Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott's guest this week is Les Standiford, author of "Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean." Standiford provides the definitive account of an essential Florida story featuring one of the state's most prominent figures, an engineering marvel and a deadly natural disaster. Les is the founder of the writing program at FIU and the author of more than 20 books, including the recently released "Palm Beach, Mar-A-Lago and the Rise of America's Xanadu."
Craig Pittman is the award-winning author of Oh, Florida!: How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country, The Scent of Scandal, Cat Tale, Manatee Insanity and The State You’re In, and co-author of Paving Paradise. Born in Pensacola, he graduated from Troy State University in Alabama, where his muckraking work for the student paper prompted an agitated dean to label him “the most destructive force on campus.” Since then he has covered a variety of newspaper beats and quite a few natural disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires and the Florida Legislature.