Once upon a time there was a sleepy oceanside town in South Florida that came to life for only two weeks every springtime. Then a midwestern English professor wrote a cheeky novel based on his observations of college guys and girls on Spring Break 1959 as they chased each other across the surf and sand in search of that perfect someone. When the novel Where the Boys Are was released in early 1960 and the movie version debuted at the end of that year, it put Fort Lauderdale on the lips and to-do lists of millions of North American college students and other fun-seekers for much of the next three decades. The city dubbed "The Venice of America" welcomed everyone and the party still hasn't stopped!

Taking a global and multidisciplinary approach, The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism examines the world travel and tourism industry, which is expected to grow at an annual rate of four percent for the next decade.

So many iconic Fort Lauderdale restaurants have come and gone. From steakhouses to floating eateries and a doughnut shop that catered to a strictly adult audience, these dining destinations served up everything from gourmet seafood to post-beach chill food. Here, you can have another slice at Pizio's Drive-Inn, another heaping plate of pasta at Tina's Spaghetti House, a guilt-free brandy snapp at Fred Wenner's and a final long night at Porky's Hideaway. From the snow crab bisque at Mango's to the key lime baked Alaska from The Caves, authors Todd Bothel and Dan Santoro also serve up vintage recipes that allow readers to re-create classic dishes from these beloved Fort Lauderdale institutions.