I loved reading Suncoast Empire: Bertha Honore Palmer, Her Family, and the Rise of Sarasota by Frank A. Cassell. I have a substantial bias as I spent much of my childhood in Sarasota and still live near the beautiful city. Though I’ve been in the area all my life, I found much history that I never knew prior to reading Suncoast Empire.

Frank A. Cassell, author of Suncoast Empire, is a retired professor and the narrative demonstrates his skill in conveying detailed historical information while interesting the reader/audience. My favorite part of the book was the biography of Bertha Palmer. This portion occupied substantial page space but felt just right for the book – not too long, not too short.

Following the biography, Suncoast Empire focuses mainly on the last few years of Bertha’s life and explores how her presence and business affected the small community of 1910’s Sarasota. Given her age and the short years she had in Sarasota, her accomplishments amazed me. Over 100 years later, Sarasota is greatly changed from Bertha’s time, but her imprints are still here in the streets named after her family, the areas of the county that she labeled, and the reputation she promoted of Sarasota as a beautiful, tropical playground for the wealthy. ( )