Backroads of Paradise
A Journey to Rediscover Old Florida

While well-written and certainly unique, this book wasn’t what I was hoping for when I picked it up. Ironically the one city I was looking to read about for research (Dade City) wasn’t mentioned at all, which was such a bummer because it seems as if the author passed through every other Florida town......more

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Having lived and explored Florida for most of my life, it was fun to read the author’s take on things as she traveled over 5,000 miles of backroads of our great state. I took many notes of places I want to visit or things I’d like to one day see.......more

Cathy Salustri takes readers along with her on this “Journey to Rediscover Old Florida,” providing a real education even for someone who has lived in the state for over forty years. Following the main roads through the state, she criss-crosses the well-known and not so known sites available for visi......more

I’m a big fan of “road trip” travel books, and this one was pretty good. The author traveled the routes through Florida described in the WPA writers’ project description of the state, highlighting the older (and in her opinion better) features, with a lot of interesting history and politics thrown i......more

Cathy and her friend traveled around Florida camping, kayaking, and eating. She had an old Federal Writers Project book from the 1930s, and she tried to revisit and update the locations. It was interesting, but I think it could have been better organized to serve as a modern guide.......more