MIAMI: City of the Future

by T.D. Allman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1987

A delightfully unbuttoned paean to ""Babel on Biscayne Bay"" that's part history, part autobiography, part promotional tract, part sociological study, part political analysis. The author's obvious affection for the city in which he was raised, and which he knows in mind-boggling detail, doesn't blind him to its shabbier, more ridiculous, more threatening aspects. His vision is sweeping, taking in both the accomplishments and the shortcomings of this metropolis on the move. Allman traces the history of the Florida area back to Ponce de León, who, despite the romantic tale of his quest for the Fountain of Youth, was actually looking to make a bundle in what turned out to be nonexistent gold mines. As Allman points out, de León thus established himself as the first in a long line of get-rich-quick Florida promoters. These included railroader Henry Morrison Flagler; the visionary Julia Tuttle, who dreamed up Miami in the first place; Addison Mizner, the originator of Florida's tile-and-stucco ""Latin"" veneer; and a pair of bickering hoteliers, Ben Novack and Morris Lapidus, who created those monuments to ersatz elegance, the Fontainebleau (pronounced ""Fountain Blue"") and the Eden Roc along the Miami strand. Theirs is a classic tale of hilarious chutzpah. Diverting anecdotes are as ubiquitous as palmetto bugs in Allman's text. They range from tales of public-relations scares to Cuban ÉmigrÉ accomplishments. It is in his coverage of the Cuban contribution to the development of what he calls ""Havana North"" that Allman is at his insightful best. His analysis is measured, thoughtful, convincing. Though he occasionally allows his enthusiasm (and his rhetoric) to run away with him and though some or' the sections may be slightly overextended, Allman has, by and large, produced a work that is as complex, compelling and colorful as the city it celebrates. A balanced, often inspiring, frequently uproarious account, sure to entertain even those readers who consider the term ""Miami Vice"" a redundancy.

Pub Date: April 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly--dist. by Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION