Anna Maria Island

Images of America: Florida

by Bonner Joy

Anna Maria Island was once inhabited by Native Americans, but as the beauty became known to its first homesteader, George L. Bean, the island's destiny was to be a beacon to paradise.
In spite of mangrove forests and throngs of mosquitoes, people came by boat to enjoy the white sand beaches and the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico, with their cool onshore breezes and blazing sunsets. The Islander newspaper of the 1950s heralded, "Where life is good and the fishing is great." Anglers came from afar to test their skills against tarpon, the world's greatest game fish, and to hunt goliath grouper in the depths of Tampa Bay. Two modern bridges connected the island to the mainland in 1957, and with that the seven-mile-long island was on its way to becoming the jewel of Manatee County.

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 11, 2016

Reviews

[Franki · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a thoughtful, well-written portrayal of Anna Maria Island, keep looking. This book is a self-indulgent, poorly edited mess that reads more like a long, rambling Facebook post than an actual piece of literature. The writing is lazy, the anecdotes are stale, and the tone makes it painfully clear the author thinks their perspective is the only one that matters. There are so many wonderful voices and stories on Anna Maria Island, this book isn’t one of them. Do yourself (and your bookshelf) a favor and skip it. This book is proof that not everyone with a keyboard deserves an audience.