Manatee Insanity

“The best available, most factual account of the decades-long struggle to protect the Florida manatee, skillfully told by a veteran journalist who has followed the story closely. I’ve been involved in this controversy for over 30 years, and I learned countless things about it that I never knew!”—Daryl Domning, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

“The Florida legislature gave the manatee its own license plate, and Jimmy Buffet sang poetic lyrics about the iconic creature, but Craig Pittman offers a whole new perspective—the manatee as battleground. With a cast of characters including environmentalists and biologists, developers and boaters, lawyers and lobbyists, politicians and shady citizens, Manatee Insanity is a colorful work of non-fiction.”—Keith Rizzardi, South Florida Water Management District

“Manatee Insanity lives up to its name. . . . A fascinating look beyond the headlines.”—Bay Soundings

“An important book. . . . Enjoyable to read. . . . Much more than a description of the struggle over the survival of the manatee. It is a depiction of a much larger struggle—one for the very soul of the place we call Florida.”—H-Net

“Superbly researched, highly readable, and thought-provoking.”—Environmental History

“A wonderfully written book about a wide range of issues affecting the Florida manatee.”—Choice

“A thorough, enjoyable, and moving study of the myriad players involved in the fate of Florida’s gentle manatees.”—Florida Historical Quarterly

“Pittman . . . takes on powerboat owners, policy makers and environmentalists to tell the sea cow’s story.”—SEJournal