Book Description
One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial "Brides for Indians" program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world. Toward that end May and her friends embark upon the adventure of their lifetime. Jim Fergus has so vividly depicted the American West that it is as if these diaries are a capsule in time.
Customer Reviews:
Wild story from the wild west.......2007-10-08
May Dodd is the daughter of a wealthy family in Chicago who humiliates them by running off with her lover and having two children by him without marrying. Her family has her committed to an asylum as her indiscretion could only be caused by insanity. But she is ultimately given an opportunity to gain her freedom from the asylum - she must relocate west and become the bride of a Cheyenne Indian.
Little Wolf is the Cheyenne Chief who proposes to President Grant that the two nations trade 1000 white women for 1000 horses. It is Little Wolf's belief that by having children with the white brides that the offspring will bring the Cheyenne closer to the white world and thus begin the process of assimilation. The US Government takes the Indian Nation up on its offer in secret sending only those women who volunteer or want the freedom to escape their current lives, such as women in asylums and jails. May Dodd jumps on this opportunity and becomes a leader amongst the other women who believe the west has something to offer.
This novel is comprised of the journal entries of May Dodd and letters that she writes to loved ones back home understanding that they will never be mailed. Her writing chronicles the daily life of the Cheyenne from the elaborate wedding ceremony the white women experience, to the everyday chores and friendships that are born on the vast prairies. It is a unique look at how the Native American life may have been in the late 1800s, but also provides a sharp contrast between that life and that of the whites. The story is not without conflict and does a good job of presenting the perspective of the Native American as the white man trampled over their lands and customs.
Something about this book just didn't grab me and hold on. It was interesting and informative, but I had trouble buying into the May Dodd character. She was a bit too strong willed to be plausible. While others around her experienced terrifying fear, she almost brushes her own experience with fear and danger aside too callously. Not to say that she didn't acknowledge the people and circumstances that scared her, but it was minimized in such a way that it became hard to read her as a believable character. The story is moving, but was missing something that is hard to put a finger on.
Engrossing read.......2007-10-06
I loved this book! At the very beginning I was a bit skeptical but once I got into it I couldn't stop listening. I read some other reviews that mentioned finding men writing in a woman's voice not believable but I disagree. An author is a story teller and can tell a story from many perspectives, you need to use your imagination... it's fiction! After only a little way into the book I was immersed in the time, place and beauty of the setting. I loved the characters, a lot of variety and different peronalities. The Native American way of life was quite interesting and although this book was written in a plain spoken way it really came alive for me. I would highly suggest this book to anyone. It's an easy read and I think a "page turner."
Loved it.......2007-10-03
I loved this book and am so sad that it ended. I hope his other books are as good as this one because I really liked his writing style. I read all the time and this is the best book I have read in a long time. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. I would highly reccomend it!
Great read with unexpected story line.......2007-10-03
I asked some friends what was the best thing they'd read lately. When they mentioned the title of this book I could not imagine what it was about and visualized something like the Million Man March...in reverse? :-)
Even when they told me a bit of the plot line I wasn't sure about "One Thousand White Women". But they said they couldn't put it down so I gave it a try. I loved it - so much so that I bought it as a gift for someone else. The book intertwines a bit of a real story with 'what might have been'. I found myself so engrossed in the book that I forgot it was fiction...and wished it wasn't.
one of the best.......2007-10-02
One of the best books I've read in a long time! Right up there with Memoirs of a Geisha, from the point of view of a man writing as a woman and getting it so perfectly. Also because, like Geisha, the book transports you to another place and time and you feel like you have met a whole bunch of new friends. Read it!!!!
Book Description
It is the late summer of 1814, and Hannah Bonner and her half brother Luke have spent more than a year searching the islands of the Caribbean for Luke’s wife and the man who abducted her. But Jennet’s rescue, so long in coming, is not the resolution they’d hoped for. In the spring she had given birth to Luke’s son, and in the summer Jennet had found herself compelled to surrender the infant to a stranger in the hope of keeping him safe.
To claim the child, Hannah, Luke, and Jennet must journey first to Pensacola. There they learn a great deal about the family that has the baby. The Poiterins are a very rich, very powerful Creole family, totally without scruple. The matriarch of the family has left Pensacola for New Orleans and taken the child she now claims as her great-grandson with her.
New Orleans is a city on the brink of war, a city where prejudice thrives and where Hannah, half Mohawk, must tread softly. Careful plans are made as the Bonners set out to find and reclaim young Nathaniel Bonner. Plans that go terribly awry, isolating them from each other in a dangerous city at the worst of times.
Sure that all is lost, and sick unto death, Hannah finds herself in the care of a family and a friend from her past, Dr. Paul de Guise Savard dit Saint-d’Uzet. It is Dr. Savard and his wife who save Hannah’s life, but Dr. Savard’s half brother who offers her real hope. Jean-Benoit Savard, the great-grandson of French settlers, slaves, and Choctaw and Seminole Indians, is the one man who knows the city well enough to engineer the miracle that will reunite the Bonners and send them home to Lake in the Clouds. With Ben Savard’s guidance, allies are drawn from every segment of New Orleans’s population and from Andrew Jackson’s army, now pouring into the city in preparation for what will be the last major battle of the War of 1812.
Customer Reviews:
Quick and Adventurous read.......2007-06-27
I have read this whole series, from the beginning, and loved all the books. This is no different, although it seemed shorter somehow. Lots of adventure and also plenty of historical information.
