This is one history book you will not want to put down. Les Staniford has done a wonderful job of giving us a brief background on Henry Flagler and his drive to tame Florida. Mr. Flagler was the partner of John D. Rockefeller and instrumental in the formation and success of the Standard Oil Company. This driven self-made man after a very successful career of hard work did not go off to enjoy the fruits of his labors in retirement. Instead he started a second career in as a railroad man, luxury hotelier and land developer. And he did all this in a wilderness no one wanted to go too or thought could be used.

Living on both the East Coast of Florida and Lower Matecumbe Key I knew quite a lot about the railroad that Mr. Flagler built over the ocean and the famous Breakers Hotel. I use too love looking at the parts of the railroad that still stood over the water and paralleled the road that now goes to key west. Of course some of the railway was actually used to build some bridges for the highway. All who live here know of the great effort needed to build this over ocean railroad and of the horrible disaster that befell its work crew. But Standiford introduced me to new material I was not aware of and very pleased to learn.

The high standards and drive that we learn about in this book showed Mr. Flagler in a different light. Work was his life, but instead of just making money as he did with Standard Oil, with the Florida East Coast Railway he founded and was a driving force in building a State. I was not aware of the number of our famous cities that he caused to be developed that thrive to this day.

The author entices us into watching the drive of this man as he carves out a railroad line and cities where none existed and no one would ever consider going. We even get to read where Hemingway becomes part of the railroad history at its end. This nonfiction account of the construction of the railroad that would span 150 miles of ocean and terminate in Key West will be very hard to put down. So be prepared to read the entire book! ( )

This is the best single-volume account of two epic events. The first was the building of the Overseas Railway that connected the Florida Keys to the mainland. Finished in 1912, it was the final effort from Standard Oil and Florida East Coast Railroad magnate Henry Flagler. The second was the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 that destroyed the railroad and killed more than 400 people in the Keys, many of them destitute World War I veterans who were working on a highway parallel to the railroad. The consequences and visible after-effects of both events are still visible today in the Keys. It's quite a tale and one Standiford tells very well and with admirable economy. ( )

In January 1912 it was hailed as the "eighth wonder of the world", the Florida East Coast Railroad linking New York to Miami and more amazingly Miami to Key West crossing more than 136 miles of open water. The rise and fall of this great engineering achievement can be attributed to one visionary, Henry Flager. Known to most historians as the founder of Florida and Rockefeller’s partner in the Founding of Standard Oil, Flager was found of saying that he's be the richest man in world "if it hadn't been for Florida" and his dream of creating a railroad across the ocean to Key West. An amazing story full chronicling the challenges (the 7-mile bridge, hurricanes) faced with building such magnificent achievement. In the end the 1935 "storm of all storms" would prove too great an obstacle for this great masterpiece to withstand. ( )