Customer Reviews

Frontier House

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This book is proof positive why movies will NEVER replace the written word.
There were six of us who, together, watched this PBS television series about seeing if three modern day families could survive being Montana homesteaders in 1883. They had to dress from the period, use tools and medicine from the period, and eat the types of foods available for the time of year (summer) that they were living in (not like today where we can eat any vegetable any time of year). We were all hooked and couldn't wait 'til the next episodes. After each of the three nights it was shown, we would have these great discussions about what we saw, and offered our own opinions about each family and how well (or how poorly) they were doing compared to the others. But we had questions - a lot of them. Questions like, did they really drink the water from the stream? After all, you don't know what bacteria and year 2001 pollutants could be in it. Also, how different were their lives in comparison to the actual homesteaders of the 19th century? These questions and many others we would answer with our own opinions instead of the facts.
Well, now we have the facts. This book has more than answered all of our questions. We also got to know each family a little better and realized that the TV series didn't do each family justice (except the Brooks family). There was so much more that happened than was shown that they could have (SHOULD have) made the series at least two hours longer! There is MUCH more detail, and many more explanations in this book that it acually brought the whole experiment to life more vividly than watching the show! It even gives a rather enjoyably well written history of the REAL homesteaders and tells what their lives were actually like.
If you enjoyed the series (and didn't get enough of it), this book is just what you need. It is written in a lively 'I can't put this down!' manner. Highly recommended!

I didn't think I could love anything more than watching the Frontier House series on PBS. I am pleased to report that I loved this book even more. I don't think it would be a great read for someone who hasn't seen the series, but for those of us who have and loved it this is a must have companion.

The book intertwines facts about and stories of real life settlers on the Frontier with the stories of the Frontier House families, the Clunes, the Brooks, and the Glenns. It gave more indepth information about the selection process these families went through to be chosen for the show, the training they received and some of the questionable behavior they displayed while on the frontier. My absolute favorite parts where where they catalouged all of the clothing Nate Brooks was given to survive the winter as well as what rations of food the Clunes were given to last them the first five weeks of the experiment until they could get to the general store. My only complaint is that I wish they would have included this kind of information on each and every one of the participants. It may seem like minutae to some, but I loved every minute I spent with this book and have to say it was my favorite Christmas present I recieved in 2002.

I saw the show and had numerous questions and a desire to
find out more about the families and the details of the
project. This book answers nearly all of the questions
and gives considerably more detail. It also portrays
the families and individuals in a more sympathetic and
realistic light. The photos and layout of the book are
a pleasure, it is worth the price!

I've watched the videos three times through now, in addition to digesting the web site and now the book. I recommend all three.

It was an interesting project, but no one media presents it completely. You have to watch the videos, read the book, and then the web site to get the most complete picture.

Many people seem to have misunderstood the project. The people there were supposed to be 21st century people put into 19th century Montana. They had to use period tools, materials, and methods (mostly) but they'd still be 21st century people doing it.

The people chosen were an interesting study in human behavior. The Clunes came from the most radically different climate and background and frankly would have fared very badly in their first winter. I think in the long run they'd have probably ended up living in town and making out alright. Gordon Clune is a very entrepreneurial spirit. I also think he would have realized what that sort of pioneer life was doing to his family and taken them out of it.

The Glenns were the best prepared to survive a winter - providing they did not murder one another - and would probably have made it through to the next summer in the best condition. Karen Glenn was depicted as a most ungracious woman which is a real character fault, but it does not change the fact they would probably have survived the winter the best. Judge Winter would not have cared much about anything else. Mark Glenn came in as a step-dad into a ready made family which is a tough enough situation. Doing the Frontier House project on top of it seemed to have simply been too much for their relationship.

I really liked the Brooks, but a careful reading reveals that Nate and Rudy were somewhat of a ringer. Both had very applicable life experiences to surviving in such circumstances that the others families did not. They didn't have to make as much of an adjustment as the other families did, nor did they have children to consider and cope with. Kristen, on the other hand, had a background more similar to the other families and found the frontier life a hard road to travel.

It was too bad that the project ended only five months in. They were just beginning to really develop a community and that was a very important survival consideration. Much of the isolation and loneliness the women of the three families felt could have been alleviated somewhat as the families interacted with each other more as a community. A few more months and things might have looked much different. Providing the Clunes and Brooks managed to stay there through the winter.

Go to the web site and read the expert's reports as they are very revealing. Read the book too as it explains much as well.

.....Alan.

I loved this book. It gave a lot more details than the show and tried hard not to pass judgement on the individual families.

It was a hoot that the Brooks and the Clunes would not have anything to do with the petty, hyper-competitive Tennessee family after they got to know them. Even at the post-show get-together, they sat apart. The Tennessee wife, in particular, was much more focused on one-upping the other families than simply curious to see if she could cope with 1880's hardships. She was what my grandmother would have called a "pill."

