For more than a decade, 'Ecosystems of Florida' has become the standard by which all other books on Florida's unique ecology are judged. The flora, fauna, soil, climate, and hydrological characteristics of all of Floridas ecosystems are explained in exhaustive yet accessible detail. The book also has general information about the soil, climate, and geological history of Florida that helps the reader explore the ecosytem chapters with a broader understanding of the ecology of the state as a whole. Concluding chapters tie in the influence of people to the history of Florida's ecology and explain the role people will take in shaping or breaking Florida's natural areas in the future. This book has become more than a reference to me. It presents a very complex set of information in a clear, easily-read, and entertaining format that makes it hard to put down.