Episode description

This week's episode of "Welcome to Florida" begins with great news for Florida's critically endangered grasshopper sparrow. Being Florida, the story of course involves a long and twisty road with no shortage of "colorful" characters who Craig Pittman introduces us to.

Craig 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."