Different from the rest, but just as enticing!.......2007-05-17
After reading all the other books in the Wilderness series I wasn't sure if I was going to like this one. It was starting out to be so different from the rest. So many new characters and new places. But it turned out to be just the right thing to do in the series! All the twists and turns that the Bonners have to encounter makes for many late nights. Like the rest of Sara Donati's books, you won't be able to put it down until the end. The only bad part about that is, the next book isn't out yet! If you haven't read the first books in this series, I would suggest starting at the beginning with Into The Wilderness. You could read any of the books on their own, but you will get a better feel for the characters if you start with the first book.
Donati Does it Again.......2007-05-14
Hannah Bonner, Luke and Jennet Scott have a riviting experience with the likes of Andrew Jackson and the pirate Lafitte in New Orleans. A must read!
Queen of Swords.......2007-05-14
This story is the continuing saga of the Bonner family. This is book 5 and as in the other 4 the suspense and adventure continues. I appreciate Amazon alerting me to other authors who also write historical novels. I
have ordered several. It is always easy to deal with Amazon.
Brilliant.......2007-05-12
I love this series. It began as a sort of romance but Sara Donati's writing style has become very vivid and exciting. I am a big Diana Gabaldon fan and they are most definitely in the same vein. I was thrilled when this latest installment came out and it did NOT dissapoint. You can smell the streets of New Orleans! Keep 'em comin' Sara!
Average customer rating:
- I really liked this book
- The Courage of Sarah Noble
- The Story of Sarah Noble
- The courage of Sarah Noble
- The Courage of Sarah Noble
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The Courage of Sarah Noble
Alice Dalgliesh
Manufacturer: Aladdin
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ASIN: 0689715404 |
Book Description
In 1707, young Sarah Noble and her father traveled through the wilderness to build a new home for their family. "Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble," her mother had said, but Sarah found that it was not always easy to feel brave inside. The dark woods were full of animals and Indians, too, and Sarah was only eight!
The true story of Sarah's journey is inspiring. And as she cares for her father and befriends her Indian neighbors, she learns that to be afraid and to be brave is the greatest courage of all.
Customer Reviews:
I really liked this book.......2007-02-23
I liked this book because it's about Indians and Americans getting to know each other more. It's about a girl and her father that go on a journey to find a home in the wilderness. And it's a true story.
The Courage of Sarah Noble.......2007-02-10
Our class read The Courage of Sarah Noble. I liked this story for several reasons. First, I liked the part when the little Indians came to hear her read. I liked it when she said,''how her favorite indan was.'' I liked it when the father left her with Tall John. I learned some interesting facts. First, I learned that indans eat with their hands. Also,I learned that most indans are nice. The Courage of Sarah Noble is a good book.
The Story of Sarah Noble.......2007-02-10
Our class read The Courage of Sarah Noble. I liked this sory for several reasons. First,I like it because it tells about the past. I liked the part when Sarah had to eat with her hands. I learned some interesting facts. I learned that Native Americans picked wild berries and hunted. The Courage of Sarah Noble is a good book.
The courage of Sarah Noble.......2007-02-10
Our class read The Courage of Sarah Noble. I liked this story for several reasons. First I liked the part when the Indian childen played with me. Then, I like Tall John and his family. I also like when I read a book to the Indian children. I learned some interesting facts. First, I learned that Indian children can play with other children. Also I learned that Tall John knows how to speak a little English. I liked this interesting book.
The Courage of Sarah Noble.......2007-02-10
Our class read The Courage of Sarah Noble. I liked this story for several reasons. First,I liked it when the indian children came to hear her reading. I liked it when she made friends with the Indian brother and sister. I learned some interesting facts. I learned that the indians eat with their hands. I also learned that some indians are nice.The Courage of Sarah Noble.
Average customer rating:
- That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep.
- Hauntingly Beautiful
- Leaves You Wondering!
- Classical Allusions in My Antonia
- A Different Novel
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My Antonia
Willa Cather
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
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ASIN: 039575514X |
Amazon.com
It seems almost sacrilege to infringe upon a book as soulful and rich as Willa Cather's My Ántonia by offering comment. First published in 1918, and set in Nebraska in the late 19th century, this tale of the spirited daughter of a Bohemian immigrant family planning to farm on the untamed land ("not a country at all but the material out of which countries are made") comes to us through the romantic eyes of Jim Burden. He is, at the time of their meeting, newly orphaned and arriving at his grandparents' neighboring farm on the same night her family strikes out to make good in their new country. Jim chooses the opening words of his recollections deliberately: "I first heard of Ántonia on what seemed to be an interminable journey across the great midland plain of North America," and it seems almost certain that readers of Cather's masterpiece will just as easily pinpoint the first time they heard of Ántonia and her world. It seems equally certain that they, too, will remember that moment as one of great light in an otherwise unremarkable trip through the world.
Ántonia, who, even as a grown woman somewhat downtrodden by circumstance and hard work, "had not lost the fire of life," lies at the center of almost every human condition that Cather's novel effortlessly untangles. She represents immigrant struggles with a foreign land and tongue, the restraints on women of the time (with which Cather was very much concerned), the more general desires for love, family, and companionship, and the great capacity for forbearance that marked the earliest settlers on the frontier.
