Customer Reviews

A Bride Goes West (Women of the West)

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This book traces a short period in the life of a woman who came to Montana from a fairly well-to-do life in Virginia. She was young and probably not prepared for what she encountered. But it is amazing how well she did in the middle of nowhere. I was impressed with her open mindedness and interest in all things. I thought it was very well written. It leaves a lasting impression.

This book was an amazing true account of life in Montana when it was still being settled. The author(s) paint a vivid picture of the "new" West at the time and how men and women lived. I was surprised to learn that it was not all hardship and toil, to the contrary, there was much fun and merriment had. There's an amazing cast of colorful characters that Nannie met as a new young bride on a ranch. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves American history, the Old West, or authobiographies.

Reading this book, written in 1942, was like spending a wonderful relaxing afternoon sitting at the kitchen table with a well spoken and fascinating woman telling her gritty true story about life as a young newlywed pioneer in Montana beginning in the 1880s. This, like other well written pioneer accounts amazed me with all the often surprising details of how folks lived back then: what and how they cooked, cleaned, what they used to build and decorate their dwellings, what they wore, what they did for recreation, their interactions with the Indians, how they delt with childbirth, etc. Mrs Alderson gives delightful descriptions of each and every person in her life, often her only companions being the working cowboys on their ranch, and it's fun to compare the little social dos and don'ts with ours today. Nannie Alderson gives an easy, flowing, compelling narration; not once did my interest falter. I highly recommend.

This book was copyrighted in 1942, and tells the story of a genteel Eastern girl who marries a Cowboy soon after the Civil War. These are the true experiences of the log cabins, trail drives, bank panics, and Indian encounters from which latter-day novels and TV shows were derived.
If you want a pleasant read that offers true history rather than made-up fluff, here is one for you.

A great read, something like Little House on the Prairie for grownups. A fascinating portrait of pioneer Montana, through a woman's eyes. Highly recommended.

I read this book for an American History class. A person is able to taste the delicacies of the old west through this autobiography. Laced richly with bits and pieces of history, documenting the personal accounts of a pioneer woman who migrated west in pursuit of a new way of life, this book enlightens one to some of the trials and hardships, fears and struggles, joys and benefits she and other pioneer people of that time era felt and experienced.

Nannie Alderson was quite fair and revealing in her writing about many of her strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of others. She also mentioned some of the presuppositions and values she held to, most of which still hold true for us today: happy memories and unhappy times are closely intertwined with one another; the simplest of things bring the greatest pleasures; feeling sorry for yourself can be the beginning of your end; it is the little things that bother women the most, and the big things that bother men; an easy life is never half as full as a hard life; fear is our greatest sin, for it shows a lack of faith and comes between us and the light, and it keeps us from getting things done; and when you have to live without money, it loses a great deal of its power over you.

This book showed how life in the days of the early frontier was far from easy; it was both physically and materially challenging. That a person did not live a long life was not unusual, due to the lack of adequate medical care and technology and high occurrences of sickness and injury.

Some might think the lives of those who lived back then were richer than ours of today because they lived life in a more natural and simplistic state. However, it took all the time and energy they had just to do the common, everyday chores. But I believe we still have the ability to have rich lives today, by carefully considering how we spend our time and what we spend our lives doing. Because of the advances in technology, communication and transportation, we have the opportunity to live enhanced lives, better able to impact our society in a much greater degree.

The existence of the "Old Frontier" might be forever gone, but a great frontier still faces man today. You could say now that the unsettled frontier lies within each one's life and to what degree you will challenge and conquer your own horizons.
A Bride Goes West (Women of the West)

If you enjoy biographies about ordinary people living extraordinary lives you will love this book. I really enjoyed this book.

Although Alderson presents her story in a light and entertaining fashion, she doesn't gloss over the hardships and tragedies that accompany a homesteader in the late 19th century.