The collision between civilization and nature in the Gulf of Mexico becomes a uniquely American story in the environmental epic The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea by Jack E. Davis.
On Friday, Jan. 26, the author will be presenting two free programs at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., part of the 2018 “Ding” Darling Lecture Series at J.N. “Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island.
The New York Times Book Review called The Gulf a “beautiful homage to a neglected sea.” It won the 2017 Kirkus Prize and is a semi-finalist for an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. The book views the gulf’s history, culture, and environmental value through the art and words of Winslow Homer, Ernest Hemingway, John MacDonald, and other artists and writers.
Before joining the University of Florida in 2003, Davis taught at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., specializing in U.S. environmental history. In 2002, he was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Jordan in Amman.
His book Race Against Time: Culture and Separation in Natchez Since 1930 won the Charles S. Sydnor Prize for the best book in southern history published in 2001. His next work, An Everglades Providence: Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the American Environmental Century, received a gold medal from the Florida Book Awards.
Seating for the lectures is limited and available on a first-come basis. Early arrivals can save one seat extra each and then may explore the Visitor & Education Center or Indigo Trail before the lecture starts. Saved seats must be filled 15 minutes before lecture time. For more information, click here.