As if all this humanity weren't enough, Cather paints her descriptions of the vastness of nature--the high, red grass, the road that "ran about like a wild thing," the endless wind on the plains--with strokes so vivid as to make us feel in our bones that we've just come in from a walk on that very terrain ourselves. As the story progresses, Jim goes off to the University in Lincoln to study Latin (later moving on to Harvard and eventually staying put on the East Coast in another neat encompassing of a stage in America's development) and learns Virgil's phrase "Optima dies ... prima fugit" that Cather uses as the novel's epigraph. "The best days are the first to flee"--this could be said equally of childhood and the earliest hours of this country in which the open land, much like My Ántonia, was nothing short of a rhapsody in prairie sky blue. --Melanie Rehak
Book Description
In Willa Cather's own estimation, My Antonia, first published in 1918, was "the best thing I've ever done." An enduring paperback bestseller on Houghton Mifflin's literary list, this hauntingly eloquent classic now boasts a new foreword by Kathleen Norris, Cather's soulmate of the plains. Infused with a gracious passion for the land, My Antonia embraces its uncommon subject - the hardscrabble life of the pioneer woman on the prairie - with poetic certitude, rendering a deeply moving portrait of an entire community. Through Jim Burden's endearing, smitten voice, we revisit the remarkable vicissitudes of immigrant life in the Nebraska heartland with all its insistent bonds. Guiding the way are some of literature's most beguiling characters: the Russian brothers plagued by memories of a fateful sleigh ride, Antonia's desperately homesick father and self-indulgent mother, and the coy Lena Lingard. Holding the pastoral society's heart, of course, is the bewitching, free-spirited Antonia Shimerda.
Download Description
In this powerful and astonishing novel, Willa Cather created one of the most winning yet thoroughly convincing heroines in American fiction. Antonia Shimerda, the daughter of Bohemian immigrants, not only survives her father's suicide, poverty, and a failed romance, she triumphs with high spirits.
Customer Reviews:
That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep. .......2007-04-27
I had to read this book for a school project and didn't want to read it at first. It didn't have an eye catching cover and seemed dull. As I started reading it though I found myself slowly pulled in and I couldn't stop. When trying to describe My Antonia, I find myself at a lost of words. Never have I read a book as beautiful as My Antonia.
Willa Cather has the amazing ability to make words float of the page and appear right before your eyes. Every landscape, every scent, every feeling created by her, and every character is tangible. When reading this book I felt as if I had been drawn into the scene. I could smell the fresh prairie grass, hear the voices all around me, and feel the prairie beneath me. As I lived every page I became a part of the book, I became a part of every character I read. I felt the adrenaline rush they felt, and the emotions that ran through them. To make one feel so close to book is a true form of art.
If you haven't read this book I won't spoil it for you, but I strongly encourage you reading it. English has never been as beautifully used as in My Antonia.
Hauntingly Beautiful.......2007-04-24
I am not a reader of the classics. I started this book as an assignment for my English CRAW-Fiction class. Yet right from the start, I knew there was something magical about this book. I can hardly describe it in any adequate words. It breaks my hearts, I guess would be the only way I could think to put it. Willa Cather has a way with words that just pulls you right into the landscape, into the lives of the characters and makes you love them... truly, truly love them. The beauty of the English language has never been more brilliantly exemplify than it has been in My Antonia. The writing is so achingly beautiful that at one point I actually had tears in my eyes... especially the beginning and towards the end of the novel.
Jim Burden and Antonia pulls at your heart-strings. Their relationship is more romantic and more breath-taking than any I've ever encounter, in books or in real-life. There is something timeless and eternal about about their love for one another that makes you ache inside with an indescribable feeling of warmth and wonderment. Was there ever a love as great and as boundless as the love between Antonia and Jim Burden?
Yes, it is that good.
Buy it, read it.
This book is bound to touch a special place inside all those who reads it.
Leaves You Wondering!.......2007-04-16
I started "My Antonia" just to find out what this literary classic was about. I soon found myself captivated by a development of characters and their relationships.
The story is seen through the eyes of Jim Burton, who begins the story as a ten year old orphan traveling from his family home in Virginia to his grandparents' farm near Black Hawk, Nebraska. The other two primary characters in the book are Antonia Shimerda, a Bohemian immigrant four years older than Jim, and Lena Lingard, a similarly aged girl from the local Norwegian community. As the years and the book pass, we see the characters develop in different ways. During this their relationships change, but the reader's interest is held.
The ability of this book to captivate the reader in intriguing! It has no real crises, no particular tragedies, just developing personalities and relationships. Although the main characters change, they all seem to develop along self directed lines, with no winners or losers. At the end the reader rides off with Jim, possessing many of the same feelings as he expresses. One test I apply to a novel is whether it leaves me wondering. Wondering why the characters lives develop as they do, wondering if the characters are really satisfied with their lives, wondering whether they desire something that the others have, wondering what happens to them after the last page. I am still wondering about "My Antonia." Any book that can do that has earned its status as a classic.
Classical Allusions in My Antonia.......2007-02-11
My Antonia, by Willa Cather, was written in an extremely unusual and interesting way. The author portrays the two main characters, Jim and Antonia, as the classical allusion of the earth and the sky, but she does it in a very subtle way. For example, at the beginning of the book when Jim and Antonia are in the fields together, she is trying to figure out the English word for sky, and to communicate more clearly, points to Jim's eyes, which are blue as the sky is. Immediately after this happens, Antonia finds a dying cricket and nurtures it back to life by warming it in her hair. When she first picks the cricket up, there is immediate warmth that Antonia brings to it, and this feeling of warmth is repeated many times throughout the book. This experience also shows that Antonia is a natural born mother, like mother earth, and foreshadows the events that are to come later in the book. For example, when Jim visits the Cuzack's farm at the very end of the book and sees the children running up from the cellar [that is built within the earth] he is astonished. This experience symbolizes how these many children came from Antonia, the earth. Lastly, the earth and sky analogy is represented in the fact that Antonia and Jim can never be together. They, like the earth and the sky, must always be separate although they together make something whole. Clearly, the classical allusion portrayed in My Antonia is really what makes this book so amazing.
