Books

Nightstand

By Piper Jones Castillo
Published March 11, 2007

Clyde Butcher's stunning black-and-white photos of Florida wilderness have earned him countless accolades. We called him at his home in Big Cypress National Preserve.

Q: What's on your nightstand?

I recently read Michael Grunwald's book on the Everglades (The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise) and Charles Mann's 1491.

Which would you recommend?

Grunwald did a lot of good research. Charles Mann's writing is both interesting and a bit disturbing. I didn't realize that the Indians in the Americas were much more civilized than the Europeans. And, the Indians' weapons were more powerful . . . The diseases brought over by the Europeans defeated them.

Do you enjoy any novelists?

I read Randy Wayne White. And, of course, I enjoy Carl Hiaasen. I believe he captures the true essence of Florida.

Piper Jones Castillo, Times staff writer

[Last modified March 8, 2007, 12:33:09]