Castles in the Sand: The Life and Times of Carl Graham Fisher (Florida History and Culture): MARK S. FOSTER
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Although Fisher’s legacy looms large on the American landscape, he as a person remains a historical footnote. He made a fortune in Indiana during the first decade of the 1900s as one of the first manufacturers of automobile headlights. He helped build the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and prodded the construction of both the Lincoln and Dixie highways. Fisher’s grandest scheme, though, transformed Miami Beach into a luxury resort from a swampy island anchored by mangroves in 1913. But a hurricane wiped out much of what he had built in 1926, and he lost most of his fortune in the stock market crash of 1929; he died 10 years later. Jane Fisher, his much younger first wife, to whom he had remained close, wrote a loving, laudatory biography, Fabulous Hoosier (1947). Now Foster, a history professor who has written several books highlighting the role of transportation in American culture, does an excellent and thorough job of summing up, spotlighting Fisher’s achievements and filling in the details of his personal life. David Rouse
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Review
“An insightful study of a path breaking entrepreneur. Should remain the definitive study of ‘Mr. Miami Beach’ for years to come. Engaging and superbly written, it will be of interest to scholars of leisure, tourism, and Florida history.”