DURING HIGH SCHOOL, I had an English teacher who often said, “If you believe that, I have swampland in Florida for sale.” Most of his students ignored the phrase — we were in the snow-addled hills of Massachusetts. But after living in Florida for 20 years and reading Jason Vuic’s newest book, The Swamp Peddlers: How Lot Sellers, Land Scammers, and Retirees Built Modern Florida and Transformed the American Dream, the saying sinks in with different weight.
Vuic’s exhaustive examination reveals how the development of Southwest Florida became a marketing scam that robbed citizens of their savings and destroyed lives, the ecosystem, and the souls of the developers themselves. He weaves historical fact, shocking quotes, and cultural insights into the story with expert clarity. The linear narrative follows Florida’s development as if it were the historical biography of an American cultural icon and exposes the…
