Women of the Frontier: 16 Tales of Trailblazing Homesteaders, Entrepreneurs, and Rabble-Rousers

Gr 10 Up—Nearly three times as long as Miller's Buffalo Gals: Women of the Old West (Lerner, 1995), this richly expanded edition also has six main sections. Each one focuses on a different aspect of Western life from the 1840s to the 1890s-the journey west, home life, women's work (including a brief section on "fallen women"), entertainment, politics and social issues, and the Native American perspective. This edition includes two to three individual narrative accounts per section. The details are fascinating and the perspective is well-rounded, from famous figures such as Margaret Reed of the Donner party expedition and Carry Nation, the anti-alcohol crusader, to lesser-known figures and minorities such as African American pioneer Clara Brown and Indian activist Sarah Winnemucca. Well-chosen photographs and primary-source quotes are plentiful and riveting. "Had I not the constitution of six horses, I should have been dead long ago," says one California woman. Those interested in Western and women's history will enjoy these detailed accounts of exploration, entrepreneurship, hardship, heartache, sacrifice, and survival.—Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public Library