New Book Explores 'Secret Palm Beach'

Author Amy Woods

(Press Release) St. Louis, MO – January 26, 2026) Reedy Press is pleased to announce the release of our newest guidebook, Secret Palm Beach: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, by Amy Woods.
 
Such as:
·        The Coral Cut that creeps out everyone who drives down North Lake Way.
·        A petite headstone that memorializes a monkey in a courtyard of Worth Avenue.
·        A funky tree native to Africa that towers above the Society of the Four Arts Demonstration Garden.
·        Time stands still at the 1880s-era Little Red Schoolhouse.

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Described by railroad tycoon Henry Morrison Flagler as a “veritable paradise,” South Florida’s best-known barrier island evolved into a warm-weather retreat for the rich and famous during the glorious Gilded Age. Secret Palm Beach: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure reveals the mysteries, quirks, and surprises that give life to the tony town and the rest of the county, all four corners of which have oddities of their own.
·        To the north is the state’s first federally designated “Wild and Scenic” river and the lore of the legendary survivalist who inhabited its bank.
·        To the south is Old Betsy, an antique fire engine that inspired a song.
·        To the east is Singer Island, named after the sewing machine heir.
·        And to the west is Lake Okeechobee, an unassuming breeding ground for some of the biggest marquee players in the NFL.
 
In Secret Palm Beach, author Amy Woods, who grew up in the area, takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the fascinating and fun enigmas that accentuate the tropical destination.
 
Secret Palm Beach: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure is available wherever books are sold.
 
Book Details:
Secret Palm Beach: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure
by Amy Woods,
ISBN: 9781681066479, softcover, 6 x 9, 192 pages, $27.00
 
About the Author
Amy Woods’s byline has appeared in magazines and newspapers across the country. From her first job as a reporter at the Key West Citizen to her editorships at the Palm Beach Post and the Coastal Star—with a stint in between as a staff writer at the Orange County Register in California—she has covered everything from art and culture to entertainment and sports
to environmental and philanthropic causes. A Sunshine State native, Amy received much acclaim for her debut book 100 Things to Do in Jupiter Before You Die.
 
Upcoming Events:
+ Book Signing
Tuesday, Feb. 10th, from 5 pm – 6:30 pm
The Palm Beach Bookstore
215 Royal Poinciana Way, Palm Beach, FL 33480
Free and open to the public
 
+ Book Signing
Friday, Feb. 13th, from 10 am – 5 pm
The Chocolate Spectrum
6725 W. Indiantown Road, Jupiter, FL 33458
Free and open to the public
 
+ Book Launch & Book Signing
Thursday, Feb. 19th, from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
The National Croquet Center
700 Florida Mango Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406
Free and open to the public
 
+ Book Signing
Saturday, Feb. 21st, from 1 pm – 4 pm
Barnes & Noble
11380 Legacy Ave, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Free and open to the public
 
+ Book Signing
Saturday, Feb. 28th, from 1 pm – 4 pm
Barnes & Noble
151 U.S. Highway 1, Tequesta, FL 33469
Free and open to the public
 
+ Presentation & Book Signing
Wednesday, March 4th, from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach
411 Clematis St, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Free and open to the public
 
+ Presentation & Book Signing
Saturday, March 7th, from 2 pm – 3 pm
Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach
411 Clematis St, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Free and open to the public
 
+ Presentation & Book Signing
Tuesday, March 10th, from 1 pm -2 pm
Lantana Public Library
205 W. Ocean Ave, Lantana, FL 33462
Free and open to the public
 
+ Presentation & Book Signing
Wednesday, March 25th, from 6 pm – 7 pm
Lantana Public Library
205 W. Ocean Ave, Lantana, FL 33462
Free and open to the public
 
+ Book Signing
Saturday, April 4th, from 11 am – 12 pm
Maltz Jupiter Theatre
1001 Indiantown Road, Jupiter, FL 33477
Free and open to the public
 
Talking Points from the Book:
• Johnnie Brown ran for mayor of Palm Beach in the 1920s, losing by a margin thinner than the tufts of white hair around the miniature marsupial’s face and neck.
 
• The greatest catcher to have played the game is enjoying his retirement in the Sunshine State while simultaneously lending a hand to the Miracle League of Palm Beach County, a nonprofit that gives children with special needs the opportunity to participate in the sport of baseball.
 
• Many of the mega-mansions in Palm Beach have names that reflect their heritage, their meaning, and more, although El Solano’s, Mar-a-Lago’s, Casa Apava’s, Whitehall’s, La Rêverie’s, and the Palm Beach Winter Club’s backstories far outdo their bougie sobriquets.
 
• What is left of the smallest railroad in the world, a narrow-gauge line that linked the northern and southern parts of Palm Beach County in the late 1800s, is neatly preserved in Juno Beach.
 
• Singer Island in Riviera Beach got its moniker from the heir to the sewing machine purveyor after the well-to-do gentleman of leisure left England for South Florida and started spending his money on waterfront property.
 
• A big bronze sculpture at a local park honors the sun-kissed men who delivered the mail by walking barefoot on the beach between Hypoluxo and Miami.
 
• At the oldest gin joint in Palm Beach County, patrons can, literally, belly up to the bar as the wooden, waist-high counter does not have stools.
 
• The Tree of Tears drapes a secluded area in Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park where the blood of Native Americans was shed during the Second Seminole War.
 
• The Midnight Sun Festival in Lake Worth Beach is one of the few places outside Finland where attendees can watch husbands carry their wives on their backs as they race through an obstacle course.
 
• Customers can order peanut-butter cups the size of a pizza and purchase hard-to-find candy such as Boston Baked Beans and Dad’s Old Fashioned Root Beer at a purple-and-yellow-painted store in West Palm Beach.

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