Denham places the Sunshine State in the mainstream by linking its criminal history to broader trends in southern honor, violence, and culture.... A wealth of information on social conflict in antebellum Florida. - Journal of Southern History; ""Denham's examination of crime and its causes, the criminal law, judicial personnel, and the criminal justice experience generally is lively, thoughtful, and based on a wide range of public records. As such, it offers both scholars and general readers a rewarding look at an often neglected southern frontier, one as attractive to criminal elements as the more notorious Texas."" - Choice; ""Provocative.... The reader can welcome a fascinating romp through Florida's pre-Civil War society."" - Tampa Tribune