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Available at Bookstores or Order Below**
“Green
Empire is the
Best Environmental and Corporate History Book of 2004.
“It
is a solid work that exposes sunshine to the Sunshine State and is a must
read for all environmental activists and good citizens.”
-- MaximsNews.com
Green Empire:
The St. Joe Company and the Remaking of the Florida’s Panhandle
by Kathryn Ziewitz and June Wiaz
Kathryn Ziewitz is an environmental writer whose work has appeared in Sierra, Florida Naturalist, and High County News. She has served as director of the St. Andrews Project, a grassroots effort to revitalize a waterfront community in Panama City. She is currently a high school teacher in Bay County, Florida. KathrynZiewitz@MaximsNews.com
June Wiaz is a freelance investigative journalist who has worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Governors' Association, and for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her recent writing also includes chapters in The Book of the Everglades, and Between Two Rivers. JuneWiaz@MaximsNews.com
Since the Great Depression, the St. Joe Company (formerly the St.
Joe Paper Company) has been Florida's largest landowner; it is a forestry
and transportation conglomerate with great influence.
The company owns nearly one million acres, mainly in northwestern Florida, where
undeveloped coastal and riverside landscapes include some of the state's most
scenic and ecologically diverse areas.
For years, the company grew trees, turned them into paper, and managed other
businesses. In the late 1990s, it shifted directions: sold its paper mill,
changed its name, and began to turn its natural-resource assets into greater
profits.
Today the St. Joe Company is a powerful force in Florida, with access to
the most influential people in government.
Poised to reshape the rural Panhandle, the company has the potential to
permanently and drastically alter the landscape, environment, and economic
foundation of the entire region.
Green Empire is
based on hundreds of sources--including company executives, board members,
investors and outside observers; it is a factual and balanced history of the
company from the days of its founders to its present-day heirs.
For those concerned with land-use and growth management, as well as Florida's
fragile wildlife and natural resources, this book makes many important
revelations.
o Learn how the St. Joe Company's founders amassed nearly one
million acres of Florida land at bargain basement prices.
o See the company's ambitious plans for the Panhandle, with more than 30
projects underway.
o Read about the colorful figures in the company's past, including Alfred
duPont, Jessie Ball duPont, and Ed Ball.
o Understand the views and actions of powerful individuals involved in the
company today, including CEO Peter Rummell and Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
o See how taxpayer dollars are being spent to build costly infrastructure
improvements made-to-order for St. Joe's master plans.
“St. Joe’s ‘For Sale’ sign on the Panhandle has challenged its citizens to form a new vision for the region’s future, and to campaign for it against the odds in the cases where it clashes with St. Joe’s corporate vision.
"The alternative is a tacit acceptance of St. Joe’s master plan for Florida’s Great Northwest, a vision firmly rooted in dollars.
"For
citizens fiercely committed to protecting the region they love, preserving its
authentic character and quality of life is a difficult but attainable goal.” P.
315.
Green Empire
is the Best Environmental and Corporate History Book of 2004. It is a solid work
that exposes sunshine to the Sunshine State and is a must read for
all environmental activists and good citizens. -- MaximsNews.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
St. Petersburg Times, March 2004
"...a fascinating saga of some of Florida's most
powerful financial and political players of the last century and today. People
with names like Alfred duPont, Ed Ball and Jeb Bush."
Tallahassee Democrat, June 2004
"Green Empire serves as a guidebook
and compelling call to citizens and government to monitor the dramatic changes St.
Joe is imposing on the landscape."
H-Net, May 2004
"A thought-provoking look at an unfolding chapter
in the history of a state and country."
Northwest
Florida Daily News
"By putting a 'For Sale' sign on the panhandle, they write that St. Joe
has challenged citizens to create their own vision for the region or else accept
company plans 'firmly rooted in dollars'."
Anniston
(Alabama) Star, May 2004
"Seldom has a company’s history been laid out so succinctly or so well.
And with the stage set the authors carefully unfold a tale of how St. Joe
Paper Company, the cash cow that was supposed to underwrite the charitable
work of the duPont Trust, evolved (or was evolved) into the St. Joe
Company, a land developer giant that, as the subtitle so accurately puts it,
is 'remaking the Florida Panhandle.'"
The
Bloomsbury Review
Green Empire has implications far beyond Florida's panhandle. The book reminds us that throughout much of America, and especially in the rural American West, the fates of open landscapes are intricately tied to the missions of the people and corporations that own the land.
E-Streams,
August 2004
"Does not whitewash over the reasons the company
is controversial today, and yet it does not read as a diatribe."
Apalachee
Tortoise, August 2004
"This is a book to read twice, once in controlled
indignation over the fact that any company should hold sway over so vast a
region, and a second time -- pen in hand -- with an eye on the future and our
many battles ahead..."
New
Leaf Market Newsletter, September/October 2004
"If you would like to read an excellent account of
the growth that has already occurred and is likely to continue in the Florida
Panhandle, I highly recommend reading Green Empire... The book is
the result of an extensive and impressive amount of research..."
WhoseFlorida.com
Since the Great Depression, the St. Joe Company (formerly the St. Joe
Paper Company) has been Florida's largest landowner, a forestry and
transportation conglomerate whose influence has been commensurate with its
holdings. The company owns nearly one million acres, mainly in northwestern
Florida, where undeveloped coastal and riverside landscapes boast some of the
state's most scenic and ecologically diverse areas.
More
Reviews:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Green Empire: The St. Joe Company and the Remaking of the Florida’s Panhandle, by Kathryn Ziewitz and June Wiaz. [University Press of Florida,
ISBN 0-8130-2697-0] www.greenempirebook.com
**Available in Local Bookstores or Order from:
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