This is one great book. I love Key West and someday I'm going to move there. It's home. When I discovered this book I didn't expect the reaction it gave me. It brought me back. The characters, the craziness, and the surreal island life of the Keys came rushing back to me like a tidal wave. It reminded me of what I love and miss about Key West. A wonderful read.

Ah, here we are. Here are those oft' cited "glory days of yesteryear" lovingly reprinted by John Boisonault and Tom Corcoran - and the timing couldn't be better. From a literary perspective, it's of course Springtime with various versions of "season" winding down. Jasmine and Cereus perfume the often thunderous nights and a hammock'd or curled-up casual sip'n read offers just the sought after relaxation. Nothing could be finer or more suitable than Key West Collection. With a deft, self-depreciating yet mannered air, Ms. Raymer recounts first-hand adventures and mis-adventures in the "open air asylum" of old Key West. Here is a roustabout Last Resort of costume parties, nudity, famous writers, domestic squabbles, internecine jealousies, street bums, dirtbags, cruise ship passengers, body piercings and arguments over who got here first. Sound familiar? The beauty of the selection, of course, is how little much of our "lifestyle" has changed over the past 50 years. There is, however, one aspect that veritably screams out for notice...and that is humor, ingenuity and tolerance. I've had the pleasure of meeting many of the characters in this book. (The description of Cigarette Willy, alone, brought back a swirl of memories from that place before modernization and AIDS where one "merely had to wish to make it so.") Events like Fantasy Fest, the Suds Run, the Hemingway Festival and the Conch Republic Celebration were hatched in a hazy improvisation long before being certified as "annual events". It is worth noting that all of the events in this book took place in those days often cited as when Key West was "dying" - those days when Duval Street was shuttered and the streets were empty. Well, as the Key West Collection attests, someone was here, and though they may not have been rapaciously gouging the City and its tourists for every last penny they could squeeze out of them, they somehow managed to thrive with renegade humor and world famous alacrity. In fact, they survived so well that they created the "Key West" that so many tourists come here, in vain, to discover. Tom Corcoran's photographs from the near distant past, evoke a time of shrimpers, flop houses, stripper bars, lazy afternoons, grey weatherered buildings and Tennessee Williams - not tricked-up plastic faux once-upon-a-time trinket stands, mind you: the real thing. It's there in the scented evening air, in the smell of fresh Cuban bread and stand-up buche. It's there in a note from 1981 wherein the authoress can't find Tennessee Williams' house because "the streets were being dug up for sewer installation". We even read of a squabble between usurer Juius Stone and "Charlie Ramos" over the location of the "truly southernmost house". Key West Collection is the perfect gift for the newly arrived who'd like to know a bit more about their new "home" before they form an idea of what it ought to be. -Bud Nevero

It is a truly wonderful collection to own. It has enlightened me to the fascinating stories of an all-Cuban community of cigar workers and life in Key West. It is incredible to see the rare color stone lithographic advertising art and it has shinned a new light on Florida and how it influenced the tobacco market and the market created for cigars. I loved it and await any more of its kind. It took you back to the old Key West and its legacy.
A+++

This book was excellent. Full of detailed history on the devlopment of Key West and the introduction of the cigar industry to the United States. It explains the movement of some the popular and barely remembered names in cigars, Such as Gato and Ybor. Great conversation piece!

I found this to be the ultimate way to "eat" my way up and down the Florida Keys. Then to be able to take the flavors with me and prepare them at home is a real treat.

This is an awesome cookbook! If you are interested in adding fish to your diet in unique ways, this cookbook is a must-have! There are also tons of other recipes, including a whole chapter devoted to key limes, and the recipes are well written and easy to follow. I have eaten at Marker 88,home of one of the featured chefs in the book, and the recipe for Andre's Snapper Rangoon is to die for! I find the recipes very innovative and delicious!

The Florida Keys is not just a wacky destination for tourists in love with the escapist concept of Margaritaville! Love Dean's book gives us the real Keys - an authentic, unique, fragile place with a history. Tired of Disneyesque Florida? Dive into this book.

This book illustrates and narrates the fascinating history of the lighthouses of the Florida Keys. It should be of interest to divers and mariners and all others who see these wonderfully evocative landmarks.

The book consists of many vignettes on real people who live, or have lived in Key West.

Each story touched my heart, made me laugh and sometimes cry.