A Different Novel.......2007-02-02
My Antonia is most definitely a different type of novel. My whole A.L.A. class had to read it, and about half of the people said that they liked it and the other half despised it. It is not a novel that you read for fun and enjoyment, you have to have a reason to read it or else you would most likely put it down mid-way through the book.
The story is about two kids, Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda. Jim is a white boy who has grown-up in America and Antonia is an immigrant girl who has just come with her family to farm. The first part is about them growing up (to teens) on their farms and all the good times then hardships that they have together or on their own. The second part is about when Jim and his grandparents move into town and invite Antonia down to help keep house for his neighbor. There, in town, more obstacles occur and several new characters appear, such as Lena Lingard. In the third part of the book it is about all of the "hired girls" in the town such as Antonia and Lena, who have come from other countries. The fourth part shows about Jim in college in a bigger town where Lena and he are very close friends. Then the last part is about Jim when he is graduated and teaching and Antonia when she has an enormous family on the farm.
Even though a some times this book could be interesting, there is nothing exciting to look forward to, no real climax. It is more so a biography in my world than it is a novel. But give it a try and maybe you will find out that it works for your taste in books.
Average customer rating:
- Enjoyed every bit of the entire series!
- I'm finally done!
- Good historical fiction
- Bland
- 5 Stars for Sara Donati
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Into the Wilderness
Sara Donati
Manufacturer: Bantam
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ASIN: 0553107364
Release Date: 1998-08-03 |
Amazon.com
In this ambitious and vibrant sequel to The Last of the Mohicans, Elizabeth Middleton, a well-educated spinster of 29, journeys from her home in England to her father's lands in upstate New York in 1792. Her widowed father has promised Elizabeth that she can become the schoolteacher for the local children, but on her arrival at Paradise, her father's property, she learns that he has brought her to America under false pretenses. It is his intention to find her a husband, preferably the well-respected physician, Richard Todd.
Though Elizabeth has no intention to marry, she is immediately drawn, not to Richard, but to backwoodsman Nathaniel Bonner, son of Dan'l "Hawkeye" Bonner, hero of the James Fenimore Cooper classic. Nathaniel's connection to the Mohican (Mahican) people is a strong one; he considers Hawkeye's adoptive father, Chingachgook, his grandfather, and his own wife was a Mahican woman who died in childbirth several years earlier.
Elizabeth learns from her father that her inheritance is a part of his lands, a mountain known as Hidden Wolf, to be granted to her when she marries. She soon finds herself caught between Nathaniel and the Mahicans, who want to buy back the mountain from her father as part of their hunting grounds, and Richard, who wants the land for himself and sees Elizabeth as the route to it. Her father, fearful that the sale of Hidden Wolf to the Mahicans will bring more Indians back to Paradise, favors Richard.
Knowing Richard's main interest in her is her land, Elizabeth resists his attentions as she gets to know Nathaniel and his people. The backwoodsmen and their Indian friends accept her and respect her opinions, and she soon finds herself siding with their claim to Hidden Wolf. Meanwhile, the attraction between her and Nathaniel grows into a love that only adds to the conflict between the whites and the Indians.
Into the Wilderness is an intelligent and beautifully written historical novel that draws the reader into another world. Elizabeth and Nathaniel are well-rounded and intelligent characters, and the secondary characters are also strong, three-dimensional, and often entertainingly quirky. Although the book is long--nearly 700 words--tight pacing makes it an entertaining read. Fans of Diana Gabaldon will want to watch for a cameo appearance by one of the characters of Gabaldon's stunning Outlander series. --Lisa Wanttaja
Book Description
Weaving a vibrant tapestry of fact and fiction, Into the Wilderness sweeps us into another time and place...and into the heart of a forbidden, incandescent affair between a spinster Englishwoman and an American frontiersman. Here is an epic of romance and history that will captivate readers from the very first page.
When Elizabeth Middleton, twenty-nine years old and unmarried, leaves her Aunt Merriweather's comfortable English estate to join her father and brother in the remote mountain village of Paradise on the edge of the New York wilderness, she does so with a strong will and an unwavering purpose: to teach school.
It is December of 1792 when she arrives in a cold climate unlike any she has ever experienced. And she meets a man different from any she has ever encountered--a white man dressed like a Native American, tall and lean and unsettling in his blunt honesty. He is Nathaniel Bonner, also known to the Mohawk people as Between-Two-Lives.
Determined to provide schooling for all the children of the village--white, black, and Native American--Elizabeth soon finds herself at odds with local slave owners. Much to her surprise, she clashes with her own father as well. Financially strapped, Judge Middleton has plans for his daughter--betrothal to local doctor Richard Todd. An alliance with Todd could extract her father from ruin but would call into question the ownership of Hidden Wolf, the mountain where Nathaniel, his father, and a small group of Native Americans live and hunt.
As Judge Middleton brings pressure to bear against his daughter, she is faced with a choice between compliance and deception, a flight into the forest, and a desire that will bend her hard will to compromise and transformation. Elizabeth's ultimate destiny, here in the heart of the wilderness, lies in the odyssey to come: trials of faith and flesh, and passion born amid Nathaniel's own secrets and divided soul.
Interweaving the fate of the remnants of the Mohawk Nation with the destiny of two lovers, Sara Donati's compelling novel creates a complex, profound, passionate portrait of an emerging America.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyed every bit of the entire series!.......2007-07-18
Each book in this series left me waiting for the next. Extremely well written.. kept me interested from start to finish.
