A Land Remembered

After years of my grandfather and father telling me to read this book, I finally got a chance to read it in my Colloquium course. It depicts 110 years of rich and interesting Florida history, starting with pioneer Florida in the 1800s. The book takes us through three generations of the MacIvey family. They start out with nothing in the scrub, starving and dealing with the American Civil War at the same time. They eventually become successful in the cattle industry, orange grove industry, and real estate. I think the main theme of the book was how the generations changed over time in regard to their relationship with the environment and native land around them. They go from living off the land and not taking more than they need, to taking advantage of the land and pushing it to capacity just like everyone still does to this day. Look at Ft.Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, etc. There was actually still some wilderness and nature in those cities, and I think people would have a hard time picturing that. I am thankful that my grandparents were living in Florida in the 40s so they can tell me about how it was over 70 years ago. Even when my dad grew up here in the 60s, he said it was completely different than it is today.