Since I spent so much time on the road with the Patrick Smith’s Florida IS A Land Remembered tour, I have been told literally thousands of times from readers, “This is my favorite book!”
It amazes me how many people just love this book!
It amazed dad too.
Actually, I don’t think he fully comprehended the impact his work has had on people.
He had nothing to do with technology. I, on the other hand, built and maintain his websites and social media, where I get to hear the stories from tens of thousands of people who love A Land Remembered and his other books. One short video about him that I posted on Facebook has been viewed over 1,120,000 times and shared over 32,000 times.
Although it’s over 400 pages, A Land Remembered is easy to read yet engagingly descriptive of the settling of Florida. Weaving in historical events through the story of the fictional Florida pioneer family, the MacIveys, it captures people’s imagination in a way that touches people of all ages and backgrounds.
Don’t just take my word on this:
Missy W. says, “It has such a deep meaning for Floridians. The MacIveys are amazing…the way they dealt with life in the wilderness is so fun to read about. This book has something for everyone…romance, friendship, war, history, you name it.
I spoke with a man yesterday who said that he made all of his future son-in-laws read the book before they could ask his permission to marry his daughters. He kept emphasizing that he felt that strongly about A Land Remembered.
It Describes The Wild, Wild East
It depicts a Florida very people have know. When I present my show, Floridians, snowbirds, and tourists alike have said to me, “I didn’t realize how wild Florida used to be!”
When you think about it, unless you lived in Florida 150 or more years ago, you simply cannot imagine how unsettled it was and how extremely difficult it was for pioneers to move here.
As J. Chiappini of Panama City, FL shares, “Being a 4th generation Floridian, I found this book fascinating and captivating. Most people coming to Florida have no idea of its rich and wild history. Patrick Smith brings this out in vivid detail. When the west was won, Florida was not close to being tamed.”
Check out these other books on Florida history.
As Holly Shepherd affirms, “So you’ve been to Disney and the beaches and you think you know Florida? This will open your eyes and your mind to the “real” Florida, before theme parks, beach motels, air conditioning and cheap souvenirs. An amazing first-class chronicle of Florida’s land, people, wildlife and wild places.”
It is Historically Accurate
Dad spent two years researching for this book and it shows.
He weaved many historical events among the lives of the fictional characters. Not only that, but he intricately described the natural environment, the flora and fauna, the food, the cultural practices of the Seminole, the tools used, and the dangers people faced back then.
James V. Holton “The Ecclectic Professor” from Lakeland, FL, wrote this in a review on Amazon, “As a history professor, I’ve found numerous people have used A Land Remembered as their introduction to Florida history. I finally gave in and read it myself and can see why this is the case. Patrick Smith compellingly recreates an aspect of Florida history that predates Disney, NASCAR racing, tourism and “God’s waiting room.” He takes the reader on a three-generation journey through Florida history from the Civil War to the 1960s. Told through the experiences of the MacIvey family, it recounts the family’s rise from hardscrabble poverty to wealth and influence. At the same time, we see the evolution of Florida to the state it is today, and laments over its change into a “land remembered.” Along the way the reader will encounter the formative events of Florida history from the Civil War onward. Smith’s portrayal of Florida’s cattle raising history should enlighten many readers of a little known and often neglected part of Florida’s history. For accessible history, it has few peers.”
Because of the historical accuracy, it is a book used to teach Florida history from grade schools to college to adult learning programs.
Joy Dickinson of Orlando, FL, who is also a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel told me, “I’ve been teaching some courses in a livelong learning program at Rollins (for folks older than 50 — most are 60-90), and it’s really wonderful to see how people are constantly discovering A Land Remembered— it’s honestly the single most popular teaching tool about Florida history.”
It Brings Florida History Alive
But the book is not a dry, boring textbook. It’s historical fiction, weaving in the adventures of the MacIvey’s to bring Florida history alive.
Because of that, many teachers use it to teach reading, English, and other subjects as well.
Cynthia Brennan Jones, of Indian River State College High School, sent me this in an email, “I have received positive feedback from a few instructors that this was a perfect book. In fact, one of my instructors in our lowest lab told me that as she was getting settled in her lab this morning, five students were sitting together with their books taking turns reading aloud and helping others who stumbled on words. She told me that it gave her “goose bumps”.
She finished with, “This is what it’s all about.”
Missy W. also says this about A Land Remembered, “It portrays a pretty accurate picture of how Florida developed over the years. I highly recommend it for anyone from Florida or anyone wanting to study Florida history. It is one of my most treasured novels that I could read over and over again.”
