A Land Remembered

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Normally, I can't stand historical fictions. Oft times, the historical facts are wrong, or the history is too extensive and makes the characters virtually obsolete. However, "A Land Remembered" is none of these things. It is the perfect balance between characters, historical accuracy, and length. The characters do not undergo extremely extensive developement, but they do change with each event they witness. There is obviously a lot of research involved in the dates of certain events and locations of rivers, swamps, etc, but it doesn't go into things like how wide a river was and how fast it ran, or approxamately how many Florida Alligators inhabited the swamps, and that's definately a plus. No points can be taken off for the plot; it was very unpredictable and fast paced. The book in itself was neither too long nor too short. I know my review has sounded much like a textbook, but that's because I can't write book reviews worth a crap. :P I think anyone interested in Florida history should read it, or if you aren't interested in Florida history, this book will make you more interested.

Rating:
Summary: "A Land Remembered"
Review: Patrick Smith gives the reader an opportunity to glimpse at Florida from 1848 to 1970 through the eyes of the MacIvey family members over three generations. It is an enthralling book, if you're interested in the state of Florida from before Civil War times through present day era. I have read this book four times and am very much a fan of this author. In fact, I have met this studious writer of history, twice. Step back in time and read about Florida in its days of infancy. Enjoy reading about a family that survived in spite of rough times, the elements, outlaws, and animal predators. I have read this to my class and they beg you to keep going! They enjoyed it tremendously! If you do read it, I'm sure you will be captivated by its great story and the personnae of its characters.

Rating:
Summary: Authentic Florida History
Review: Patrick Smith's biography must be wrong; he was surely born in Florida. I enjoyed A Time Remembered more than any other book I have read. While its down-to-earth characters and smoothly flowing action make it enjoyable to anyone, the book is especially endearing to me and my cracker family. I am currently reading it to my grandfather, born 84 years ago in Kissimmee (one of the towns featured in the book). As we read, we stop constantly for him to comment on the places and activities of the characters or just to reminisce. According to my expert, Smith's characters and settings are entirely authentic. Each hurdle the characters surmount is true to my grandfather's memory. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to know more about Florida than just sand and beaches. Those of us who know the real meaning of a cracker will especially appreciate Smith's work.

Rating:
Summary: One of the great literary works of our time.
Review: Read this book just for the pure entertainment of it. Nevermind that you will have been introduced to the visera of the history of the state of Florida, a state that most think has no history. You might be interested to know that the state of Florida currently maintains a herd of cracker cattle just to preserve the blood lines. Many ranchers in this state lovingly preserve cracker horses for the same reason. This is a book that is rich in the history of Florida, that can be read for pure enjoyment.

Rating:
Summary: the best florida book i've ever read
Review: several people recommended this book but because of the fact i'm such a fan of non-fiction, i hesitated.What a mistake. tried not to read it too fast because it was so good. for anyone who wants to know the true florida, this book is a must.

Rating:
Summary: Criticism of A Land Remembered
Review: The author did not fully develop the characters and it seemed like he killed them all off at once. He took like 40 chapters to go through two generations and then killed them all of in like two chapters.

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT BOOK!
Review: The book was excellent. Unlike the comments from the previous reader I found the pace of the book to be perfect. The characters in the story were FULLY developed. How else could I have felt saddness for their passing? The books pace closely paralelled the movement of life in general. The speed picks up towards the end as did the actual pace of life in the story. Patrick Smith does it again.

Rating:
Summary: All problems solved quickly
Review: This book is interesting for the details of early days of Florida. It is unrealistic in that all problems and conflicts are resolved in about three spoken sentences. Indians living deep in the swamps speak good English. People live in malarial Florida for years before getting the disease. Still, the story gallops along and the characters are interesting enough that you want to know what happens. If "Cold Mountain" is a 10, "A Land Remembered" is a 5.

Rating:
Summary: Florida's history, told in a completly entertaining fasion.
Review: This book made me proud to be a native Floridian. It sometimes made me be ahamed as well.I was shocked at the quality of the content and of the writing style. I thougt I was reading Michener. It will become a treasured part of my library.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful History of Florida
Review: This book was a truly wonderful read. It mixed the history of Florida, with the fictional tale of a family that came, settled the land and endured hardship after hardship, before establishing them selves. The book is well researched and the characterizations and plot are both very well developed. I cannot think any who likes to read that would not enjoy this book.