Great reading that provides a sense of the city, from Traveler magazine's online Ultimate Travel Library.
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Tourist Season, by Carl Hiaasen (1986)
The Miami Herald columnist's first stab at sleazy businessmen, corrupt politicians, dumb rednecks, crazed exiles, empty-headed tourists and other plagues on South Florida; the first in a continuing chain of satirical mysteries with the Sunshine State—particularly Miami—as the endangered backdrop.
The Everglades: River of Grass, by Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1947)
Political manifesto defending Florida's "worthless swamp" from developers; it mustered public support to protect more than two million acres (800,000 hectares) of wilderness as Everglades National Park.
MiMo: Miami Modern Revealed, by Eric P. Nash and Randall C. Robinson, Jr. (2004)
A plea for preservation, this architecture book celebrates some of the hottest building designs around in a comprehensive account of the postwar Popular Modernism architecture that sets Miami apart.
Miami, by Joan Didion (1987)
Finely tuned prose and impressions of the Magic City at the height of passion among Cuban exiles.
The Corpse Had a Familiar Face: Covering Miami, America's Hottest Beat, by Edna Buchanan (1987)
Pulitzer Prize-winning police reporter for the Miami Herald set a spare, detailed tone for a new generation of journalists covering crime in this tough-minded account of murder, rape, drug deals, and robbery during the crazy, cocaine-infused '80s in Miami.
Done Deal, by Les Standiford (1993)
The first in a string of satire-laden thrillers with Miami contractor Johnny Deal at the center.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay (2004)
Thriller with Dexter Morgan, a forensic blood-spatter specialist for the Miami Police Department, as the narrator. He also happens to be a serial killer. Inspiration for the Showtime TV show Dexter.
South Beach Diet, by Dr. Arthur Agatston (2003)
The famed anti-carb diet book by a Miami Beach doctor who campaigns against bread, rice, pasta, and fruit—and makes it edible with recipes from South Beach chefs.
