Rating: 
Summary: Well Done Historical Fiction
Review: One Thousand White Women is an interesting novel in which Jim Fergus plays a little "what if" with history. In the mid-1800s, several prominent native American leaders proposed a trade--one thousand white women for brides for the native Americans in exchange for one thousand horses. As far as we know, the offer was never accepted, but Fergus takes the ball and runs with it. One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd, a young women from Chicago who had been institutionalized by her family for "promiscuity." She had fallen in love with a man below her station and had two children before her family caught up with her. Her participation in the "exchange" program offered her an escape from her wrongful detention. Most of the other women in the program were similarly situated--women seeking escape from mental institutions, prisons, and other undesirable situations answer the call of their government to live with the Cheyenne. May's adventure is interesting as well as heartbreaking. She is a charming narrator and her story is full of ironic humor. The writing at times can get a little clunky, but that is my only complaint about this engaging novel.
Rating:
Summary: A fast and fascinating read!
Review: It's a fast read and it catches you right from the start, which I think is important. I won't read a book that I don't like after 50 pages. This one grabs you on Page 5. Lots of dialog, surprises and action. Creates wonderful mind images and thoughts after reading each section. The characters are very typical, Southern=racist; Black woman=athletic and good dancer; army officer=dashing love interest, etc. - but the book succeeds despite that. Great to take on a 3 hour flight or a cruise. The main character made many foolish choices in her life for the time she lived but she had appeal, and I found the "supporting" cast of characters to be mini-stories within, and a bit more interesting. I would have liked a better preface from the author explaining what specific parts of the story were based on fact. Many parts, particularly how quickly the women adapted to the Indian culture, seemed fairly difficult for me to read as believable.
Rating: 
Summary: An eye opener that really gets to you
Review: Having been recommended this book by my mother, I was determined to prove her wrong and not like it. But, by the 10th page, I was already lost, thoroughly engrossed in May Dodd's world. The book is very well written and, although a man, Jim Fergus has a unique gift for capturing the feminine and spunky spirit of May Dodd. It tells of the Cheyenne and their outlook on life, nature, and respect of all things. I was ashamed of America's tactics to the Indians and at times I had to stop and let the words soak in. I am a voracious reader, and I usually finish books this size in a day. Yet this book is different, it pulls at your heart strings and it took me a week to read it, after dinner and during breaks in the day, almost as if it were a delectable treat. Although you wish for a happy ending, you read the book knowing the whole time that it cannot be. So savor this book, I really, truly recommend it; it is one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: imaginative, compelling story
Review: In 1854, a Cheyenne chief proposed that 1000 white women be given as brides to his warriors so that his people could be more easily assimilated into the white culture. In this novel, the first by sportswriter Jim Fergus, this event takes place in 1874 and, more importantly, the offer is accepted. Now there's an interesting premise for you! Our protagonist and narrator is May Dodd, a woman who has been institutionalized by her influential family, and who uses the 'Brides for Indians' program as a way to escape the asylum. May's journal entries begin in the train station as she and other volunteers depart for their western adventure. Fergus has developed a wonderful narrative voice here -- an intelligent, observant woman caught up in an enthralling, if tragic, course of events. We are immediately interested in her, her companions and their experiences, and there is not a boring passage in the book. Of course, as much as one roots for a happy ending, history demands that it will not be that simple. It was not a time to be proud of, and the novel believably captures the sentiments and ideas of the times through interesting (though not necessarily complex) characters. The book gets off to a bit of a clunky start, with an author's note stating that yes, indeed, this is a work of fiction, and then an introduction by the fictitious descendant of the narrator (which does ultimately work as a framing device), and then a prologue relating the factually-based fictional incident in which the 'Brides for Indians' program is proposed; but as soon as May Dodd's journals begin, you will be loathe to put the book down. Meticulous research and a real talent for writing from a woman's point of view ensure that you will learn even as you lose yourself in this entertaining and thought-provoking story. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Playing "what if"
