Rating: 
Summary: This book will change you!
Review: To begin, I would like to address the sentiments stated in two of the reviews here. Yes.....this is a fiction novel, and it never claims not to be( though reading it you may well forget.) Of course our goverment didn't trade white women for horses (though to say it could never have happened is a long shot. The way our goverment works, and has worked for years is underhanded and often cruel and unjust.) This is a FICTIONALIZED account of WHAT could have happened if these circumstances had occured. Also....May Dodd's reason for being in an asylum is perfectly plausible. It was not unheard of for families to lock away their children, grown or other wise, for stupid reasons like living out of wedlock etc. Remember, at this time a father had total control over his children even after they grew up. Saying that this story COULDN'T have happened it like saying it never rains. The fact is it DIDN'T happen, but the truth is it very well COULD have. Also, about the Indians not letting the whites assimilate, that isn't true. I happen to be 1/3 cherokee and I know my history through my fathers family. It was not unheard of for whites to be brought into a tribe and become totally and mabey more native then the indians themselves. If you live in a tribe, work in a tribe and love that tribe, you were usually accepted as part of that tribe. Native American's were very tolerant of the white race for many, many years. And if a white came into a tribe, they had thier own culture and some never forgot that and tried never to lose a part of it; in some of their manners, speech, and actions. Native Americans value culture, and for the most part accepted that the whites had their own seperate culture to uphold. So, the things talked about in this book were not so far-fetched.Okay, now that that is straight. I state again, this book will change you. These women, May Dodd, Daisy Lovelace, the Kelly twins, Gretchen, Martha, Sara.....all will become like close family and you will be forever changed by their stories. You will laugh....cry....get angrey.....be scared....feel appalled WITH them, through them, and for them. It surprises me (pleasently) that this book is writen by a male. Since he handled and developed the female characters so very well. Most of the men in this story seem to be secondary characters, when usually male writers keep men in the forefront and push females to the back as an afterthought. I will warn you though. This book is often times hard to read, not because of the writing style (that flows easily across the page.) But because of the content. Life as a Native American was never easy. But it was made increasingly hard by the whites movement westward, and the goverments almost unrelenting hatered of them and the land they once freely roamed was coveted by the whites, who saw it as THEIRS. There are moments where you will laugh, and smile and find full of joy. But alot of this book is sadness and pain. I know I turned the last page, crying my eyes out. I finished it a day ago, and I still have to remind myself it was fiction, that I can't do anything to change or help these womens lives. But, it is such a powerful work of fiction, that you WILL forget at times that these women never lived but on paper. Brava Mr. Fergus, brava!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: From beginning to end, this book is filled with history but written in a wonderful, inspiring way. It amazed me how much we Americans have changed - yet stayed the same. I look forward to Jim Fergus' next book!
Rating: 
Summary: Good story, if you can get past the "unreal" parts
Review: While reading this book, one must get past the idea of knowing that much of these things would never happen. I have a hard time believing not only that the US would offer "1000 white women" but even that the Native Americans would treat them as part of their tribes and allow them to act in ways unheard of by their culture. There are twin Natives to match twin "white women" and a black native to match a black bride... this just seems too coincidental. That said, the actual story is quite interesting and of course a novel concept. May Dodd is a thoughtful character, though I think most of the time Fergus has her reporting "happenings" in her journals, rather than revealing deep and developed characters. It is certainly not a novel to get engrossed in, however it is quite good and I would recommend it for light reading.
Rating:
Summary: One Thousand White Women
Review: Several of my friends and I read this book and thought it was extraordinary! May Dodd's journals make it so realistic. You just can't help thinking it is a true story, even though it isn't. It appeared as though the author, Jim Fergus, did a great deal of research and based the book on facts. It is incredible that this is his first novel. It takes place in 1875 when President Grant and the chief of the Cheyenne Indians strike up a deal to integrate the two races so they may learn to live together. A must read!
Rating:
Summary: Best Book I Ever Read
Review: I wasn't sure about this book at first when it was chosen as our bookclub title but I was in for a big surprise. This is truly the most enjoyable book I have read in years. I loved that the book was in the form of a journal as it made it difficult to remember sometimes that I wasn't reading the real journal of a long lost relative of my own. I cried and laughed out loud. I think this book is "Dances with Wolves" for women.
Some review stated that the story line was unbelievable. Did they not know that the book is fiction?
I highly recommend the book.
Rating:
Summary: Wow I was Amazed
Review: I received this book as a Christmas gift and didn't think it looked that interesting. I decided to try it out anyway. I love it, its fascinating, so much history revealed. Those women were extremely brave and courageous. I never knew about this event. I would reccomend this book highly to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: Hated the title but loved the book. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: I guess you love it or you hate it!
Review: Judging from the mixed reviews of this book, there is no middle ground, you love it or hate it. I loved it. I was amazed that it was written by a man, a sports writer no less. It had such a female feel to it. Fergus's characters were so vivid and real, women who in many cases had reached rock bottom and still had the strength to set out on a terrifying journey into a strange life amongst the "savages". Sadly, the US Govenments actions in this novel are all to true to life.
Rating: 
Summary: So much potential undelivered.
Review: I was excited about this book at first glance - I love that period of history and the premise was so promising. I really wanted to like it! But the author's use of so many ridiculous stereotypes really bothered me - surely he's intelligent enough to know better. This would've been a much better book if he had dared to make these women real, instead of shallow, one-dimensional paper dolls.
Rating:
Summary: Take the leap
Review: The characters in this book were so real, I felt I was with them on their amazing journey. What a wonderful depiction of the meeting and blending of two cultures, from each woman's decision to dare the unknown to the discoveries, wonder and learning that happened between the women and the Cheyenne every day. Of course, the blending and learning and delight in learning of the "other" can only happen on a personal level. The wider culture never seems to be able to accept and honor other ways of living. May and Captain John Bourke tried to bridge that gulf. Jim Fergus's description of their struggle alone makes the book worth reading.
I highly recommend this book.
|
