Les Standiford Books
Les Standiford is an American author and historian known for his works on American history and culture. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, including several acclaimed historical narratives.
Known for: Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean
Books by Les Standiford
Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean
Last Train to Paradise recounts the remarkable story of Henry Flagler’s audacious dream to build a railroad stretching from mainland Florida across the ocean to Key West. Les Standiford vividly portrays the engineering triumphs, the human drama, and the eventual destruction of this Gilded Age marvel by the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The book blends historical narrative with adventure, capturing the spirit of ambition and innovation that shaped modern Florida.
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Flagler’s Vision and the Birth of a New Florida
Henry Flagler began not as a dreamer of railroads but as a co-founder of Standard Oil, alongside John D. Rockefeller. Through his genius for organization and foresight, he helped forge one of the great industrial empires of the nineteenth century. Yet, by the 1880s, his personal ambitions had turned...
From Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean
A Vision Across the Sea: Dreaming the Key West Extension
By the early twentieth century, Flagler was already past seventy — unimaginably wealthy, yet restless. The completion of his Florida East Coast Railway to Miami had created what many saw as the ultimate southern frontier. But Flagler saw one step further: the island of Key West, floating nearly a hu...
From Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad That Crossed an Ocean
About Les Standiford
Les Standiford is an American author and historian known for his works on American history and culture. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, including several acclaimed historical narratives. Standiford serves as Director of the Creative Writing Program at Florida International University.
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Les Standiford is an American author and historian known for his works on American history and culture. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, including several acclaimed historical narratives.
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