I'm finally done!.......2007-07-07
I can't believe anyone can compare this book to Diana Gabaldon's. Not too long into the book, I began checking what page I was on to see how much more I had to read. I was determined to finish it before I could judge. The plot and the characters are flat but mostly predictable..very predictable. A spinster who quickly falls in love with a white Native American who uses "ain't" too much and calls her "boots." She barely knows him yet she is ready to give up and sell her land to him, his family, and his Native American friends. The dialogue doesn't shine. The plot is once again, flat and predictable. The characters unbelievable. It is important for me to care about the characters when I'm reading a book, especially a book that has this many pages. Ms. Donati should have saved a tree and not tried to resemble Diana Gabaldon.
..Diana Gabaldon's books aren't a perfect 10 either but so much better than this one. I actually enjoyed them and I do recommend them.
This also did not strike me as a believable "Last of the Mohicans" sequel. Not even close.
I gave this 2 stars because this book had potential and it's a great idea..but it's just too ambitious to try and make a sequel to James Fennimore Cooper's literary classic and when failing, comparing it to other great books.
Good historical fiction.......2007-05-28
I love reading the historical fiction genre, but it took me longer than normal to read this novel. It was not because it has an overly complicated plot and it was not boring, but I just wasn't in love with the characters. It is a good enough story and Ms. Donati is a talented writer, but Nathanial and Elizabeth just didn't click for me as the main characters. I liked the post Revolutionary war time-frame and the wilderness aspect of the book held my interest.
Bland.......2007-03-07
I read the book with some interest, I would daze in and out of the 2 dimensional characters as I skipped pages of endless description. A lot of the book was descriptive to the point of "what's the point?' The villan was not too threatening, the main characters were boring and I did not get a real grasp on who they were, I wish Ms. DOnati would have spent as much time developing the characters as she did their intensive family tree. Yawn.
5 Stars for Sara Donati.......2006-11-06
I fully enjoyed, "Into the Wilderness." Anyone who enjoys Diana Gabaldon's books, will also enjoy this series. I just ordered the newest book in the series, and can't wait to get started. The characters in this fast paced work of historical fiction are memorable and lovable. If you buy this book, make sure to order the rest of the series too, because you won't want to wait for them to be delivered!
Book Description
Tailored after the actual "Crow Killer" John Johnson, Sam Minard is a mountain man who seeks the freedom that the Rocky Mountains offers trappers. After his beloved Indian wife is murdered, Sam Minard becomes obsessed with vengeance, and his fortunes become intertwined with those of Kate Bowden, a widow who faces madness. This remarkable frontier fiction captures that brief season when the romantic myth of the far West became a fact.
Customer Reviews:
An all time favorite.......2007-03-27
I didn't read this book until after I had seen 'Jeremiah Johnson', and was pleased that the movie and book were so different. I enjoyed the movie very much, but with Fisher's story I felt as though I had put on my huntin' clothes, laced up my boots, grabbed my Hawken Rifle, and joined in on the adventure. Coming from a family of outdoorsmen, some of us certainly fantasized about leaving it all behind from time to time, and making our way in the remote wilderness. In fact my two brothers moved to the Pacific Northwest after college and still spend much of their free time wandering the Cascades. Anyone who loves the wild west will find this one to be a real gem, and simply by reading it, will be richly rewarded. It is a diamond in the rough, but not one to be missed, and has inspired much of my own writing. This one comes highly recommended.
James Hart Isley
Author of The Bear Hunter
A RENAISSANCE MAN IN THE AMERICAN WEST.......2004-02-14
MOUNTAIN MAN continues to be a classic in American Western literature. The major foundation for the movie, Jeremiah Johnson, MOUNTAIN MAN tells the story of Samuel John Minard, a mountain man known for his physical prowess and for his quick and educated intellect. A renaissance man who has chosen the life of the great American West.
In his adventures Sam meets up with Indians of various tribes, other mountain men and a crazy pilgrim woman. HIs marriage to an Indian maiden leads him into a one-man war with sweeping consequences for himself and for his enemies.
MOUNTAIN MAN, as is the case with most books upon which movies are based, considerably outshines JEREMIAH JOHNSON in its story and characterizations. But, hey, I love the movie as well. I guess that says a lot about what I think of the book.
THE HORSEMAN
THE ONE THAT STARTED IT ALL.......2003-08-25
Mountain Man
Interestingly Larry McMurtry has written three books of late that invite the reader back to the time of the Mountain Men. I've read all of them and while I love McMurtry's writing and the stories presented in Boone's Lick and in volumes 1 and 2 of the new Berry bender series, there is nothing like going back to the source for the real experience.
I first read Mountain Man by Vardis Fisher as a teenager. I read it in conjunction with the release of Jeremiah Johnson upon which the book is loosely based. At that time I was captured by this genre and have made a regular reading of Mountain Man a part of my program.
While I can enthusiastically recommend the newer editions to the Mountain Man genre, I would encourage interested parties in taking a look at Mountain Man first. While you're at it, rent or buy Jeremiah Johnson starring Robert Redford. The experience will be one that you don't regret.
interesting but has flaws.......2003-06-22
Quite interesting book, whose literary value I won't judge, but it has every rumor about Indians and every lie about Supermountainmen incorporated into it. I read it because of the movie, and the movie was better. If you ask me, Thorp's "Crow Killer" is more concise and more realistic. But if you are a West fan, guess you will want to read Fischer too.
Poetry and Beauty.......2003-05-22
This was the first book I had read by Vardis Fisher. He is a very colorful writer. His descriptions of every thing he sees and everything he thinks is wonderful. His knowledge of classical music is warming. I personally love classical music. Even though I enjoyed the book very much I did not like the continual repeat of his describing the scenry over and over.
-The Arizona Republic
"A thread of truth can weave a powerful story. Plumb powerful, as Sarah Prine might say....Taking great-grandmother Sarah's diary as an inspiration, Tucson novelist Nancy E. Turner has spun a frontier novel that teeters on the fine edge of truth and fiction...simply place an 1880's map of the Southwest next to the book and enjoy the ride."