Review: As a child did you ever play the game "What If?" I remember playing it often. What if we lived during the times of cowboys and Indians? What if the US would not have dropped the atomic bomb? What if I had been born 200 years ago or 2000 years ago? The game was always fun and usually resulted in some interesting findings. Jim Fergus plays the game with his book One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd. It is a novel written from the perspective of an actual historical event. In 1854 at a peace conference at Fort Laramie, a Cheyenne chief requested of the U.S. Army authorities for a gift of one thousand white women as brides for his young warriors thinking that such would hasten the assimilation into the white world. The request was of course turned down, but this book is written as if it really happened. The narrative is delicious. Reading the diaries of May Dodd we get a glimpse into a way of life that has disappeared from our land. We become part of the Cheyenne nation in the closing days of the military conquest of the Indians. The radical contrast between the "civilized" people and the "savage" people is crystal clear as May and several dozen other white women are shipped West and given to the tribe. These women, all volunteers, learn quickly of the vast differences living on the land can mean. We live with them for a few months during the summer of 1875, the year before the Battle at Little Big Horn, which became the greatest victory of the Native Peoples and the seal of their ultimate final defeat. Most of them do conceive and present infants to their Cheyenne warriors. They learn to live the nomadic life and even learn to appreciate the natural ways of their adoptive people. They also learn the sad reality that such a way of life could not survive the inevitable tide of the western movement. I learned much about my Native ancestors and embrace their story with even more appreciation. I appreciated the honesty with which the story is told and was drawn into the personal histories. As I seek to partner with all peoples in the human agenda, it is good to better understand this piece of history. The sad answer to the "what if" question is, of course, it would not have mattered if a thousand white women had been sent to the Cheyenne people. The mad movement west, the insane slaughter of a people and a culture, the "manifest destiny" that forever changed the land in which we live, did take place and nothing would have stopped it. Perhaps the best we can do today is to remember the story, tell it to each other and learn that in spite of the mistakes of the past we are still human beings. We can live and learn. We can embrace our diversity. We can hope for each generation to learn some lessons from the past in order that at least we don't make the same mistakes again.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done Historical Fiction
Review: One Thousand White Women is an interesting novel in which Jim Fergus plays a little "what if" with history. In the mid-1800s, several prominent native American leaders proposed a trade--one thousand white women for brides for the native Americans in exchange for one thousand horses. As far as we know, the offer was never accepted, but Fergus takes the ball and runs with it. One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd, a young women from Chicago who had been institutionalized by her family for "promiscuity." She had fallen in love with a man below her station and had two children before her family caught up with her. Her participation in the "exchange" program offered her an escape from her wrongful detention. Most of the other women in the program were similarly situated--women seeking escape from mental institutions, prisons, and other undesirable situations answer the call of their government to live with the Cheyenne. May's adventure is interesting as well as heartbreaking. She is a charming narrator and her story is full of ironic humor. The writing at times can get a little clunky, but that is my only complaint about this engaging novel.
Rating:
Summary: An Extraordinary Book
Review: I just finished this book and I was actually depressed to put it down. One of the very best books I have ever read. It is a wonderful story and gives a great insight into an American Indian tribe, one I have never had before. The main character in the book, May Dodd, is an inspiration to women.
Rating: 
Summary: Unsatisfying characters, interesting premise
Review: Although the premise of this book is creative and the writing style is polished, the characters and story left plenty to be desired. Good things happen, bad things happen, but the characters don't seem to develop or grow. It's like watching a mediocre sitcom: the same characters put in different situations, but nothing ever really changes or develops. Each one has their "issue" that they came into the story with, and we see that "issue" as the background for everything that person does. Often the friendships between the women are spoken of, yet I don't see anything that convinces me of any real bond between anyone here. The closest bond I see is a few fearful characters who look to follow May Dodd's lead. Read the first 100 pages, and then move on.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying, though sometimes depressing read
Review: Read this book only if you are truly interested in Indian life and their various conflicts with the white world in 1870's Old West. If you know anything about history, you know there is no happy ending here. Without giving away the ending, the last part of the novel was a little hard to take and, yes, I shed a few tears. The story is quite compelling, but at times I found myself a little irritated with the author's inability to make the dialogue believable. I'm pretty sure they didn't call people "pieces of work" or say "don't shoot the messenger" in the 1870's. Add to that, the main character's ability to write in her journal under the most dire of circumstances and to even remember what the trees looked like while peeing, well, it wasn't entirely believable. Even so, I could barely put it down, and except for the utter depressing truth to it's ending, found it enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Touching Fictional Account of Historical Event
Review: A woman in an unhappy life takes the opportunity to partake in a government program to pacify American Indians by sending 1000 white women to be their wives. She falls in love with a military officer involved in delivering the women, but grows to learn about the pride, strength, and dignity of the "noble savages" and is caught in between the white and Indian cultures. The characters are not wholly realized, but the emotional touch points are all there.
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