In Danny Wuerffel’s Tales from the Gator Swamp, the most beloved and decorated player in Florida history takes you behind the scenes and into the locker room for one of the greatest eras in the annals of college football. Wuerffel, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, is retired from the NFL now and has finally had the time to look back, reminisce, and share his thoughts about that magical time when he was referred to by some as “the greatest passer to ever play college football.” Danny gives his many fans a first-time reflection into a variety of topics, including his relationship to Steve Spurrier, his rivalry with Peyton Manning and how his strong Christian beliefs shaped his football career. Along with award-winning sports columnist and coauthor Mike Bianchi, Danny replays the big games from each of his four magnificent seasons. He talks about the quarterback controversies and quandaries. He discusses faith and football. He compares Spurrier and Bobby Bowden. And he takes you on glorious trip that starts with a recruiting visit to Gainesville and culminates with an incredible national championship victory of Florida State in New Orleans.

Florida's famous swamps--from the Everglades to Mosquito Lagoon to Tate's Hell--serve as fitting backdrops for these chilling original stories. Maybe it's because they are often wet, shadowy places of wild beauty where few people dare to penetrate. They are havens for snakes, alligators, black bears, wildcats, and who knows what. People on the run have often hidden in swamps, while others have gotten lost in the watery expanses; the swamp can be a refuge or a nightmare. Mysterious things just happen in swamps. Maybe it's because they are often wet, shadowy places of wild beauty where few people dare to penetrate. They are havens for snakes, alligators, black bears, wildcats, and who knows what. People on the run have often hidden in swamps, while others have gotten lost in the watery expanses; the swamp can be a refuge or a nightmare. Where else can you find a ghost baby, or an angry specter, or a lost soul? How about a ghost who is obsessed with the ghost orchid, or an alluring snake woman? Throw in a skunk ape or two and you've got the ingredients for many entertaining hours sharing these stories around a campfire or reading them to yourself or out loud. From the Author's Notes at the end of each story, you can learn a thing or two about Florida's swamps, creatures, and history, along with storytelling tips. Florida is rich in history, natural beauty, and ecological and cultural diversity. To protect what is special about our state it is important to educate the people who live here and our visitors. In this unique book you'll find tales of mystery and intrigue interwoven with important facts and lessons of natural history. Who but a naturalist can really scare you about what lurks in the swamp? Doug Alderson has been there and knows. In writing tales for this book, Doug Alderson drew upon many years of entertaining young people as a summer camp counselor and storyteller, and also from decades as a swamp explorer. He is a former associate editor of Florida Wildlife magazine. To learn more about his writing and photography, check out his website at www.dougalderson.net.

Florida's famous swamps—from the Everglades to Mosquito Lagoon to Tate's Hell—serve as fitting backdrops for these chilling original stories. Maybe it's because they are often wet, shadowy places of wild beauty where few people dare to penetrate. They are havens for snakes, alligators, black bears, wildcats, and who knows what. People on the run have often hidden in swamps, while others have gotten lost in the watery expanses; the swamp can be a refuge or a nightmare. Mysterious things just happen in swamps. Maybe it's because they are often wet, shadowy places of wild beauty where few people dare to penetrate. They are havens for snakes, alligators, black bears, wildcats, and who knows what. People on the run have often hidden in swamps, while others have gotten lost in the watery expanses; the swamp can be a refuge or a nightmare. Where else can you find a ghost baby, or an angry specter, or a lost soul? How about a ghost who is obsessed with the ghost orchid, or an alluring snake woman? Throw in a skunk ape or two and you've got the ingredients for many entertaining hours sharing these stories around a campfire or reading them to yourself or out loud.

LSU football, a program steeped in tradition, where the fan really does come from the word fanatic, has a rich history, from winning the 1958 national championship to a tremendous surge in the 1980s to its current place as a program back among the nation's elite. Award-winning sportswriter and Baton Rouge television personality Lee Feinswog captures the Louisiana flavor and why they say "There's nothing like Saturday night in Tiger Stadium," with a book filled with stories and anecdotes about football on the Bayou. From the tailgating to the loudest fans, LSU football is a culture unto itself.

This story begins in Bay City, Louisiana, at a time when everyone left the front door unlocked, and car keys remained in the car either in the visor or the floorboards. Everyone slept with the windows open because the only means of cooling was the attic fan or swamp coolers. Sweet was the air of innocence. In Swamp Water Tales, author Tarver Wooten shares a collection of stories and adventures from his life in this small town in Louisiana and the challenges of growing up as Sicilian-German in a military community, where the sentiments from the war were still fresh. He narrates stories of wandering from neighborhood to neighborhood without a care in the world during the barefoot days of summer and playing along the stretch of the Red River. This memoir offers a look at how a child grew into a teenager in a place that was home, a place where his friends were, and a place where everything he knew about life was there.

A.J. Hawk can isolate the game of his life, the 2006 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame, not because of individual statistics, but because of what the game represented. "I think the fact that it was the end of an amazing four years-four big bowl wins; three Michigan wins; lots of victories in those four years; and an amazing group of teammates and coaches is why it felt like the game of my life," Hawk said.Jan White has a different reason for the game of his life: He scored his first touchdown as a Buckeye, playing a position he didn't want to necessarily play. "It became a footrace I was determined to win," White says of his 72-yard reception from Rex Kern against Northwestern in 1968. "It was incredible. The only chance there was of me not scoring on that play was if I had fallen down. I had enough confidence in my speed-I was a state record-holder in track in high school-but you just never know."Whoever they are and whatever the reason, there always is "the" game in a player's memory bank. The folks, whose stories are chronicled in Game of My Life: Memorable Stories of Ohio State Football, are a compendium of the shy, gregarious, polite, reverent, modest, and honest. They tell you why a certain game was the best, providing the detail, the color, and the emotion that only a player can share.Football fans, most especially those card-carrying members of Buckeye Nation, will be enlightened and entertained by these stories. Buckeye greats such as Archie Griffin, Cris Carter, Mike Lanese, and Bob Hoying relive their legendary moments-from the sidelines to the huddle, from the depths of impending defeat to the pinnacle of glory. It just doesn't get any better.

First Published in 2005. In 19th century plantation literature, the runaway slave in the swamp was a recurring bogey-man whose presence challenged myths of the plantation system. By escaping to the swamps with its wild and threatening connotations, the runaway gained an invisibility that was more threatening to the institution than open rebellion. In part, the proslavery plantation novel served to transform that image of the free slave in the swamp from its untouchable, abstract state to a form that could be possessed, understood, and controlled. Essentially, writers defending the institution would conjure forth the rebellious image in order to dispel it safely.