Jeanne Scott of Tampa, Florida declares, “A Land Remembered is an amazing book that tells the story of three generations of the MacIvey family. Patrick Smith paints a clear and detailed picture of the endurance and sacrifice made by a young couple in order to even just barely get by. The stark reality he portray[s] is extremely vivid. The visions of Florida as a raw, unsettled land that tolerates but never encourages those daring enough to challenge her have a unique clarity to them. Through everything that occurs, this wonderful family pulls together, creating a history that Patrick Smith has crafted into an unforgettable novel.”
Bonnie Jane from Sarasota, FL, adds, “My goodness! What those people went through. It truly makes me appreciate the quality of life we have today vs. yesterday but at the same time, you long to know what it must have been like back then – A Land Remembered truly takes you back in time. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried and we’ve grown to love the MacIveys as if they were kinfolk. It has truly enriched our lives and given us a new appreciation for the settlers who came before us.”
People Think The Characters Describe Their Families
Holly Knowles of Orlando claims, “[This is] Floridian’s history book. I’m a fifth generation Floridian. This book made me feel as if I knew the MacIvey family, it was as if I was reading about my family’s past.”
So many people not only relate to the fictional MacIvey’s, they swear he really wrote specifically about their family.
He didn’t.
Dad talks about this phenomenon in this short video.
Others have mistakenly claimed that A Land Remembered is the historical account of Bone Mizell.
It isn’t.
He did take some of Bone Mizell’s experiences and put them into the book but his book goes much deeper into other aspects of Florida history.
It’s The Story of Three Industries That Shaped Florida
Because Dad had the MacIveys get involved in three different industries that shaped Florida, other fans who have ties to those industries relate to the depictions of how they got their start.
Matthew Swartsel of Holiday, FL says, “Our family has 6 generations that have lived in Florida, grove owners, builders and mullet fishermen. Thank you for preserving some of our History, even in a fictional way.”
I’ve also heard from many people whose family was in the cattle industry in Florida who enjoy the book.
Descriptions of Florida Places
They love the descriptions of the places the MacIvey’s traveled throughout Florida.
I’ve heard from many Floridians that they know exactly where the MacIvey’s settled (Dad never put them in one particular area) and it was THEIR area. They insist that the bulk of the story takes place in Lake Okeechobee, or Kissimee, or Arcadia, or…the list goes on.
By him leaving this detail vague, it allows people to fill in this detail. I don’t think he meant that to happen, but it is fun that it does make the story more real to Floridians.
It is also fun to get a comment like the one from Neil Harvey, ” [I] Just got done reading this incredible, historically fictional story, of pioneering cattle life in Florida. I have lived here for 35 years, and never knew there was an actual area called Punta Rassa.”
I also have received many comments that when people are driving throughout Florida, after reading A Land Remembered, they see the state in a whole new way.
Prissy Kellogg says, “One of our students took her family on a day ride last weekend to see places in the book… Okeechobee, Pahokee, the lake, etc. She couldn’t stop talking about it today. Karen and I were astounded at how much she enjoyed the trip and related it to the book. All of the students listened to her story.”
J. Chiappini of Panama City, FL sums it up well. “Those of us who live here recognize the places in the story which adds to the reality of the book.”
Final Thoughts
What ever your reason why you love the book, as it gets exposed to more and more people, it’s popularity only seems to grow.
I believe this book will outlive all of us by many generations. As “Old Florida” disappears, it’s inspiring to look back at the early pioneers and what they went through to lay the foundations for today and tomorrow.
Why do YOU like A Land Remembered? Please share in the comments section below.
I first read this book in 1979. And have read it 5 times and bought 4 biiks because I would lend them out and then they would lend them out and never get them back! I’d like to think I helped make it to nunber one by telling people about it when I worked on the road doing fiber optic all through Florida and running the fiber through these places that they would take the cattle to Punta Gorda Clewiston, Miami.
It will always be my favorite book. And to know he only lived 32 miles from me!
Susie,
Thank you for sharing this.
Rick
Hi, our book club is re-reading this for our August meeting. We are in Brevard county and I remember that you and your father used to read and speak about A Land Remembered around Brevard. Do you live in Brevard and do you join group or meetings to talk about the book? If so, I am interested in having you join our dinner on August 3rd. Please let me know. My name is Mary Grace Murphy 321-223-7959
Hi Mary Grace,
Thank you for inviting me but I have retired from speaking about the book. I live in California actually. I appreciate you reaching out to me and love to hear that you are re-reading this book.
Yours, Rick
A neighbor introduced me to the MacIvey family a few years ago. He is a modern-day cracker cowboy & settled in the Florida panhandle after relocating from Labelle, Fl. I can sincerely see him and his family throughout this story. I am on my 4th reading and still find it hard to put down.
Mike, it is a wonderful novel and certainly one that can be read many times. Thanks for your comment.