Diane Roberts

Part family memoir, part political commentary, part apologia, Dream State is all Floridian, telling the grand and sometimes crazy story of the twenty-seventh state through the eyes of one of its native daughters. Acclaimed journalist and NPR commentator Diane Roberts has many family secrets and shes ready to tell them. Like the time her cousin state Senator Luther Tucker wrapped his Caddy around a tree, allegedly with a jug of moonshine on the seat next to him. Or how cousin Susan Branford was given an African girl for her eighth birthday. Or the time when cousin Enid Broward was made the May Queen of 1907, even though her daddy the governor shocked the state by trying to drain the entire Everglades. Roberts ancestors helped settle Florida, kill off its pesky Indians, enslave some of its inhabitants, clear its forests, lay its train tracks, and pave its roads, all the time weaving themselves into the very fabric of this dangling chad of a state. With a storytellers talent for setting great scenes, Roberts lays out the sweeping history of eight geberations of Browards and Bradfords, Tuckers anf Robertses, even as she Forest Gumps them into situations with more historically familiar names. Whether its the American court of Catherine de Medicis, the Tallahassee court of Katherine Harris, Henry Flaglers boardroom -- not to mention his bedroom -- or Jeb Bushs statehouse, youre likely to find a branch or a root of the Roberts family growing entangled nearby. Starting in the recent past with the botched presidential election of 2000, Roberts introduces the many sides of the debate, coincidentally peopled with cousins both kissing and close. She then goes back to Floridas first inhabitants, showing how this alluring peninsula many called a paradise played a role in the destiny of those who settled there. Following their colorful progress up to the present, she renders them all with a deep, familial affection. Florida has forced itself into the collective American unconscious with its messed-up elections, anthrax scares, shark attacks,boat lifts, snowbirds, and the Bush dynasty. While exposing the real people whom Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard have been fictionalizing for years, Dream State ultimately reveals the cogs and wheels that make the state tick.

Nothing is worse than being the new kid, especially when your only friend is a puppet! If you loved Darci Lynne Farmer on Americas Got Talent, youll love this entertaining story about fitting in, making new friends, and learning to be the star of the show. Goodbye Seattle.Goodbye baseball buddies.Goodbye Gram & her cool puppet shows.Hello, Texas.Baker is sure there isnt anything worse than moving. Except being THE NEW KID. Sure, Gram gave him Waldo, a ventriloquists dummy, for company -- but a puppet, no matter how funny it is, cant take the place of real friends. Baker is bummed.Until he starts school and discovers that kids in Texas (cowboy hats aside) arent as different as he thought. And that puppets just might be the key to fitting in. Let the show begin!

A zany road trip adventure for fans of game shows and reality talent competitions like Americas Got Talent! Jason will stop at nothing to be a Maniac -- a contestant on his favorite show. But when his mom makes a critical mistake, can he still make his dream come true?When his parents surprise Jason with a family vacation to California, he is totally excited. Not only will he get to fly, hell have a chance to try out for Masquerade Mania, the planets ultimate trivia game show! Thats before he learns that they will be camping cross-country in a sardine can (at least thats what the prehistoric camper looks like). While Jason is willing to do just about anything for a chance to be on Mania, isnt wearing pink underwear, enduring the stares of fellow campers, and putting up with his pain-in-the-neck sister above and beyond the call of duty?

Part introspective soul searching, part cultural analysis, Tribal tackles the controversies plaguing college athletics, tracing the dubious historical underpinnings of Americans most popular sport, offering a visceral and often funny analysis of its tribal thrills and deep contradictions.Florida States football team is always in the headlines, producing Heisman Trophy candidates, winning championships, and, at the same time, dealing with federal investigations into corruption and rape. Same as many big time collegiate sports programs. Seems no matter how the team transgresses off the field, if they excel on the field, everyone forgives them. Writer, professor and conflicted Seminole Diane Roberts looks at the problems plaguing her campus in Tallahassee, examining them within the context of college football itself and its significance in American life, and explores how the game shapes our culture.Why cant an intelligent, cultivated woman quit the violent, glorious, corrupt world of college football?Cultural Analysis: Explore the deep, often disturbing, connections between the game, fundamentalist Christianity, and American militarism. Sports Journalism: Join a writer, professor, and conflicted Seminole fan as she navigates the moral maze of being an academic who loves a brutal, beautiful game. Football in the South: Go inside the scandals and championship seasons at Florida State University, a program that serves as a perfect microcosm for the sports modern troubles. Social Commentary: Unpack the tribal passions that make college football a powerful, unifying, and divisive force in American life.