In 1998, Weird Florida made the bold statement that Florida “is the home of more nuttiness per square mile than any place on earth - and we dare the world to prove us wrong”.

A few tried. California comes to mind, but no one came close.

And that was before:

• The 2000 presidential election and the infamous “Butterfly Ballot”
• Elian Gonzalez
• Most of the September 11 terrorists were found to have lived and trained in South Florida
• The National Enquirer writing about being attacked by anthrax and not making it up
• The American Civil Liberties Union rising to the defense of a Palm Beach resident and confessed drug addict named Rush Limbaugh

In fact, it seems the only crazy story lately that didn't have a Florida connection was O.J. Simpson. Oh. Wait. He lives here now. So, we figured the time was right for another round of stories - some sad, some disturbing, but most pretty funny - from the land that seems to draw offbeat people like the Everglades draws mosquitoes.

When Weird Florida came out, some people didn't get it. Famed radio commentator Paul Harvey called it “a cry for help”. He described it not as a loving celebration of Florida's colorful aspects, but rather an exposé on the order of The Jungle, Upton Sinclair's shocking look at Chicago's slaughterhouses. And one reviewer, on an online bookseller's web page, wrote, “This shows just what a mosquito-filled muck hole, sand-flea infested, White-trash flooded, odd-ball inhabited place Florida really is. It made me glad I didn't live there.”

At first, such reactions hurt us deeply. Then, we thought: Florida's population has gone from two million at the start of World War II, to 17.5 million now. If even one person listens to this audiobook and decides not to move to Florida, after all, the public humiliation is worth it. In that spirit, we bring you Weird Florida II: In a State of Shock.