Shortsighted developers and expedient politicians loom as easy targets for Mr. Pittman’s wrath, but he’s most engaging when he unpacks the moral quandaries that surface even when people of good will are trying to do the right thing.

Given that this is a story of Florida, a level of absurdity is expected, if not outright required. Pittman happily obliges with a number of colorful caricatures.

... fascinating, page-turning.

In this lively, funny, detailed account of the Florida panther’s brush with oblivion and the madcap human efforts to rescue it, the author writes as an authority on both the animals and the uniquely Floridian men and women who have decided their fate.

... insightful.