It is astonishing that this book is so little known. Here is a memoir which records Hemingway's insights on writing as given to his only pupil, a young writer/hobo who shows up one day at Hemingway's Key West house hoping for a few words of advice. "He left me with that damned marvelous feeling you can have only once in a lifetime if you are a young man who wants to become a writer and you have just met the man you admire as the greatest writer alive and you know instinctively that he is already your friend." Impulsively Hemingway hires the twenty-two-year-old "tramp" to guard his new boat, the Pilar. Samuelson carefully records Hemingway's thoughts on writing (including a "mandatory" reading list for the young, aspiring writer). Not only does the book illuminate Hemingway, his life, his fishing, his family and his work, but it also tells the story of a fascinating individual who spent a year with him.

With its genuine classic "old style" of writing, this book will take and place you into the center of a wonderful journey of youth and growth. A great book and an interestingly easy read for those moments when catapulting yourself into another life, time and location is just what you need. I highly reccomend it, and don't forget to share this one with the younger generation in your homes!

This is an excellent bok that you will never want to stop reading! It is about two gangs, the Sharks and the Jets. The Jets are Americans and the Sharks are Puerto Ricans. This novel takes place in New York City. Both of the gangs attend a commuity dance to plan a fight, and Tony, an American that used to lead the Jets, falls in love with Maria, a Puerto Rican. Maria's brother is Bernardo, who is the head of the Sharks and despises Tony. How will they solve this? This book is basically a modern version of Romeo and Juliet with changes in characters, and it is definitely something that you should read!

West Side Story by Irving Shulman is an excellent book about two rival street gangs in New York City. The Jets are the white gang; the Sharks are the Puerto Ricans. Barnardo, the leader of the Sharks, has a younger sister named Maria. Problems arise when Maria falls in love with Tony, a member of the Jets. I've seen the movie and read the book. I love them both.

Personally I think that this is proboly the best book I have ever read. This Story tells a tale based on a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Although the story is based on the dramatic story Romeo and Juliet, I find A West Side Story well writen and very touching. The book is set in New York City, and tells how two rival gangs (the Jets, and Sharks). The 2 gangs are fighting over a section of the city. When one member of the Sharks finds love in one of the Jets' sister, the Jet gets very angry. In a street fight the Shark kills his lovers' brother, the shark retreats to a local hide out. later that night the Shark is gunned down by a rival gang member. In the end the 2 gans realize that there is no reason to fight. I love the book.

RE: RECORDED BOOKS AUDIO VERSION. Among the quirky Key West characters are a reluctant & reflective Mafia Don, his pal "retired" heavy Bert the Shirt, a ditzy gun-moll with a heart of gold, a neurotic Jewish newspaper editor and the Shirt's aging chihuahua, Don Giovanni. They're all artfully blended in a stew of humor and suspense where its hard to tell the white hats from the black. Well worth a read.
One question: why am I the first friggin' guy to, whaddayacallit, review, this book, Knowwhaddamean?

A retired capo di tutti capi decides to leave the world his memoir before it's too late and hires a yellow sheet editor who thinks his life would be redeemed if he writes a book.

The rival clan and FBI come into play, the boss' dumb son arrives from NYC with his likable but confused bimbo to make problems for everyone - starting with himself.

It's jerks vs. decent people and these 2 categories can be found in Mafia and FBI in equal shares. After the spectacular sacrifice the good ones win and the book ends a bit prematurely.

There is a lot of smart observations, quirky characters and the language proves that author really sees the people and places he puts into his text instead of just covering the paper with typed lines.

But still I felt the tinge of disappointment. There was a lot of fuss with having to decide if writing the memoir is such a good idea, with looking for a sympathetic scribe, with FBI and the Mob getting the wind of it. And then... The project is cancelled. Leaving us to think that all that preliminaries were the excuse for introducing us to a bunch of eccentric characters going through their quirky routines with no particular direction and meaning. And then the author just lets the curtain fall when he thinks we've had enough.

Sunburn is a pleasant little affair with minor flaws, quite enjoyable, but it did not linger with me. I hope Laurence Shames was just warming up for something more memorable.

Janet Evanovich writes an extraordinary successful series of funny crime stories starring Stephanie Plum, the bounty hunter who happens to be a babe. While they should have universal appeal it seems that the publishers target them to women (..guys don't like buying pink covered books). However I can now say I found the male equivalent to Evanovich's novels: Laurence Shames novels. They are also funny, well-written stories with quirky yet likeable characters.

