About the Author

The writer is the author of 56 published books, a retired professor of Linguistics and English at the University of Florida, and a resident teacher in three Middle Eastern countries: Turkey (2 years in the U.S. Peace Corps), Lebanon (1 year as a Fulbright Professor), and Saudi Arabia (2 years as a Fulbright Professor). Two of his recent books are entitled "Antioch on the Orontes: An Illustrated History" (2013) and "Castles of Turkey" (2013). He has also taught in Vietnam twice and in Spain three times. The University of Florida named him its Distinguished Alumni Professor in 2003. Some of his published books that deal with Florida are about the state's African Americans, alligators, aviation, Babe Ruth in Florida, baseball, the celebration of Christmas in the state, city histories (Cedar Key, Lake City, Micanopy, Ocala), Greek Americans, guidebooks to four Florida rivers (the St. Johns, Suwannee, Hillsborough, and Caloosahatchee), lighthouses, literature, living Floridians (Ben Franklin Jr., Carl Joseph, Judge Stephan Mickle), Native Americans, outhouses, pirates, regional histories (Apalachicola Bay), shipwrecks, and the University of Florida (its history and its football program).