Jeff Klinkenberg

Whether he is writing about a make-them-yourself pancake house, a man who lost an arm to an alligator named Mojo, or his mother shortly after her death, St. Petersburg Times columnist Jeff Klinkenberg goes far beyond the obvious goal of documenting what Florida means to him in his collection "Pilgrim in the Land of Alligators." The writing is consistently engaging, the range of topics fascinating, and the inspiration to seek out more of his work at the St. Petersburg Times website a natural byproduct of what he offers here. From his articles of pop icons including the Coppertone girl and the two actors who played The Creature from the Black Lagoon (one underwater, the other on terra firma) to exquisite portraits of sponge divers, a man who makes the ladders used by citrus pickers, and the musician who plays the carillon at Bok Sanctuary (in Lake Wales), you can’t leave Klinkenberg’s book without an appreciation for the state he so clearly loves and, in turns, helps the rest of us explore.… (mere)

Review by Mitchell Green:

Klinkenberg, columnist for The St. Petersburg Times, has put together his second collection of Florida anecdotes (the first was Real Florida), according to the Sunshine State's four subtle seasons. In the section entitled "Fall" he describes the Desert Inn restaurant in Yee-Haw Junction and the rare Okeechobee gourd. In winter, there is stargazing near Lake Kissimmee and wildlife-viewing near Gainesville along Route 441. Spring brings Dr. Wilfred Trammell Neill, the snake man, anthropologist and archeologist, and the Seminole Indians on the Big Cypress Reservation. Summer reveals the lightning-stalker known as David O. Stillings and our own Cesar A. Becerra's search for logging camps in the Everglades. Reading this book is like traveling Florida's back roads without having to drive all that way. Just sit back and enjoy. I certainly did!… (mere)