A Journey to Matecumbe [Paperback]

Robert Lewis Taylor (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon Books; 3rd Printing edition (1967)
• ASIN: B000IN80HY
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,152,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Florida Keys, treasure and the Seminoles, December 3, 2003

By 

Jack Purcell (Placitas, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey to Matecumbe (Hardcover)

Taylor's books are well-researched historical fiction. His plots are generally captivating, his characters, believable, funny and unusual. The comparisons by some reviewers to Huck Finn and his friends are probably valid on some level. Journey to Matecumbe begins on the Mississippi River, involves a raft trip downstream to escape the KKK, and includes a number of amusing, colorful characters involved in unlikely situations. It's worth the price of admission, if only for an interesting read.

However, readers who wish to get some historical knowledge with their enjoyment will find the obscure, post-Civil War era Florida Keys portions also to their liking. Taylor obliges the historical fiction reader by also taking some of the characters through Seminole villages, swamps, and a trek along the land route from the Florida panhandle to Miami. The descriptions of the earliest origins of the KKK might also be accurate.

I'd recommend this book as a better than average historical fiction to rest on the bookshelf for a later re-reading.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic American Novel, January 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Journey to Matecumbe (Hardcover)

Robert Lewis Taylor's 'Travels of Jaime McPheeters' deservedly won a Pullitzer, but 'Journey to Matecumbe' is the better book. It's a heartwarming Twain-esque story about young Davey Burnie's flight down the Mississippi to the Florida Keys. Like, 'McPheeters' it's an adventure book, and a damned good read. For some reason, it's out of print, but used copies can be be found.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sleeper that will keep you awake, May 28, 2004

By 

Jack Purcell (Placitas, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey to Matecumbe (Hardcover)

A young man and his older brother get themselves cross-wise with the KKK during the years following the Civil War. This begins a long chase, an adventure to compare with Huck Finn, minus Mark Twain, that will keep you smiling and turning pages all the way down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, then to the Florida swamps. I think you'll love this one. Trust me.