A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith

Recommended by both my father-in-law and my contractor, I read this book knowing that both of them love "old Florida." I can sure see why after listening to their stories and then reading this book. The book traces three generations of a fictitious family named MacIvey from the Civil War through the 1960's. The original MacIvey's live in the scrub and round up wild cattle to sell in Ft. Pierce. Florida is a wild place, with people who live off the land. . .a land that was an open range for hundreds of years. (According to my father-in-law, there were open ranges for cattle grazing as late as the 1950's.) Although the book doesn't seem of significant literary value as far as writing style or character development goes, it does give insight into what "old Florida" means, especially if all you know is Marjorie Kinan Rawls' version of The Yearling. Smith intertwines the MacIvey clan (who seem the most decent, perfect people ever) with a family from a Seminole tribe, and a few "bad" folks thrown in for good measure. I thought the love stories were way too simple, the men way too noble, and the women way too accommodating, but the story revolves around raising cattle and loving the wild land of Florida. If you know anyone from "old Florida," then you know the land is the real story.