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aemesserlie's review against another edition
4.0
Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey is an analysis of women's diaries chronicling the overland route taken by families to find their fortune in California. And I have to say that I think Lillian Schlissel has done a wonderful job.
I picked this up at a library sale, not really expecting much but wanting to check it out anyway, and I was pleasantly surprised. Schlissel presents a solid and clear analysis of the diaries and gives the reader enough background information to really get into the diaries when they finally come around.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would definitely recommend this book to those interested in the social sciences and ethnographies. I would also recommend it to anyone who played Oregon Trail as a kid; like I did. :)
I picked this up at a library sale, not really expecting much but wanting to check it out anyway, and I was pleasantly surprised. Schlissel presents a solid and clear analysis of the diaries and gives the reader enough background information to really get into the diaries when they finally come around.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would definitely recommend this book to those interested in the social sciences and ethnographies. I would also recommend it to anyone who played Oregon Trail as a kid; like I did. :)
eringow's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating look at the journey across the American West by wagon train.
camillalice's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book very interesting and very accessible - it reads like a novel.
The first half of the book is a historical explanation and account of the westward journey from the point of view of women. The second half regroups a few diaries of the trail by women. There are also quite a lot of photographs, which I really enjoyed.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.
The first half of the book is a historical explanation and account of the westward journey from the point of view of women. The second half regroups a few diaries of the trail by women. There are also quite a lot of photographs, which I really enjoyed.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.
karleneeberth's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book really interesting. This is one of those periods in history that I love to read and learn about, especially from the female perspective. This book brought to life a lot of the struggles that were only experienced by women. I recommend it to any one who is interesting in women crossing the plains in hopes of a better life
midknytowl's review against another edition
2.0
Not exactly what I was expecting, based on the title. There are women's diaries of the westward journey, but they're added to the back almost like an appendix (which wasn't clear in the introduction that that was the format). The majority of the book is the author summarizing with occasional excerpts from the diaries, almost like you would when writing a research paper for school.
The order also felt rather mushy. I made it through the first section (75 pages) before I gave up, and there's not a strong narrative throughout. She talks about a general thing, then gives an example of one woman's entire journey with a slight focus on the general thing, before switching to another woman and kind of doing the same thing. (For example, she might want to talk about how about how being pregnant wasn't really mentioned in the diaries, then will tell you about Mrs. Whoever left from this place at this age, saw these things, wrote about this, gave birth on this day, then arrived at this place in this situation. Then it would go to Mrs. Someone Else and the summary of her entire journey, with an extra few sentences on the childbirth part.)
The problem with this is that it doesn't carry that continuous thread throughout and just ends up jumbled. It could have been organized by the different legs of the trail, or more specific for each woman. Actually, organizing it by the subject like she kind of does would have been great too, but then make each section specifically about that thing and focus on it in a clear, easy to follow way. Everything was too summarized and I felt like I was reading the introduction the entire time.
That probably sounds all jumbled too, but that's what this book did to me. ;)
I'm sure the author researched the subject extensively and I don't doubt her knowledge, but her ability to convey that information is severely lacking. 1.5 stars.
The order also felt rather mushy. I made it through the first section (75 pages) before I gave up, and there's not a strong narrative throughout. She talks about a general thing, then gives an example of one woman's entire journey with a slight focus on the general thing, before switching to another woman and kind of doing the same thing. (For example, she might want to talk about how about how being pregnant wasn't really mentioned in the diaries, then will tell you about Mrs. Whoever left from this place at this age, saw these things, wrote about this, gave birth on this day, then arrived at this place in this situation. Then it would go to Mrs. Someone Else and the summary of her entire journey, with an extra few sentences on the childbirth part.)
The problem with this is that it doesn't carry that continuous thread throughout and just ends up jumbled. It could have been organized by the different legs of the trail, or more specific for each woman. Actually, organizing it by the subject like she kind of does would have been great too, but then make each section specifically about that thing and focus on it in a clear, easy to follow way. Everything was too summarized and I felt like I was reading the introduction the entire time.
That probably sounds all jumbled too, but that's what this book did to me. ;)
I'm sure the author researched the subject extensively and I don't doubt her knowledge, but her ability to convey that information is severely lacking. 1.5 stars.
saabrian's review
3.0
Really fascinating insight into the lives and thoughts of these pioneer women. Only downside is that it got a bit repetitive as it went on.
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