Miami: City of the Future

by T.D. Allman

“An exuberant portrait of the city.”— New York Times Book Review “Superbly reported and deftly written.”— Business Week “An extraordinary look at an extraordinary city.”—Edward James Olmos, actor and director, Miami Vice “As entertaining and as distracting as the city itself.”— Washington Times “After reading this book, I still don’t understand what makes Miami what it is, but that’s why I love this book and that crazy town.”—Jimmy Buffett, singer and songwriter “A delightfully unbuttoned paean to ‘Babel on Biscayne Bay.’ . . . As complex, compelling, and colorful as the city it celebrates.”— Kirkus “Not only does T. D. Allman’s portrait of Miami remain, a quarter century later, as smart and funny and keenly observed as it was upon its first publication day, it is vibrantly current and astonishingly prescient. Miami resonates far beyond its immediate subject and illuminates deep truths about America’s—and, indeed, the world’s—twenty-first-century cultural and political turmoil. Not incidentally, Allman’s brilliant prose style endures as well. The book is a joy to read.”—Robert Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain With trenchant observations and witty prose, T. D. Allman takes readers on a tour of Miami’s people, cultures, politics, and neighborhoods. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition remains a classic guide to a city teeming with money, exotic cargo, illegal drugs, and immigrants from all corners of the world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

An American freelance journalist.

Reviews

[Jgknobler]

An interesting introduction to Miami history, written in the mid 1980's and therefore somewhat dated. The author is a man of strong opinions and writes with a certain feverishness that is charming but at times over-the-top. I certainly learned a great deal about the beginnings of Florida and Miami, the importance of railroads, air conditioning, "Miami Vice" and the Bay of Pigs.

[Daniel]

It's curious. The three best books about Miami were all published in 1987: this book, Didion's book, and Rieff's Going to Miami. This was the most illuminating account for me.

[Matthew Gluth]

Prose that can paint as purple as a Florida sunset, but stuffed full of telling details. Parts 1 and 2 should be required reading for all Americans. Part 3 is a historical relic.

[Kris Roberts]

Some valuable history woven throughout

[Alexandra]

first half great, got bogged down in politics a bit too much in the second half.