June Keith is a powerful writer on the human condition. Simple, truthful, and to the point. Each story makes you think and reflect.

I also read Postcards From Paradise, in anticipation of my trip to Key West. The book, made me feel comfortable in a place I've never been before.

June Keith feels like an old friend, even though We've never met.

I half expected to meet her, and the many people she wrote about so eloquently in these two fine books. The photographs really made the stories come alive for me.

Solares Hill Newspaper 12/25/98 By Rosalind Brackenbury

June Keith's new book is a deceptively easy read. While you're being royally entertained by anecdotes, gossip and chat about Key West, what's really happening is that June Keith is sharing her own attitudes to life, which are extraordinarily kind, tolerant and intelligently liberal. More Postcards From Paradise is much more about the people who have lived and died here since the early seventies than it is about the tourist tattiness for which Key West has recently become known. If Paradise is a place that contains all of life, not some idealized destination, then Paradise is Key West. And June Keith is the perfect guide to it, because she committed herself to the place instead of just passing through; she lived and worked here as a waitress and a go-go dancer before she became a published writer, married a Conch and raised a son and made many friends. She came here in 1974 and like several other women I know (and like Goldie Hawn's character in Criss-Cross) found that topless dancing -may not be the most wonderful job in the world, but it sure beats hitting the road back to the mainland.' She has since put down her roots here, '-as one who doesn't leave.' She's also one who does not abandon people when they get sick, who puts in her word against prejudice of all sorts. The evidence of faithful friendships with old, young, black, white, gay, straight, living, dying people runs through these pages and was for me the most striking aspect of the book. It isn't written as a memoir or autobiography, but when you've read it you truly know this warm-hearted, principled and funny woman who has been entertaining you for 255 pages with her unpretentious snippets of Key West life. The wit and toughness, as well as the optimism of this book, show Keith as a survivor; but the lightness of tone doesn't quite conceal the fact that the road less traveled has at times been a hard one. Buy this book for friends, family and out-of-town visitors. It's impossible not to enjoy it.

This book is a must have for anyone interested in native trees of south florida.

This book is truly a classic and a must-have for anyone interested in identifying and enjoying the trees and shrubs of the Keys. This wonderful guide was written and photographed by a brilliant and engaging naturalist who first saw the Florida Keys in the early 1900's from the caboose of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad train. For more than 50 years Paul Scurlock studied the flora of the Keys and condensed his work into this colorful, easy-to-read and use field guide. Paul Scurlock was a classic old-school naturalist and this book is a fitting testament to his work.

Hopefully we will continue to hear from The Key West Co-op. These insightful writers capture the essence of what is wacky and wonderful about Key West.

I am one the the group of 12 who cooperatively wrote and published this book of south Florida short stories. Living in what some call "paradise" produces a unique life experience which we want to share with those living more traditional lifestyles. You'll enjoy a tropical getaway with each story. Read them slowly, they'll last a long time in your memory.

Well worth the wait. Exceptional chronicle about the Florida East Coast Railway. This book is a must have for anybody interested in the Florida East Coast Railway or Florida History in general. Commendations are in order for Seth Bramson for his relentless efforts in producing this book.

I would love to reveiw his latest book but i am still waiting for it to arrive. If it is anything like the original it will be the definitive book on the FEC. The few copies of the original you can still find have appreciated in value to the point these should be bought as an investment. It is possible his passion for this railroad was only exceeded by the old man himself. I am speaking of Flagler who pushed the line all the way to Key West and lived just long enough to see it thru. Whether or not you have any interest in the Florida East Coast Railway when you start this book, you certainly will by the time you finish as his passion is contaigious. Best of luck with your latest edition Mr. Bramson!...

I was in Key West Florida a few times. I found this calendar among many to be the most informative, useful and well designed. I had bought two calendars - one for myself as a souvenir and one for my daughter as a gift - she loved it. This is more than just a calendar - it's an information source, a guide and a collectable item. A very beautiful gift that I may buy more of for friends and familly in the near future.

Normally I read mostly history, not fiction. This book however caught my eye for a few of reasons. Firstly, as I have already mentioned, I like history. I also have a great interest in the Naval Academy and have always been interested in Key West.

While I don't usually read fiction, I have to say this one was exceptional. It has helped open my eyes to the fact that you can learn by reading fictional accounts.