Death in the Everglades: The Murder of Guy Bradley, America's First Martyr to Environmentalism

By Stuart B. McIver

Book Overview

"Guy Bradley's colorful life and violent death have always seemed the stuff of myth. . . . Death in the Everglades is both compelling history and a heart-tugging drama."--Audubon

"An eye-opening, informative account of the rise and demise of the cruel plume hunting trade and of Guy Bradley's heroic dedication to protect a beautiful and valuable natural resource: the egrets and flamingoes, roseate spoonbills and herons that still grace the Glades and our shorelines."--Miami Herald

"Rescues from obscurity a key chapter in the history of American environmentalism. . . . With great finesse, McIver evokes Bradley's tumultuous world, chronicles the pitched battle to save wild birds, and resurrects a true folk hero."--Booklist

"Reminds us that Glades once was so wild that armed men quaked with fear."--St. Petersburg Times

Guy Bradley, born in Chicago in 1870, was killed in 1905 only three years into his tenure as game warden in a south Florida that was still very much a frontier. His murderer, never prosecuted, was a one-eyed former Civil War sharpshooter who made his living supplying exotic plumage for women's hats. At the time, an ounce of feathers was worth more than an ounce of gold. Bradley's death sent shock waves across America and helped give impetus to the burgeoning environmental movement.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813034426
• ISBN13: 9780813034423
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Great book

The story of Guy Bradley was one I was told by a ranger in the Everglades when I was about 11 or 12. How everything fell into place was something I had always wondered about. This book gives a lot of great history of south Florida. Being one of a rare breed I was born and raised in Central Florida so I find it somewhat of a treat to find books like this. BUY IT, YOU WILL LIKE IT!

AN ENTERTAINING AND WELL-WRITTEN BOOK

I have read Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, An Illustrated History by Mr. McIver and thought that was a great book. But his newest one is even better! It is a fascinating story not only about the struggle between Walter Smith and Guy Bradley, but also about the plume trade and its major players, the Audubon Society's foundations, important people in South Florida's history who had their hands in the plume trade, and just interesting stories about "the way things were" in the late 1800s early 1900s.He interviewed several significant historical people and their descendents, mostly in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when he originally attempted to write this book. 25 years later, he has created a masterpiece. He has obtained an amazing amount of research information, and the reader will be very happy he spent time to read it.