The Swamp Peddlers

The Swamp Peddlers brings to life an astonishing rogues gallery of crooks and hustlers, each one of them a Florida Man seemingly sprung from the pages of a Carl Hiaasen thriller." — Craig Pittman, author of Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther

“A marvelously written, dramatic account of the dark side of real estate development in Florida. Vuic’s chronicle is engrossing, moving, and full of dark humor.” — David Farber, author of Crack: Rock Cocaine, Street Capitalism, and the Decade of Greed

“Jason Vuic’s book crackles with colorful characters who bought land by the acre and sold it by the foot to Americans in search of second acts and the Florida Dream.” — Gary R. Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida

“An excellent history of the interstate land sales industry — well researched, thorough in coverage, and written with compelling style.” — Hubert B. Stroud, author of The Promise of Paradise: Recreational and Retirement Communities in the United States since 1950

“Jason Vuic provides a detailed saga of Florida development, county by county, year by year. While some parts read like a satire of capitalistic greed, it is an honest examination of history that evolves into a cautionary tale of the human capacity for self-interest and acquisitiveness. The author’s research is unassailable. The Swamp Peddlers is an exceptional account of legal loopholes, egotistical hubris, environmental annihilation, and the mindless development of land at any cost.”—Los Angeles Review of Books

“An excellent exploration of the shady ways people sold the Sunshine State in the twentieth century. With strong attention to detail, a good eye for the absurd, and finely-honed, carefully-aimed outrage, Vuic shows how grifting land developers subdivided the state and left investors, taxpayers, and Florida’s environment holding the bag.”—Agricultural History

“[Vuic] presents a strong narrative and biographical foundation for understanding this history.”—Journal of Southern History

“A fascinating look at how old Florida went from acres of pine forests, wetlands and cattle ranches to today’s huge subdivisions sprawling across the state like a cancer, still devouring natural ecosystems.”—Society of Environmental Journalists Book Shelf

“The Swamp Peddlers contributes to the quest to understand why Florida (and the Sun Belt) is the way it is—and reveals why that quest is far from over.”—Journal of the American Planning Association

“Vuic shows the transformation of old Florida, from acres of eco-sensitive wetlands, pine forests and cattle ranches, to today’s subdivisions sprawling across the state, devouring natural ecosystems.”—The Gabber