So what does Shames give us with 'Sunburn'? Beyond the formulaic breezy comedic crime novel with a Key West setting he delivers .. shock!.. some rather dramatic and moving stuff (, without taking it all too seriously). We have an aging crime figure who wants to dictate his life story to a sympathetic journalist. Unfortunately both the FBI and others within the Mafia have an unhealthy interest in what is being written, and an especially stupid son makes matters much, much worse. Without divulging spoilers, I simply want to say the author has structured and paced the novel beautifully. The last fifty pages are especially good, exciting.

Bottom line: much better than his introductory 'Florida Straits', 'Sunburn' has made me a fan of Laurence Shames.

Nicholas Payne is one of those quirky, independent characters that I normally love, but Payne crosses over from eccentric to obnoxious. This book was published in the early 70s when rebellious youth triumphing over pompous members of the "establishment" (to borrow from the contemporary vernacular) was a popular theme, but looking back from the 21st century, Payne seems more of a spoiled brat than an iconoclastic rebel. McGuane is a good writer with an impressive command of the language, but at times, the obscurity of his words leaves one with the impression that he writes with an open thesaurus. Still, an interesting read with some funny moments.

Complicated, challenging, endlessly entertaining and very amusing. Nick Payne is unpredictable and wild and hapless and completely his own person. The book is cinematic in a way a movie could never be, and McGuane's humor switches effortlessly between the dryest irony to outright slapstick. This is a good book by an inventive author with an impressive command of the language.

Nicholas Payne is one of the most memorable characters that's ever existed in American literature, and that goes for Huck Finn and Sal Paradise. A hilarious ride from start to finish, The Bushwhacked Piano combines side splitting humor with irony, satire, and reflection. The Bushwhacked Piano is funny, sad, and everything in between. But, most importantly, it's funny. Not many genius writers/masters of language have McGuane's keen sense of humor, which is what makes the book tick. Here's my formula for a good time:

1). Read The Bushwhacked Piano
2). Drink malt liquor
3). Talk to a pretty girl
4). Get smacked in the face, or, if you're lucky, get lucky!

Nick Payne straddles the line between jackass and heroic visionary...if we could all only be so lucky. McGuane is the best living writer in America today. Non Serviam. Read this book to increase your vocabulary and mental health.

This was a fun book for me to read. It pulled me from a serious and busy lifestyle into a place I want to go - somewhere warm and easy spiced with humor, excitment and mystery. Reaching the end of the book was like waving goodbye to old friends after a long weekend together. Now, I look forward to seeing them again.

OK, Mr. David Paule, please write something more for me to read!

If you don't like Jimmy Buffet, never had a desire to experience Key West, or think an Irish Wake can't be fun--this is the wrong book for you. D.M. Paule has done a remarkable job of recreating the whole Key West experience with some memorable characters and hilarious situations. A must-read for the Parrothead in all of us!

Great characters; great storyline; great visualization. I LOVED this book! Where's the sequel?!

HAVING LIVED in Florida all my life, the added spice of this novel being set right down the road (well a long road, I-95, at that) from me, compelled me to go out on a limb and call this one of the best examples of comedy-mystery-mob novels ever written. Joey and Sandra are so incredibly "Noo Yawk" stereotypical that it makes them believable and understandable to readers! I loved this book ever since I started reading it. In a Hiaasen-esque (one must realize the similarities between Shames and Hiaasen...just look at the covers of their books) fashion, Shames tells the story of Joey Goldman and girlfriend Sandra as they seek their promised land; Joey doesn't know how, but he plans to get rich quick in the land of "sun, surf, and sleaze."
But Joey's NYC mob background catches up with him via his half brother Gino. I'll leave the rest of the story to you (I really hate when people just give a little summary of the book, that is NOT a review.).
Filled with lovable characters like Bert The Shirt and Zack, there just aren't enough words of praise to give it. You'll laugh out loud but you can really feel the things these people are going through.
I'm sure this probably isn't one of my better reviews, but this book puts me at quite a loss for words; on one hand funny, on the other poignant, but one word will describe it---excellent! 5 Stars.

I must have bought this book three separate times. I have to keep it on my shelves. It remains one of my favorites -- and my husband's too.

As crime fiction writers go, Laurence Shames is in a league of his own. FLORIDA STRAITS pulses with humanity (John Steinbeck meets Elmore Leonard?) His characters are caught up in bigger-than-life situations, but they're all real people. The humor is real. Words like 'farcical' and 'romp' don't apply.

