Dr. Joe Knetsch, the author of seven books on the history of Florida, has published over 200 articles in various historical journals. He has a Ph. D. and a M.A in history. He has served as an expert witness in numerous lawsuits involving land issues and has consulted with many museums and historical societies as well as serving on the boards of numerous historical societies. He has also made numerous appearances on WFSU and The Florida Network's Florida Crossroads series. He will be signing "On This Day in Florida Civil War History." "Utopian Communities of Florida: A History of Hope" (Published: 12 Dec 2016) will also be available. “Florida has long been viewed as a land of hope and endless possibilities. Visionaries seeking to establish new communities where they could escape the influences of society at large have turned to Florida to construct their utopias from the vast plantations of British philanthropists and entrepreneurs in the eighteenth century to the more exotic Koreshan Unity and its theory that humans live in the center of a Hollow Earth. Some came to the Sunshine State seeking religious freedom, such as the settlers in Moses Levy s Jewish colony, while others settled in Florida to establish alternative lifestyles, like the spiritualists of Cassadaga. Still others created their communities to practice new agricultural techniques or political philosophies. Historians Joe Knetsch and Nick Wynne examine a number of these distinctive utopian communities and how they have contributed to Florida s unique social fabric."

Michael Kinnett left the family farm in central Illinois at seventeen and began a working career, eventually owning his own business. After raising two daughters his wife and he moved to the Florida Panhandle. It was in the historic town of Apalachicola that he began creating and caring for the Orman House State Park Museum. Immersed in local history, Kinnett now enjoys sharing Apalachicola’s rich heritage with thousands of visitors from around the world. His novel "Apalachicola Pearl" was born from his passion for the town’s history and its unforgettable people. His sincere wish is for you to enjoy reading "Apalachicola Pearl" as much as he enjoyed writing her.

“Apalachicola, Florida, the cotton shipping boomtown lay under siege. It was here in the backwater, during The Civil War, where women, children, and old struggled to survive. The real threat looming over them did not come from Union blockaders in the Gulf waters or from Confederates with river fortifications to the North. The dark shadow over the town came from a gathering of ruffians calling themselves the Rebel Guard. These so-called patriots, without conscience, pillaged and murdered on the backs of a devastated people. It would be two men, Michael Kohler and Stillman Smith, brothers forged in the fires of war, who rose up to stop the Rebel Guard. What chance did they have against an overwhelming force? Someone was going to die.”

isionaries seeking to establish new communities where they could escape the influences of society at large have turned to Florida to construct their utopias from the vast plantations of British philanthropists and entrepreneurs in the eighteenth century to the more exotic Koreshan Unity and its theory that humans live in the center of a Hollow Earth. Some came to the Sunshine State seeking religious freedom, such as the settlers in Moses Levy s Jewish colony, while others settled in Florida to establish alternative lifestyles, like the spiritualists of Cassadaga. Still others created their communities to practice new agricultural techniques or political philosophies. Historians Joe Knetsch and Nick Wynne examine a number of these distinctive utopian communities and how they have contributed to Florida s unique social fabric."

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