Want to understand Miami? Read these 10 books, says Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books
READ MORE
40 Years of Books & Books
How Mitchell Kaplan’s dream survived Amazon, e-books and the pandemic — and made the literary world pay attention to Miami.
Expand All
40 years of Books & Books: How a beloved bookstore put Miami on the literary map
From books to bright lights: How Miami’s favorite bookstore owner got into the movie biz
Want to understand Miami? Read these 10 books, says Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books
Books & Books celebrates its 40th year anniversary in Miami
We asked Mitchell Kaplan, owner of Books & Books, for 10 books to read to understand the mystery that is Miami. He could have provided a much longer list, he says, but we forced him to stick to 10.
Here are his choices, which include history, memoir, fiction and poetry.
Nonfiction
“Year of Dangerous Days: Riots, Refugees, and Cocaine in Miami 1980,” Nicholas Griffin: “To have an understanding of Miami today, we need to be aware of this pivotal year that helped define what we were to become as a community.”
“Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean,” Les Standiford: “A riveting account of how one man’s obsession opened the way for the early development of Miami and the rest of Florida.”
“Black Miami in the Twentieth Century,” Marvin Dunn: “A very important one-volume history by a preeminent Miamian.”
“The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood,” Richard Blanco: “From Miami-Dade County’s first poet laureate and first openly gay inaugural poet, a moving account of growing up in Miami.”
“Disposable City: Miami’s Future on the Shores of Climate Catastrophe,” Mario Alejandro Ariza: “The title says it all.”
Fiction
“Miami Blues,” Charles Willeford: “Charles Willeford’s work oozes with atmosphere of a Miami that once existed, and he influenced an entire generation of writers in the use of very dark humor to try to explain the unexplainable about this city of ours.”
“Tourist Season” by Carl Hiaasen: “ ‘Tourist Season’ kicked off Carl’s fiction career. He tells anyone who will listen that Miami’s outrageousness, no matter how unbelievable, eventually turns up in the news.“
“Continental Drift,” Russell Banks: “Although written years ago, its tale of uprootedness and migration and how Miami plays a central role is as relevant today as it was then.”
“Everything Inside: Stories,” Edwidge Danticat: “A collection rich with wisdom and humanity, deeply exploring the complexities of Miami’s Haitian community.”
Poetry
“Florida Poems,” Campbell McGrath: “We see ourselves in verse written by one of our best poets.”
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 6:00 AM.