If you're new to Laurence Shames, I suggest you start here. I think it's his best. Mangrove Squeeze, I'm sorry to say, I couldn't finish. The Naked Detective, I haven't read yet. The others, great, but this one outshines them.

I love this book.

The publisher that releasd FLORIDA STRAITS with a paperback cover of stunning green and fluorcent orange may not have done the book a service. It implies HIAASEN! HIASSEN!

That's misleading, but not pejorative. In my opinion, in terms of literary quality, FLORIDA STRAITS, FLORIDA STRAITS ranks up there with, say, Carl Hiaasen's STRIP TEASE, Elmore Leonard's PULP FICTION* or the later Ross McDonald stuff.

But FLORIDA STRAITS has its own voice -- it is no clone; it has its own voice and is well worth reading. All are terrific, all have a voice, but and I have to emphasize.

All the literature I've mentioned above have in common the crime/humor themes of slightly loveable fish-out-of-water oddball protagonists (lead characters),** crazy character side figures, and a mix of danger, huumor and satire.

But in author Larence Shames' FLORIDA STRAITS, not all tourists are uppity jerks, not all bourgeois charcters are Ned Beatty/Ronald cynics who ratify his friends' desire to make money, (looser laws, environmental degradation, etc.) Violence and danger -- of which the strong stuff is relatively free of grisliness or obligatory humor -- nonetheless comes across in intriguing fashion. Fortunately, even though nine years old, FLORIDA STRAITS is enduring enough not to need timlines, excessive camp, or a plenitude of pop-culture refernce. It's hard to define, but the book still has lots of "oomph".

I agree with that perceptive critic whose review appears below, and here I'm praphrasing loosely, that an analogy can certainly be drawn beteen applied to Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Pulp fiction).* Hiassen, too, of course, and I would say the later Ross McDonald.

As my students say, "whatver." FLORIDA STRAITS has interestingly loopy charcters -- the lead chacter is a minor mafioso who leave Noo Yawk for Florida. It's the classic duck-out-of-water scenario: Our (anti-)hero is a skankier, far less intelligent or ethical version of clueless Oliver Wendall Douglas in that camp Sixtiessitcom, "Green Acres." That was only an analogy but the sense of culture shock makes for great humor.

So a cliche publicist might put it, "If you liked STRIP TEASE, PULP FICTION or THE DROWNING POOL, you're going to like FLORIDA STRAITS. Shoot, anyone to the left of Miss Marple should take a look at this neglected apotheosis.

WHY, oh why, has the paperback publisher (whose name ryhmes with 'bell,') N-O-T done more to publicise FLORIDA STRAITS this potential classic entry into the Cops and Crooks/Comic-Satiric/ hall of fame? Even though the book is almost nine years old, it holds up remarkably well.

A minor, (or telling) lack is the absence of even a brief author bio, despite all the praise reviews and colorfulness. This leads to bizarre speculation that the book was ghost-written by Joseph Lieberman, Fran Leibowitz, Jeb Bush or Marilyn vos Savant.

I'm just joking, but really -- a brief paragraph of bio, please.

DID SOMEONE PSEUDONMYOUSLY write FLORIDA STRAITS?? C'mon, tell us in the bio.

But do read FLORIDA STRAITS!!

* Please look at the perceptive review below, that establishes a connection betwee FLORIDA STRAITS and Elmore Leonard's work. It was that person's analogy, I agree with it, and so give due credit.

**

Delightful, off-the-wall, light entertainment. Who'd have thought a Prozac overdose could lead to such an amusing story (when I took too much, it left me anxious, wired, and paranoid)? I picked this book up in desperation, looking for some light reading ... and it was perfect--engaging enough to hold my attention, amusing enough for chuckles and the occasional belly laugh (wait 'til the "Vikings" make their appearance), off-beat enough not to be predictable--just what the doctor ordered on vacation! (Silly me, I had brought along an entire trunk full of political philosophy!) Shames' tale is less outrageous than the Hiaasen novels I've read (Sick Puppy and Stormy Weather) and a bit lighter, too. It's not as dark as an Elmore Leonard novel, either. Neither is it total mind fluff--and it's ambiguous enough to avoid a Hollywood Ending. For those suffering from situational depression, it has a not-so-subtle message: "Better chemistry through living." Break out of the life in which you're trapped and the brain chemistry may just sort itself out without the Prozac, St. John's Wort, or $100/hr therapist. Four stars for solid entertainment value. Four stars for whimsy. Four stars for daring to be just weird enough to be interesting. (If you'd like to dialogue about this review, please click on the "about me" link above and drop me an email. Thanks!)

