The Swamp Audiobook By Michael Grunwald cover art

The Swamp

The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise

 Preview

$0.00 for first 30 days

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Swamp

By: Michael Grunwald
Narrated by: Adam Verner
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.34

Buy for $19.34

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

The Everglades was America's last frontier, a wild country long after the West was won. In this book Michael Grunwald chronicles how a series of visionaries tried to drain and "reclaim" it and how Mother Nature refused to bend to their will; in the most harrowing tale, a 1928 hurricane drowned 2,500 people in the Everglades. But the Army Corps of Engineers finally tamed the beast with levees and canals, converting half the Everglades into sprawling suburbs and sugar plantations. And though the Southern Everglades was preserved as a national park, it soon deteriorated into an ecological mess. The River of Grass stopped flowing, and 90 percent of its wading birds vanished.

Now America wants its swamp back. Grunwald shows how a new breed of visionaries transformed Everglades politics, producing the $8 billion rescue plan. That plan is already the blueprint for a new worldwide era of ecosystem restoration. And The Swamp is a cautionary tale for that era. Through gripping narrative and dogged reporting, Grunwald shows how the Everglades is still threatened by the same hubris, greed, and well-intentioned folly that led to its decline.

©2006 Michael Grunwald (P)2016 Tantor Americas Conservation Environment Natural Resources Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science State & Local United States

Critic reviews

"Grunwald brings the zeal of his profession - and the skill that won him a Society of Environmental Journalists Award in 2003 - to this enthralling story." ( Publishers Weekly)
Comprehensive History • Captivating Narrative • Perfect Voice • Environmental Insights • Rich Historical Details
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
The book was an interesting saga of my beloved backyard. From the construction of Chokoloskee island to the straightening of the Kissimmee river, this book covers the engineering battle to drain the swamp, then the political war to restore it.

Great piece of south Florida history

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Let’s save Florida!!!
I hope the panther population can be revived, I hope we can clean up the Everglades for all to enjoy!

Florida forever

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
"The Swamp" is an excellent comprehensive history of the Everglades. However, the narration leaves much to be desired. I know that a book with a lot of Florida Native American heritage names in it can present a challenge for a narrator (Tohopekaliga, Loxahatchee, etc.), but the correct pronunciation of “Kissimmee” should not be a heavy lift. It’s not “Kissimminnee” as this narrator apparently believes.

Great Book, Bad Narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The only problem with the book is that it could have used more frequent reminders of years along the chronology (e.g.., “by 1989 ...”) Otherwise, excellent.

The narration wasn’t all that bad but for the repeated mispronunciation of Kissimmee - the guy actually adds a syllable(!), and it occurs well over a hundred times in the book. It really kills it.

Great book, bad narration ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a person who loves the Everglades and has been involved with FL politics, I found this audio to be very informative. It did dust over some occurrences, at least they were included. Todays Florida politics seems more destined to destroy "The Swamp" then it has even been.

Historical detail was on point.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is fascinating story about the history of the everglades from the time of the earliest white settlers until the early 21st century. It's meticulously researched, well-written and interesting from beginning to end. The quotation from primary sources I found particularly helpful, as they provide a window into how people thought about South Florida over the last 250 years or so. The narrator, though, has likely never been to Florida - at least he's never heard the word "Kissimmee" (pronounced, "kis-SIM-mee) before. Throughout the entire book, he pronounces it as "Kissimminnee." It's terribly distracting, especially in the latter parts of the book where restoring the Kissimmee River becomes a major theme.

Wonderful Book with Glaring Narration Problem

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a transplant to where America comes to die land, I suffered identify theft the day I got my new driver’s license. Got sued for grievous bodily harm by a registered sex offender (think twice, that gets noted on your license folks!) who backed into me at a light- by one of those personal injury lawyers you see ever 10 feet on billboards everywhere. Where billboards for abuse and trafficking services announce “she’s your daughter not your date”. Where you always have to check price discrepancies at the register in the grocery store because it will cost you ten dollars if you don’t. I began to wonder why Floridians are so special. This history of Florida provides the answer. In spades.

Absolutely fantastic insight

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
well written and well spoken. A detailed historical account of the Florida Everglades and of Florida itself.

what everyone should know about the Everglades!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I learned so much about the Everglades ecosystem and history of environmental activism. Highly recommend!

Great listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Overall this wasn’t bad, but being a Florida native of nearly half a century, I can’t help but cringe every time the narrator added a syllable to “Kissimmee”

KISSIMMEE, not “Kissiminnee. Once or twice, okay, but dozens upon dozens? It makes for a difficult listen. That said, the parts he DID get right were very well done.

Narrators usually know how to read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews