The Florida Reader brings together a selection of writings from history and the state's rich mix of cultures: Timucua, Spanish, French, British, Seminole, Cuban, Black, Southern, Northeastern, Midwestern, Conch, and Cracker. Editors Maurice O'Sullivan and Jack C. Lane trace a common theme in these writings: the way each author has envisioned paradise. From Jean Ribaut's Edenic description of "this incomparable land" in 1562 to T.D. Allman's search for the essence of Miami in 1987, all who have written about America's southern frontier have carried to La Florida, the land of flowers, the hope of a new and better life.