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Upper Keys

The hands-down recommendation for Upper Keys reading is Willie Drye's Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. Storm of the Century is much more than a weather documentary. It's a tale of economic depression, post-war trauma, national politics, and the settlement of the Florida Keys.

The 1935 storm registered the lowest barometric reading ever recorded (until Gilbert in 1988, then Wilma in 2005) and was a defining historical event for the Upper Keys. Hundreds of lives were lost, including those of early settlers of Islamorada and World War I veterans building the Overseas Highway. Drye's tale is the story of the families, the challenge of building a road across an isolated archipelago, and the coincidence of natural and political events leading to this tragedy.

On a lighter note, Blackwater Sound, by James W. Hall, is a perfect mystery novel as you transit Blackwater Sound (STM 1134 to STM 1138). The story is set in Blackwater Sound and Tarpon Basin on the bay side of Key Largo. Hall's book, Under Cover of Daylight begins with the sentence, "Thorn watched her standing at the shore, up to her ankles in Lake Surprise." Lake Surprise is located at the north end of Key Largo. Hall's books featuring character Thorn include Under Cover of Daylight, Tropical Freeze, Mean High Tide, Buzz Cut, Red Sky at Night, Blackwater Sound, and Off The Chart.

The Upper Keys are diving and snorkeling territory. For detailed and up-to-date coverage on diving in the Florida Keys, pick up a copy of the new edition of the Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Florida Keys by William Harrigan. The new 2006 fourth edition contains details on 64 dive and snorkel sites. The guide is well organized and includes vivid undersea photos by the author.

The Snorkeling Guide to Marine Life: Florida Caribbean Bahamas by Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach is an excellent onboard reference book for snorkelers. This small slim guide focuses on marine life down to 15-foot depths. Each species is depicted with a color photograph. With photos and a shallow water emphasis, it's one of the easiest marine field guides to use.

Middle Keys

Shopping plazas, trailer parks, and resort developments overpower the Middle Keys' history as a pioneer outpost and base camp for Flagler's railroad. It's hard to believe Marathon was only incorporated as a town in 2000. In 1926, Key Vaca's total population consisted of 17 residents, eking out a living on rail-side keys of coral marl and swampy mangrove.

Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean, by Les Standiford, will snap you back to the Keys' origins. It's the compelling story of Henry Flagler's dream of a railroad that crossed an ocean. Written with precise detail, Standiford's account puts you in the mind frame of the men who worked to make the eighth wonder of the world come true before Flagler's death.

Lower Keys

The literary culture of the Lower Keys revolves around Key West. This small town made its literary mark with American fiction writers such as Ernest Hemingway, playwrights such as Tennessee Williams, cultural commentators such as Hunter S. Thompson, island cultural icons such as Jimmy Buffett, and mystery writers such as John Leslie and Tom Corcoran.

You must read a book by Ernest Hemingway while you're in Key West. Instead of The Snows of Kilimanjaro, which he wrote in Key West, pick up a copy of To Have and Have Not. This is Hemingway's only book set in America and it takes place in Key West. Nearly 70 years later it's still a great book. Many Key West people and experiences are woven into Hemingway's stories. For example, the hands of the old man in Old Man and the Sea came from Hemingway's boat captain's hands.

Moving through the decades, Ninety-Two in the Shade, by Thomas McGuane, captures a 1970s Key West. Depending on how well you can rewind to a '70s mindset, it's an intriguing flashback. The book, about a transplant who tries to get started in the competitive and exclusive circle of flats charterboat captaining, was nominated for a National Book Award.

Randy Wayne White's books, with characters Doc Ford and Tomlinson, are wildly popular. White's Doc Ford character is often described as the successor to John D. MacDonald's moral tough-guy Travis McGee. Although White's books are usually set on the west coast of Florida, North of Havana brings Doc Ford and Tomlinson south to Key West, Marathon, and Havana. Look for the bar where Tomlinson was duped into sailing his boat to Cuba.

Dry Tortugas

Nevada Barr's popular mystery novel Flashback is the perfect read for the Dry Tortugas. The entire mystery unfolds around Garden Key, Fort Jefferson, and Loggerhead Key. As a former national park ranger, Barr writes with an insider's perspective, providing a sense of life as a park employee stationed on this sandy outpost.

About the Author: Diana Doyle is coauthor with Mark Doyle of the Managing the Waterway series of cruising guides. A former college teacher who holds a USCG 50-ton Master's License, she cruises on their PDQ catamaran, Semi-Local.