Far from Home: Families of the Westward Journey [Paperback]

Lillian Schlissel (Author), Byrd Gibbens (Author), Elizabeth Hampsten (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 1990

Takes a look at the human cost of the cross continental trek. Using letters and diaries, the author pieces together the sagas of 3 families of the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries who ventured West.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a study of the westward movement, the authors examine the bitter history of three migrant families--everyday people who lived on the western frontier. PW found this to be "a valuable contribution to both women's and western history." Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This book focuses on three frontier families--the Malicks in the Oregon Territory, the Browns in Colorado and New Mexico, and the Martin/Neher families in North Dakota. Each of the narratives, drawn from family letters and diaries from 1848 to 1909, realistically portrays how these families "tested the frontier and were tested by it." While recent titles such as Sharon Niederman's A Quilt o f Words : Women's Diaries, Letters & Original Accounts of Life in the Southwest, 1860-1960 ( LJ 11/15/88) and Schlissel's own Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey (LJ 4/15/82) emphasize the women's role in the westward movement, this addresses the effects of the harsh frontier on the entire family unit. As a sociological study, this has value in U.S. history and sociology collections.
- Ellen Pine, Andover Elementary Sch., N.H.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Schocken; First Edition edition (March 3, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805209778
• ISBN-13: 978-0805209778
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,661,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HISTORY COMES ALIVE IN THIS BOOK!, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Far from Home: Families of the Westward Journey (Paperback)

YOU'LL LAUGH, CRY AND FIND YOURSELF IN THE PAGES OF THIS HUMAN HISTORY ABOUT THREE FAMILIES SEEKING A BETTER LIFE IN "WEST" OF THE 1840'S-EARLY 1900'S. YOU WILL SHARE THEIR HARDSHIPS, DISCOURAGEMENT AND TRIUMPHS, BUT MOST OF ALL, YOU'LL FIND OUT WHAT DREAMS, HOME AND FAMILY ARE REALLY ABOUT.

MY FAVORITE FAMILY, THE MALICKS IN OREGON TERRITORY IN 1840'S, COULD HAVE BEEN RELATED TO ANYONE OF US. I WATCHED AS THEY SUFFERED UNEXPECTED DEATHS AND HARDSHIPS. I SHARED THEIR MOMENTS OF JOY WHEN LAND AND LABORS PROVIDED THEM WITH ABUNDANCE, AND FAMILY TIES MATTERED MOST.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR A "GOOD READ" IN HUMAN HISTORY AT ITS BEST. I LIKED IT SO MUCH THAT I MAY READ IT AGAIN.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True tales of survival, January 11, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Far from Home: Families of the Westward Journey (Paperback)

Far From Home: Families Of The Westward Journey consists of four essays by Lillian Schlissel (Professor Emerita of English and American Studies, Brooklyn College, CUNY), Byrd Gibbens (Professor of English, University of New Mexico, Valencia Campus), and Elizabeth Hampsten (Professor of English, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks) about the troubles and difficulties of individual frontier families in the latter half of the 1800s. Hardships, conflicts, and true tales of survival and what life on the fringe could cost fill the pages of these candid, insightful, scholarly, informative accounts into what it really was like to pack up and move West. Far From Home is a highly recommended addition to academic American Western Frontier Studies reference collections and reading lists.