Customer Reviews:
These is My Words.......2007-09-30
Book was just what I expected. One of the best books I've ever read. It's right up there with Jane Eyre.
Great western romance/historical ficiton.......2007-09-28
This is a great book about a headstrong young woman settling in the Southwestern US in the 1880's. I almost put it down after the first 50 pages because it was filled with so much sadness, death, and depression. It is admittedly hard to get into the book at first, because it is all the writings of her diary. That is why I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5. I am so glad I finished it though, because her romance with Captain Elliot is one of the sweetest I have read. This a wonderful book about overcoming obstacles, and the power of love.
Historical fiction at its best.......2007-09-17
This book was selected within the book club that I belong. To be honest, I wasn't that excited about it, as historical fiction isn't usually my favorite, but this book was truly a pleasant surprise. I was riveted to it from the moment I picked it up. I remember glancing down at the page number and realizing that so much had happened in just the first 26 pages alone---I knew I was in for a good ride. Not only was it a window into another time, a beautiful love story was interwoven throughout and showed how much of what defines us as women is timeless through the generations. A must-read for women. A great selection for book club discussions.
I absolutely adored this book!.......2007-09-09
I read this novel nonstop, at home, on the bus to work, and while I was at working, sneaking off to read it and on the bus again and back home. When I was finished, I started it all over from the beginning. It is simply and beautifully written, and it made me care about every character, especially Sarah. I loved her strength, innocence and sincerity. I would recommend this book to anyone, young and old alike. I absolutely adored it.
Engaging book.......2007-08-14
This engrossing book portayed a strong and independent woman in the early settlement days of the Arizona Territory from her teenage years to maturity. The reader gets a perspective on the history of the region as well as a good story. It was very believable and interesting.
Book Description
Emma Giesy, a strong-willed German-American, believes her young family will thrive in the light of their newfound freedom, after she and her husband branch off from their close-knit and repressive religious community in the spring of 1856.
A Story of Tender Truths
About a Woman’s Desperate Efforts
to Shelter Her Family
Determined to raise her children on her own terms, Emma suddenly finds herself alone and pregnant with her third child, struggling to keep her family secure in the remote coastal forest of the Washington Territory. With loss and disappointment as her fuel, she kindles a fire that soon threatens to consume her, making a series of poor choices that take her into dangerous relationships.
As clouds of despair close in, she must decide whether to continue in her own waning strength or to humble herself and accept help from the very people she once so eagerly left behind.
Based on a True Story
Rich with historical details and vivid characters, A Tendering in the Storm poignantly gives voice to a mother’s fears for her family and a woman’s search for her truest self.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome historical fiction with "edge"..........2007-08-08
A Tendering in the Storm is a must-read for historical fiction lovers. If you want insight into the hardships from the 19th century pioneers who left everything to move west hoping for a better life, then you'll love this story. If you find oppressive religious groups intriguing, you'll want to check this story out. If you'd like to reflect on how few rights women had in the mid-1860s then this is the book for you! To quote a cliche, We've come a long way, baby!
After finding the author's bio and reading that she is a certified social worker, I now see where she got her insight for this book. No dysfunction is easy to understand. All people are complex. But there are certain truths that exist in human nature and the author insightfully captured them all. Her illumination of the human heart and certain domestic issues is superb. I can't say what those issues are or I'll blow part of the storyline, but I will say that the subtly of how people are lured from their good senses--because of sometimes desperate situations--is expertly shown in this novel.
I loved this story. It's real. It's deep. It's edgy...and it's not at all boring.
So realistic...truth better than fiction!.......2007-07-22
A fictionalized true story doesn't always hit the mark, but Jane Kirkpatrick has got the gift! In the first book, "The Clearing in the Wild", one felt the harsh northwestern weather, tempered by the breaks of warmth and beauty that made it all worthwhile. And, what is more appealing than a heroine with an indomitable spirit! "A Tendering in a Storm" was eagerly awaited, as the story of Emma lingered long after the first book was back on the shelf. The story doesn't disappoint - as it just points out the reality that not everyone lives up to expectations, and sometimes the most heartfelt conviction must be set aside to do the right thing for those we love. Emma is a remarkable, strong, resiliant woman, and in these books, we learn how difficult it was to possess and hold on to those attributes in pioneer days. Could any of us show that strength if confronted with Emma's obstacles? It makes us ask the question. I love this series - it reminds me a bit of another written by Janice Woods Windle, about the "True Women" of the Texas "Hill Country" - two other fictionalized accounts based on real women fighting against unbelievable odds. Read these two while you're waiting for Kirkpatrick to write the third in this series. I'll be watching for it!
Historical fans won't want to miss this series........2007-06-06
Jane Kirkpatrick's award-winning writing makes A TENDERING IN THE STORM, the second installment in the Change and Cherish historical series, a pleasure to savor.
As the story continues from book one, A CLEARING IN THE WILD, readers find the feisty Emma Wagner Giesy living in the mid-1800s in the Washington Territory with her husband, Christian Giesy, and little ones Andy and Kate. The young couple has made some breaks with the German American religious colony they came with out West, but not enough distancing for Emma's taste. Wilhelm Keil, the leader of the Missouri Bethelites colony, has settled the majority of the group in a different location in Oregon, which he's dubbed "Aurora Mills" after his daughter. The story is told through the eyes of both Emma and Louisa in first-person, alternating chapters.
