by Nicholas G. Penniman IV, 2019, Barringer Publishing, Naples, Florida.

After dinner one night in Naples our dinner host offered to lend me some books. I selected this one for two reasons: The topic interested me as I was in the process of setting up an event at the Water School of Florida Gulf Coast University, and it was short.

The book is filled with information about the origins and effects of both red tide and blue-green algae. The author outlines the good intentions of many individuals and agencies to control them, but he also describes the lack of political will to eliminate the likely causes.

The author shows his deep knowledge of the subject matter, but he sometimes includes so much scientific information that it is hard to absorb. The book sometimes overwhelmed me with the detail. The book also suffers from a lack of editor attention as there are too many inappropriate commas as well as some grammatical errors. The book, however, does serve as a primary source of information regarding the quality of water in Florida as well as the health issues associated with red tide and blue-green algae. It is well worth reading.