I have currently read Tropical Depression by Laurence Shames.
This book was about a man going through a semi-stage of depression.Murray Zimmelman is going through his second divorce while contemplating suicide.Suddenly he snaps and drives 14 hours non-stop to Key West Florida where he begins a new life.He meets an indian who is fighting for his rights.Murray helps the indian get an island named after his tribe.I would suggest reading this book.

This is a hilarious book with zany characters and situations. I dare anyone to read to the Indian fishing scene without laughing out loud!

I bought this book and still refer to it whenever we're heading back to Key West. It's the most informative book on Key West and the Florida Keys I could have ever hoped to find. There are reviews of restaurants (big and small, expensive to modest), hotels, guesthouses, walking tour guides, even prices of the various accomodations and attractions. There are even juicy behind-the-scenes stories about the colorful lives of past and present Key Westers. Ms. Keith is a wealth of information and makes an extraordinary effort to share that information with the rest of the world. This is the consummate guide to Key West, and I've recommended it to everybody I know.

Definitely a 5-star Reference to The Florida Keys We were in Key West on our last day when we first encountered June Keith's book on the Keys, and immediately felt it was highly informative and accurate - we wished we had found it when we first arrived! It was evident that June Keith made significant efforts to visit or sample most if not all of the restaurants, locations, and visitors information she writes about, and to provide an objective, unbiased review of those topics. An excellent guidebook for anyone visiting, traveling, and thinking of living in the Florida Keys.

What a great guide to the Keys! We we're really pleased with restaurants we selected from the guide. Reviews were right on target. The history and background facts were fun - and informative. Hi-lighted activities were well selected. I would highly recommend this book to anyone going to Key West.

My dog-eared and heavily underlined copy of the 8th edition attests to the fact that over the course of many visits, Ms. Williams has been a reliable and marvelously opinionated guide to this quirky corner of America. This is not a conventional tourist's handbook of the type that merely rates this hotel or that restaurant with so many stars, although Williams' advice on these matters is invariably sound. It is, rather, what its title indicates: a history and guide. If you want to understand what the region is really all about, the rich cache of lore in this book will enrich your trip immensely. Key West and the other islands aren't "paradise," although they may look like it at first glance. They're more interesting than that. Their story is by turns uproarious, bizarre, sad, and disorderly. Like other Caribbean islands, the Keys (in particular the town of Key West) have experienced a historical Wild Mouse ride of booms and busts. It's a story well worth reading, and Joy Williams -- also a distinguished author of fiction -- is uniquely qualified to tell it. She also writes with special feeling and expertise about the Keys' unique ecology. As you drive down US 1 to Key West, counting down those mile markers as you go, keep this book within easy reach. It is an informative practical guide as well as a first-rate work of travel literature.

Before my last trip to the Keys, I picked up two books: this one and the Insider's Guide to the Keys. The Insider's Guide was less opinionated and had more "tourist" information but it was harder to find what you were looking for.

This book is organized is such a manner that it's very simple to find out the history of each Key as you drive down the Overseas Highway from Florida City to Key West. You'll read about the attractions, the places to stay and the restaurants Key by Key. That's very helpful. There's no flipping from chapter to chapter just to find out about the attractions in one place, dining in another, water activities in yet another place and accomodations elsewhere.

I also liked the opinions that the author expressed. For example, her takes on the Conch Tour Train, the Little White House, Mallory Square and the Key West Aquarium were right in line with our experiences. We happily skipped some other attractions based on this book and we don't believe we missed out on a thing.

If anything, there are some interesting things we saw in the Keys that weren't touched upon in this guidebook. How could the author leave out Robbie's Marina where for $1 you can "SEE the Tarpon" and for an additional $2 you can "FEED the Tarpon"? This "attraction" was mentioned to me at least a dozen times by various people I talked to, including a stranger at the post office in Virginia!

I really enjoyed this guidebook and only wish that it was even more comprehensive.

This book is a well written book first, funny, insightful and at times critical, and then its a guide book. If you only take one book to the Keys take this! You'll learn more about this fascinating part of the world than you could imagine, history, geography, flaura and fauna - but most of all people - from the lawyer, counsellor B who jumped off the tower of the Holiday Inn in Key West, and henceforth remembered as No Bungee B to the many writers who have lived there: Hemingway, tennessee Williams, etc. Its my all time favourite:- and I live in England!!