Kirkpatrick deftly shows the conflict for Christians of that time period between a desire for security and absolute certainty in how to live a Christian life and the need for independence, and embracing the messiness and mystery of faith. Wilhelm, the powerful leader of the colony and last word on all religious matters, is a more sympathetic figure here than he was in book one, but still shows the positive and negative effects of what happens when power and religious authority are invested in one person. Emma is his antithesis --- rebellious, independent and longing to do things her own way. In her character, we see the problems of Christians who disassociate themselves from community and try to do everything themselves. In Louisa's, we see the pitfalls of insecurity and giving up our independence.
Both ways of living are flawed yet also somewhat attractive. Through them, Kirkpatrick shows how giving up thinking for ourselves and letting someone else do it for us can lull us into a false sense of security, and alternatively, how refusing to let our Christian community keep us accountable for decisions we make and offer perspective and help can lead to other sorts of disasters. The secret, it seems, is somewhere between what Emma desires and what the community desires, which is the tension that holds much of the series together.
Characterizing the novel is an excellent sense of the place and time period in which these two women lived. Kirkpatrick weaves in mentions of local plants Emma might have foraged for, such as wild celery, wild raspberry roots and wapato (Indian potatoes) and includes interesting sketches of different plant uses. Historical details abound, culled from Kirkpatrick's research into the true-life story of Emma on which the story is based. Family letters, photographs, artifacts and help from her modern-day descendants give Kirkpatrick's work a ring of authenticity but, at the same time, doesn't get in the way of good fiction or interrupt the flow of the narrative. A difficult balance --- and one that Kirkpatrick admirably achieves.
Plenty of disasters are on the way for Emma, and readers will wince at some of the choices she makes. Many will applaud, however, Emma's strong belief that being a woman does not make her less than a man (as the patriarchy of her colony implies) and that it is important to question the theology that the colony has been relentlessly spoon-fed by Wilhelm. Readers will enjoy seeing Emma's gifts unfold and watching her grow as a woman of faith and as a mother who cares deeply for her children. Historical fans won't want to miss this series.
--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby
THE BEST.......2007-06-05
This is an excellent read! I've read all of Jane's books & this is right up there with my favorites! Emma, the main character, everyone can identify with. I finished reading the book yesterday & can't quit thinking about Emma & the life she led & how knowing that could make my choices better. The story takes a twist you don't expect & keeps your interest. Definitely read this one! Can't wait for the next one in 2008! Thanks for writing Jane!!!!
Tendering ~ Reviewed .......2007-06-02
Jane Kirkpatrick's A Tendering in the Storm is based on a true story, and in it, Kirkpatrick has woven the threads of Emma's life into a touching novel which leads us along life's journey with a woman whose actions are often clouded by her own interpretations.
But Emma is not the only one who misjudges others. As the community struggles to build a fledgling town in a rugged land, Emma fights to build her own life out of an unforgiving wilderness. Choices, both good and bad, are made, and Emma and the community must work to live with, or change, the consequences.
While the historical and cultural details make are delightful, the reader will most often be struck by the fact that Emma's choices are not that different from those we each must face in our lives today.
Reviewer: Marjorie Smith
Product Description
Like a magic carpet whisking us back in time, quilts stitch our past to the present. They record community and family history by memorializing lost loved ones, welcoming new members to our tribe, smiling upon new marriages or celebrating an anniversary or graduation.
Like Judy Howard's previous two Heavenly Patchwork books which won First Places in regional competition, Centennial Stitches inspires and entertains as it transports you into the lives and hearts of pioneer and contemporary women. Rejoice or cry with those who homesteaded Oklahoma's hostile and barren landscape, struggled to survive and nurture their families through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl Days or currently cope with our fast-paced society.
These stories will renew your hope and inspire your faith in God. They show how everyday heroines stitch true tales of courage against insurmountable obstacles into heart-warming patchwork.
Centennial Stitches tells the larger story of God's faithfulness to sustain, comfort and strengthen women through hardships.
Included in this full color, coffee-table gift book are the eighty Oklahoma Centennial Quilt Contest winners, and a sampling of fifty 1800's treasured legacy quilts homesteaders brought with them in covered wagons to bring beauty and comfort to their first sod dug-outs and log cabins.
Celebrate Oklahoma's unique history as seen through the eyes of our pioneer women in this full color limited collectors edition of 128 pages.
All book profits go to non-profits who provide quilts for orphans, sick babies and victims of disasters--all those most in need of the touch of God's love and comfort quilts represent.
Quantity discounts available for fund-raising. See www.HeavenlyPatchwork.com, 405-751-3885
Customer Reviews:
heavenly patchwork.......2007-05-23
I was very happy with my purchase, it arrived in Australia in good condition and was true to the description. I enjoyed the stories they were uplifting and encouraging. I am looking forward to reading the next 2 books.
regards Louise
Centennial Stitches and Oklahoma's centennial.......2007-05-23
This book has a collection of color photos of quilts connected with Oklahoma and its history. Some of the quilts presented in this book are as old or older as Oklahoma and some have connections with Oklahoma historical personages. Some of the quilts provide history lessons of the state or of families from Oklahoma. Some of the quilts have stories about the quilts and the makers with the quilt. Some have photos of the creators of them.
There are three parts to this book: Part one is entitled, Oklahoma history stitched in quilts. Part two is of the McCloy's Masterpiece collection which is very colorful. Part three is the Oklahoma centennial quilt contest winners. Winners are of various ages.
There are scripture quotes at the end of each entry description.
There is a table of contents at the front of the book.
The book is very colorful and a great keepsake for the Oklahoma centennial. Oklahomans interested in quilts, Oklahoma history will want to get this book. Quilt lovers too will want this book.
I purchased this book in memory of my deceased Grandmother who was a quilter. She would have loved the book.
