Shel Silverstein’s Key West House and the Banyan That Fell on It
In 2017 Hurricane Irma dropped a banyan tree on the Key West house where the author of The Giving Tree had lived and died. It was rebuilt as a replica.
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Turtle in Paradise: A Depression-Era Key West Adventure
Sent to live with relatives in Depression-era Key West, a tough young girl finds a world of barefoot cousins, buried treasure, and Conch family secrets in this Newbery Honor novel.
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Ninety-Two in the Shade: The Key West Novel That Burns as Hot as the Title
Thomas McGuane’s 1973 National Book Award nominee drops you into Key West’s fishing guide wars with prose so sharp it could clean a bonefish. Literary, sun-scorched, and unlike anything else set in the Florida Keys.
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Jimmy Buffett: The Key West Troubadour Who Turned a Song into a Way of Life
How a drifting songwriter found paradise in the Florida Keys and built Margaritaville into a billion-dollar celebration of island living.
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The Mallory Square Sunset Celebration: Where Key West Applauds the Sky Every Single Night
Every evening for more than 50 years, crowds have gathered at Mallory Square in Key West to watch the sunset, cheer street performers, and applaud the sky as it catches fire over the Gulf of Mexico.
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Judy Blume Forever: The Documentary About the Author Who Trusted Kids with the Truth
The Peabody Award-winning documentary Judy Blume Forever traces the beloved author’s life from kitchen-table writer to champion against book banning, including her years in Key West where she co-founded a beloved independent bookstore.
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A Salty Piece of Land: Jimmy Buffett’s Sun-Soaked Novel for Anyone Who Dreams of the Keys
Jimmy Buffett’s 2004 novel follows a cowboy on the run through Key West, Belize, and a string of fictional islands. It reads exactly the way a Buffett song feels.
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Key Lime Pie: Florida’s Official State Pie and the Tastiest Argument in the Keys
Florida’s official state pie was born in Key West in the 1890s from canned milk, egg yolks, and tiny yellow limes. The topping debate (meringue or whipped cream?) has been raging ever since.
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Last Train to Paradise: The True Story of the Railroad That Crossed the Ocean to Key West
In 1904, Henry Flagler set out to build a railroad across 153 miles of open ocean to Key West. Les Standiford’s gripping book tells the story of that audacious feat and the hurricane that destroyed it.
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Mel Fisher: The Chicken Farmer Who Found $450 Million in Sunken Treasure
An Indiana chicken farmer spent 16 years searching the ocean floor off Key West for a Spanish galleon. He lost his son, fought the Supreme Court, and finally found $450 million in gold, silver, and emeralds.
