SKU: 77992936959

Totch: A Life in the Everglades

Sale price$16.79 Regular price$18.66
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $4.67 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 20 - Jul 25

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

Totch: A Life in the Everglades"Totch Brown's memoirs of vanished days in the Ten Thousand Islands and the Everglades the last real frontier in Florida, and even today the greatest roadless wilderness in the United States are invaluable as well as vivid and entertaining, for Totch is a natural born story teller, and his accounts of fishing and gator hunting as well as his life beyond the law as gator poacher and drug runner are evocative and colorful, fresh and exciting." from the

"Totch Brown's memoirs of vanished days in the Ten Thousand Islands and the Everglades--the last real frontier in Florida, and even today the greatest roadless wilderness in the United States--are invaluable as well as vivid and entertaining, for Totch is a natural-born story-teller, and his accounts of fishing and gator hunting as well as his life beyond the law as gator poacher and drug runner are evocative and colorful, fresh and exciting."--from the foreword by Peter Matthiessen

In the mysterious wilderness of swamps, marshes, and rivers that conceals life in the Florida Everglades, Totch Brown hung up his career as alligator hunter and commercial fisherman to become a self-confessed pot smuggler. Before the marijuana money rolled in, he survived excruciating poverty in one of the most primitive and beautiful spots on earth, Chokoloskee Island, in the mangrove keys known as the Ten Thousand Islands located at the western gateway to the Everglades National Park.

Until he wrote this memoir--recollections from his childhood in the twenties that merge with reflections on a way of life dying at the hands of progress in the nineties--Totch had never read a book in his life. Still, his writing conveys the tension he experienced from trying to live off the land and within the laws of the land.

Told with energy and authenticity, his story begins with the handful of souls who came to the area a hundred years ago to homestead on the high ground formed from oyster mounds built and left by the Calusa Indians. They lived close to nature in shacks built of tin or palmetto fans; they ate wild meat, Chokoloskee chicken (white ibis), swamp cabbage, even--when they were desperate--manatee; and they weathered all manner of natural disaster from hurricanes to swarms of "swamp angels" (mosquitoes). In his grandpa's day, Totch writes, outlaws and cutthroats would "shoot a man down just as quick as they'd knock down an egret, especially if he came between them and the plume birds."

His grandparents were both contemporaries of Ed J. Watson, the subject of Peter Matthiessen's best-selling Killing Mr. Watson, and Totch is featured in the recent award-winning PBS film Lost Man's River: An Everglades Adventure with Peter Matthiessen. He also appeared in Wind Across the Everglades, the 1957 Budd Schulberg movie in which Totch and Burl Ives sing some of Totch's Florida cracker songs.


Loren G. "Totch" Brown was born in Chokoloskee, Florida, in 1920. After purchasing his first motorboat at the age of thirteen (and retiring from formal schooling after the seventh grade) he worked as an alligator hunter, commercial fisherman, crabber, professional guide, poacher, marijuana runner, singer, and songwriter.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Published: 09/20/1993
ISBN: 9780813012285
Pages: 279
Weight: 0.97lbs
Size: 9.02h x 6.10w x 0.82d

Review Citations: Booklist 12/01/1993 pg. 672
Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 77992936959

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.3 ★★★★★
Based on 22 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
J
Verified Purchase
Jess Acevedo
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 4
Cute
Color: A White, Color: A White
It's super cute and goes well with the decor in my room. Comes with a leather bottom and easy to put together. Only problem is that's is a easy to fall apart as well. If one side is heavier then the other it will be lopsided. Holds necklaces okay... if you have heavy charms on them they will fall off.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2025
G
Verified Purchase
Gracie
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 3
Disappointing
Color: A White
The plastic was a little cheaper than I thought it would be, and the whole thing was a little smaller than I was picturing, you aren't able to rest necklaces on it because it's too short. Unfortunately I got it as a gift for someone else so I can't speak to its longevity but it was a bit disappointing.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2025
S
Verified Purchase
shanaz
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
So cute
Color: A White, Color: A White
The feel is plastic and not super sturdy But honestly it does the job it’s a good price and it’s super cute!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2023
F
Verified Purchase
FeralCatLady
West Palm Beach, US
★★★★★ 5
Adorable!
Color: A White, Color: A White
I'm not sure what I saw in Mt mind's eye when I ordered this, but this was not it. HOWEVER, this little deer can't be more than 3.5 inches long and with it's over exaggerated antlers it actually makes the CUTEST little jewelry tree. As you can see I put studs thru the holes where the pairs are in symmetrical spots, but as my daughter said "it's kind of awkward that they aren't closer" But the studs I'll keep in place will be my least used, so it shouldn't be an issue. This little tree is made of very lightweight plastic which snapped together easily, but a big part of me hopes to someday find one a bit larger, made of ceramic. As my daughter said "it's by far the most creative one I've ever seen"
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2024
P
Verified Purchase
Pam
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 1
Not worth it
Color: A White
Cheap and flimsy, Fell over with my jewelry on it. Everything got tangled because eit wasn't spaced out. For anyone looking to buy it--dont. It may not be tall enough for your necklaces to dangle and not drag on the tray. However it is beautiful, would not buy again
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2023

recommand products