Likely to raise hackles among Democrats and Republicans alike, this dynamic history of modern Florida argues that the Sunshine State has become the political and demographic future of the nation. David Colburn reveals how Florida gradually abandoned the traditions of race and personality that linked it to the Democratic Party. The book focuses particularly on the population growth and chaotic gubernatorial politics that altered the state from 1940, when it was a sleepy impoverished southern outpost, to the present and the emergence of a dominant Republican Party.

David R. Colburn (1942-2019) served in many roles at the University of Florida, including as provost and senior vice president, professor of history, and director of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. He is the author of Florida's Megatrends, Second Edition: Critical Issues in Florida and Government in the Sunshine State: Florida Since Statehood.