A Land Remembered
By Patrick Smith
Published 1984
Read Feb 2023
A friend of this reader lent her a hard copy of this book. When it became known that an audiobook was available, read by George Guidall, a favorite reader of this reader, the hard copy went back and the audiobook went on.
This reader now lives in southwest Florida where new residents are flocking at a high rate. Thus, this saga of three generations of MacIveys from 1858 to 1968 was particularly interesting. During this period Florida began transforming from a wild frontier to a developer’s dream as people began vacationing in and moving to Florida’s east coast in droves.
Tobias MacIvey and his wife and infant son migrate from Georgia to the east side of Florida. There they scratch out a meager existence. Eventually Tobias learns to capture wild cattle, fatten them for market, and make a treacherous trip to Punta Rassa on the west coast where they sell the cattle which are then shipped to Cuba. There is a full cast of interesting characters with whom the family interacts over time. Much of the story focuses on Tobias’s family and their challenges living in the wilderness of Florida.
Over time the wide open spaces across which they drive their cattle become purchased by various people and fences start going up. Tobias buys some of this land as well. Thus begins the family’s foray into property ownership and the transformation of Florida from a wilderness to a “settled” state in which developers buy and sell property and literally transform the geography of the state.
This book will appeal to those interested in the history of Florida, to those who are interested in family sagas, and to those who just plain enjoy good writing and a good story. As this reader fits all of these categories, this was a pleasurable and educational experience.
The book was published by Pineapple Press, a niche publishing company that specializes in books about Florida in some way—non-fiction and fiction alike.
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