Book Description
1886 Montana stands on the brink of statehood, and Dianne Selby finds her world turned upside down. Cole takes her and the children to Kansas to care for his dying father, but after the funeral, Cole's mother insists he stay and take over his inheritance. Unable to deal with her mother-in-law's cruel treatment, Dianne takes the children back to Montana alone. There, blizzards devastate the area, trapping a now pregnant Dianne at the ranch. Through the twists and turns of life and nature, Dianne comes to realize that the hope within-Jesus Christ-is the only hope that lasts. Book 4 of the bestselling Heirs of Montana.
Customer Reviews:
Pull Out The Tissues..........2006-07-23
Having read the entire 'Heirs of Montana' collection, this was one of my favorites out of the four books. Although the plot twists of book 3 were amazing, this book took on a different tone.
For most of the book I was crying right along with Dianne, angry at the treatment by her husband, Cole (no matter how honorable his intentions). However, the plot twists were still present with Mayra's unbelievable faith and outspokeness in her 'pursuit' of Zane. Peterson also left what seemed like an unlikely coupling from the beginning in the characters of Joshua and Ardith alone without any pressure. I went on to recommend this book to my mother, as she often encounters in-law 'issues' so to speak, so now she can compare the fictional in-laws to her own experiences.
I highly recommend this to anyone who has read the series, and for those that haven't, start at book 1 (from having started at book 3, trust me, you'll get more fun out of it!) but be sure to finish it out with this book! This is one of those classic books when you need a good cry.
I Couldn't Put it Down.......2005-09-23
I love this series! "To Dream Anew" is perhaps the best book in the series, but this fourth book is just as enjoyable to read. I hope there will be more to come!
The only aspect of this book that bothered me was the situation between Cole, his mother and sisters, and Diane. While Cole struggles to take care of his mother and be loyal to his wife at the same time, he really chooses his mother over his own family by making the decision to stay with his mother.
Diane is the one who lead Cole to Christ. He has known her and her faith for years; yet while they are living with Cole's mother, Cole seems to believe his mother, who curses God, over his own wife. The fact that he didn't see Diane hit his mother yet believes she actually could have seems a bit out of character.
Also, Diane later apologies to Cole for leaving his side, stating that a good Christian wife doesn't leave her husband's side, "no matter how ugly the situation." Cole's mother was abusing Cole and Diane's children! To allow that to continue in the name of being a "good Christian wife" is absurd. To not protect your children is not being a good Christian parent!
Other than this character flaw, the book is remarkable!
Hopefully not the last of this series.......2005-03-31
Dianne Selby, strong, determined Dianne, faces her worst trial yet. Their ranch has burned and they are "temporarily" living in town which she hates..in fact, she fears Cole is going to force her to stay there and she starts turning bitter against him....and their marriage falters...then word comes of the impending death of Cole's father in Kansas.
Cole wants to share his wife and children with his family for the first time ever, but when they arrive in Kansas, Diane and the children are treated worse than garbage. Dianne really tries, pulls more than her weight, but finally her strength is gone...and she is pregnant, unknown yet to Cole.
Cole has been harboring a secret fear of restarting the ranch back in Montana and feels it never really was his but Dianne's and more truly, Koko's and her children's.
In his tender moments, he tries to please all the women in his life and finds this is impossible and he loses the most important one. The reader is on their seat's edge for several pages.
So many things are drawn together in this book, we again see Trenton, Ardyth the pianist, the mean and cheating greedy neighbor rancher, the honor driven Indian who really loves Dianne but puts integrity over all...it is he and Koko who nurse Dianne through a near death experience... it seems the author is wrapping up this series.
Please, Tracie, don't leave us hanging.
terrific late nineteenth century Great Prairie family drama .......2005-03-29
1886 fire burns down the Diamond V ranch house and several other facilities forcing the Selby family to relocate to nearby Virginia City, Montana Territory. Dianne Selby hates living in town, but her spouse Cole keeps delaying their return with one pretext after another.
Cole learns that his father Hallam is dying so he, Dianne and their children travel to Kansas to say their last respects starting with his dad meeting his wife and grandchildren for the first time and helping his mother Mary cope with her loss and work the farm. Upon completing the trek, Mary sets the tone greeting Dianne about never visiting when her spouse was healthy. After Hallam dies, Mary pressures Cole to run the family farm he inherited while remaining nasty towards his wife and children; Dianne decides to end her cruelty to her grandchildren by taking them with her and going home though it means deserting her husband.
The final inspirational historical novel in the Heirs of Montana quartet, THE HOPE WITHIN, is a terrific family drama that vividly portrays late nineteenth century life on the Great Prairie especially in Montana and Kansas. The story line is character and geographical-climatic driven as the audience obtains a taste of the era through simple interwoven into the plot nuances; for instance Cole's parents and his wife and children never met before implies distance (communication and transportation). Fans will cherish the finale as the extended cast provides depth and Dianne sees hope that her husband will come back to her and their children as THE HOPE WITHIN her remains strong because of her belief in God.
Harriet Klausner
Books:
- PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives
- Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era
- Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic
- Ramon Novarro: The Life and Films of the First Latino Hollywood Superstar
- Rebel with a Cause
- Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (Wiley Investment Classics)
- Rescuing Da Vinci: Hitler and the Nazis Stole Europe's Great Art - America and Her Allies Recovered It
- That Devil Forrest: Life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest
- The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics)
- The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell
Books Index
Books Home
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- Macroeconomic Essentials - 2nd Edition: Understanding Economics in the News
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Water for Elephants: A Novel
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The Wild Girl : The Notebooks of Ned Giles, 1932
