Freedom Land: A Novel

By Martin L. Marcus

Book Overview

The setting is Georgia and Florida more than fifteen years before the Civil War. Blond-haired, blue-eyed Billy Powell is the half-breed son of a respected British officer and his Creek Indian consort. Accused of a murder he did not commit and fearing for his life, Billy flees south into Seminole Indian Territory to a village where his legend waits to be born. The village is called Freedom Land, a confederation of escaped slaves and Native Americans. All of their lives are suddenly threatened when American soldiers attempt to capture the escaped slaves and return them to their former owners. Driven by his love for the beautiful Morning Dew, daughter of Chief Micanopy, Billy takes up the cause of defending Freedom Land and is catapulted into history, forever to be known as Chief Osceola. Based on meticulous research in newspapers and journals of the time, "Freedom Land brings to vivid life the turbulent story of whites, blacks, and Native Americans during the period known as the Seminole Wars. The book describes their betrayal by the United States military that remains an embarrassment to this day. A page-turning historical

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765304821
• ISBN13: 9780765304827
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Forge Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 1.2" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

"Freedom Land" will become, beyond the shadow of a doubt, pa

Thank you for this precious gift! Reading the book brought me great inspiration as it helps me grasp better the dynamic of today national and international political conflicts. "Freedom Land" will become, beyond the shadow of a doubt, part of the list of recommended classic historical novels to read. The author's writing style easy to read coupled with the books' content made it quasi-impossible for one to put the book down during reading, at least that has been my experience. It is a shame that the US Society is playing the "purist" card, making the book inaccessible to high school students due to certain paragraphs or sections in the book which described intimate moments shared by couples or lovers in the plot. I think it is unfair to deny high school students in this country the right to read such an inspiring, educational and passionate portion of their past. On the other hand, the designer of the cover did a disservice to the book, in my humble opinion, by not incorporating a photograph of Abraham on the book cover. After all "Freedom Land" is an historical segment of both the Native American and the indigenous or African American's struggle in this country. Although the old adage suggests that one should not judge a book by its cover, I would argue that "Freedom Land" is the exception to this rule. I am convinced that Pictures of both Abraham with Chief Osceola on the book cover would certainly have drawn a lot of curiosity, but more importantly it would have been a truth representation of the story related therein. Nonetheless, it is obvious that "Freedom Land is the outcome of well documented research combined with great intellectual and literary insight. I would even dare to say that the setting is not just confined geographically to the struggle of Indian and Black Slaves in the Southern United States, its boundaries are broader, as it covers the successful Slave Revolution of Haiti a former French Colony in the Caribbean. "Freedom Land" has the potential for a great film. Lets keep the momentum going...

History without the histrionics, just lots of drama & action

LA reader:Ê After reading Freedom Land, not only didÊI get to read a great adventure but I learned about ourÊcountry's history.Ê I was amazed to see the parallel between the 2nd Seminole War and the current lovely war in Iraq.Ê If only our nation's leaders had read this book we might have done better in Viet Nam,Êand now in Iraq.ÊOr maybe they did read it to learn old/new ways to disgrace themselves. It appears that Pres. Bush used the guise of "weapons of mass destruction" to grab oil in Iraq like Pres. Jackson used the guise of the Indian Removal Act to grab land from the Indians and return the escaped slaves to the southern plantation owners who considered them their property, or chattle if you will.It is for that reason I don't mind losing money in a reservation casino, compared to Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, the reason they keep the lights on 24/7, is because if they turned them off, all the native Nevada residents would realize they are glowing. But heck, all those atom bomb tests didn't hurt nobody, after all they were just tests, not meant to give Americans cancer forever. Three cheers for Yucca Flats.ÊI highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a greatÊhistorical action adventure and wants to learn about our past so that we'll maybe have a better future. Give a copy to the kid to do for a book report. They love the love affair.Ê

our nations history

As a native Floridian I learned so much about the history of my state after reading "Freedom Land." In an entertaining manner the book depicts a piece of our nation's history that is seldom discussed or written about.I highly recommend "Freedom Land" to all historical adventure fans as well as high school and college students as they might learn something about our country's history.

passing of the author

Knowing the friend of this author.she advised me that the author has sadly passed away,,,perhaps one day will be a movie..Lets get Joel Silver prod,to look into it...PERHAPS