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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful.
Tribute to the 19th century Western Women
By Janice M. Hansen
For myself, my burgeoning interest for anything related to 1850's western life was prompted by a visit to Bodie, a ghost town on the Eastern Sierras in California. Amazingly intact, this mining town preserves life as it was back then, down to the most minute detail and one that you can visualize through windows, storefronts and streets as you walk through the town. A trip to the museum offered more incredibly intimate and thought provoking glimpses into what the people's lives were like in those days. The life they lived was very difficult as profiled by the many wonderful books and resources sold there and available all along the Eastern Sierra towns. I purchased a few books detailing the history and people of Bodie. Soon, I became fascinated by the experiences the women had. Of the many books I have bought, I found this one, _Women of the West_ to be truly one of the best when it comes to portraying and historically presenting authentic writings and pictures of the nineteenth century "pioneer" women in the Western United States.
Gripping and personal diaries reveal their thoughts and feelings as they travel to the west in covered wagons. Upon their arrival to their new "home", the journals reflect their personal situations as they struggle to settle the land and etch out a living. Some of the women are widowed by the time they arrive out West. Some are burdened with more children, complications of pregnancy and perhaps the death of the young ones. Against staggering obstacles, these women march on with such integrity and strength that it appears nothing less than heroic. Not given to whining and bitter complaining, their tone is of acceptance and self-reliance.
The beauty of this book is in the wide assortment and many pictures that chronicle the women, their home and life style. The pictures are clear, large and detailed, so one can savor the peek into an 1850's home, hearth and kitchen, not to mention the lands and buisnesses they worked so hard on.
There is so much offered to the reader, I can only say that this book is really a treasure: true stories and pictures that bring a virtual museum into your own hands.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful.Real Faces, Real Lives
By A Customer
I think we tend to forget that people and times in the past were as alive and could be as complex as things are today. I think this book could be summed up by the picture of the woman receiving title to her land. She's arranged for a photographer to come to her home, instead of posing at the studio. The land agent has affably agreed to travel to her home and participates in the pose the woman surely thought of herself: the act of handing over title to the land. One other interesting thing is that she isn't wearing a hat or bonnet - she wants everyone to see her face. She's standing in front of her house wearing her best outfit, not looking at the agent, but looking at the camera, her face reflecting the pride of hard-won independence and well-earned ownership.
Lots of great stories, good writing, well-researched, and the photographs themselves are worth the price of the book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.If you love true stories of the pioneers of the American frontier...
By Jackie Drake
then you'll love this book. Amazing true stories of survival and the hardships and joys women faced as they traveled west. Excerpts from diaries, etc. from real women. Encouraging to see how strong women really can be and how far we've come.
Product Description
"An elegant connective narrative and 150 remarkable photographs put ....the [nineteenth] century's history in more realistic perspective."—Los Angeles Times
A myth-shattering look at the women who helped to settle the West, told through their own words and illustrated with 150 period photographs. Through these photos, plus diaries, memoirs, letters, and journals, Women of the West introduces 11 real frontier women whose words combine to re-create a place and time when resourcefulness and courage were demanded of everyone. This is American history, not as it was romanticized, but as it was lived. "An authentic, refreshing and even inspiring view of life on the frontier."—San Francisco Chronicle "[H]andled with a very human touch throughout all these diaries.... this is quite a book."—Seattle Times "[A] human appeal rarely touched in most history books of the westward expansion."—Kansas City Star "Anyone interested in American history should read [it]....the most handsome of recent books emphasizing the role of pioneer women."—Cleveland Plain Dealer "[Evokes] a striking portrait of everyday life among nineteenth-century women."—St. Petersburg Times 150 period photographs
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #272815 in Books
- Published on: 2001-05-17
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.78" h x10.24" w x.59" l,1.75 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 240 pages
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