a heart-tugging drama.”—Audubon

”An eye-opening, informative account of the rise and demise of the cruel plume hunting trade and of Guy Bradley’s heroic dedication to protect a beautiful and valuable natural resource: the egrets and flamingoes, roseate spoonbills and herons that still grace the Glades and our shorelines.”—Miami Herald

”Rescues from obscurity a key chapter in the history of American environmentalism. . . . With great finesse, McIver evokes Bradley’s tumultuous world, chronicles the pitched battle to save wild birds, and resurrects a true folk hero.”—Booklist

”Reminds us that Glades once was so wild that armed men quaked with fear.”—St. Petersburg Times

Guy Bradley, born in Chicago in 1870, was killed in 1905 only three years into his tenure as game warden in a south Florida that was still very much a frontier. His murderer, never prosecuted, was a one-eyed former Civil War sharpshooter who made his living supplying exotic plumage for women’s hats. At the time, an ounce of feathers was worth more than an ounce of gold. Bradley’s death sent shock waves across America and helped give impetus to the burgeoning environmental movement.

 

Su questo libro

L'autore:

Stuart B. McIver was a prolific journalist who also wrote numerous books, more than 500 magazine articles, and documentary films, for which he also worked as producer.

Product Description:

Death in the Everglades chronicles the demise of one of 20th-century Florida's most enduring folk heroes. The murder of Guy Bradley represents a milestone not only in the saga of the Everglades but also in the broader history of American environmentalism. This fascinating biography of his abbreviated but eventful life is emblematic of the struggle to tame the Florida frontier without destroying it. As Stuart McIver unfolds the story behind this famous but little-known crime, he also provides a window into Florida history during the creation of modern South Florida.In 1901, at the urging of Audubon Society leaders and the American Ornithologists' Union, the Florida legislature enacted a bird protection law that provided for the hiring of local game wardens, and a year later Guy Bradley assumed the dual role of Monroe County's game warden and deputy sheriff. For the next three years, from 1902 to 1905, Bradley matched wits and sometimes weapons with an array of plume hunters and other nefarious characters, some of whom were strangers but many of whom were friends or acquaintances of the warden or his family. In the end, Bradley was shot and killed by Walter Smith, a man he had known for nearly a decade. How this murder came about, what happened to Smith and others left behind, and how Bradley's demise and subsequent controversies affected the environmental movement are intriguing questions that frame McIver's richly textured narrative.With the instincts and skills of a master storyteller, McIver--long one of Florida's most historically minded journalists--has recaptured a tale for the ages, a story of personal sacrifice and collective awakening that altered the course of the state's natural and human history. Bradley should not be forgotten, and this book should not be overlooked by anyone seeking a full understanding of how the Everglades became a treasured but imperiled place.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Univ Pr of Florida
• Data di pubblicazione: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0813034426
• ISBN 13: 9780813034423
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 187