One of the family members in the book made an interesting observation: he had hoped to get away from the frenetic busy-ness of modern day living, but instead found himself living just an 1880's version of freneticism, working nonstop.

Finally, the book left me feeling that only one person in each family was actually gung-ho about participating in Frontier House. The rest of the groups went along, but not as enthusiastically.

Personally, one day without diet pop, hormone replacement therapy, and microwave ovens, and I'd be ready to kiss suburbia and strip malls on the lips.

I read this book cover to cover and loved it... probably more than the series. Even as I write this review I find myself curling up with it again to read through a section here and there. It goes in to much greater detail about the families and their experiences. For instance you actually get to see a list of what the provisions were for the Clune family for those first five 'starving' weeks. If you think Adrienne was whining and they were just spoiled So-Cal rich people then I challenge YOU to live on that for over a month, much less a family of 6! You also get a much deeper look at what happened the day of the snowstorm and a somewhat better sense of what the final assesments said (though the full text is only available on the Frontier House page on PBS).
I would love to have seen the list of items each chose to bring back with them from the experience (tools, Bible, etc - each was allowed one item as I recall). I do wish they had done a longer term follow up with the families. They do talk about the three month reunion but I'd like to see where they were at a year later or even now 8 years later. What did they carry back to the 20th century from the experience? What do they no longer take for granted having been through it? What kinds of careers have the children decided to pursue? What about Nate and Kristin?
There are many 'real life' (i.e. 19th century) stories interspersed with the modern families stories and dozens of rich full color photos from the show. The main reason it will stay in my permanent collection is the beautiful photos throughout the book. I would love to get prints of a few of these to put up around my home!
If you really want to follow up on the theme of the series there is a great list of resources, including some of the reproductions as well as a good Bibliography of materials.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loved the PBS series. If you haven't seen the series and decide to buy the book you should definitely buy the DVD's too, but be prepared to get Frontier fever!

If you watched the series on television you won't find much behind-the-scenes information in the book, which is what I was looking for. It's mostly a recap with some Homestead Act history thrown in.

SPOILER AHEAD... The only unknown tidbit that wasn't brought out in the television series is the information about Kristen Brooks and why she didn't join the others from day one. During filming it was discovered that Kristen was highly allergic to horses. She was unable to ride with the wagon train. The producers scrambled and were on the verge of dropping Nate and Kristen from the show and replacing them with another family. Fortunately someone came up with the wedding idea. By permitting Kristen to arrive on the frontier at a later date, Kristen avoided the problem caused by all the horses. In my opinion, the series would have fallen flat if the Brooks had been cast aside and replaced.

Though the book could have been better filled with stuff we hadn't already seen on TV, I enjoyed reading it. If you're looking for behind-the-scenes info, you won't find it here.

This book is awesome as an accompaniment to the Frontier House project. The book reveals much more about the series than is evident just by watching the DVDs. It also interjects additional historical excerpts and photos of real frontier life. The book offers a wealth of resources for further reading and study of the time period and is illustrated with lovely screenshots from the show. I highly recommend this book to others, like myself, who have been inspired after watching the Frontier House series. :]

Frontier House, the book, by Simon Shaw with Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith is the companion volume to the Frontier House series. In other words this is not a stand alone and you should at least watch the episodes once before reading the book. The book is half on the show and half on the real history of homesteaders. For example, with the chapters talking about the kids going to school they have sections dealing with teachers on the frontier and children on the frontier. Half the book, in other words, is chapters on real history, tons of it.
Also the book is slightly different than the show. The order in which events happened seems to be different and not all events in the show is covered by the book. Of course the chapters, and the television episodes, were focusing on certain topics or subjects, therefore both were very likely heavily edited. On the other hand, some events that happened were not in the series but WERE in the book and also there is a lot more information about how the show was started, interviews, behind the scenes and aftermath. It even explains just how DANGEROUS the show really was - seems there were a lot more bears running around than the TV episodes showed us.
The book itself is a lovely book with tons of photos showing the families during their daily lives but also showing the landscape and the beauty that was all around them. It truly helps you understand why some of them felt sad on leaving. Also the book has the applications from all the families, shows some of the lists of supplies and so on. For example, they show the list of clothing Nate was given and the Brook's family supplies.
Over all it is a great companion book and very well made.

First of all, I'm not going to lie about why I loved this project. Simply put, I loved seeing how the working class Tennessee family made it without "whining", as did the black family, while the hot-shot California golden-boy executive and his family quickly degenerated into their natural state, namely, whining, lazy, starving, cheating, immoral, whisky-making, white trash. It just shows that without a "stacked-deck" such types cannot compete with real people.

This isn't a nostalgic look back at our own "mythic American roots." This shows the realities of hard-scrabble farming. I can tell that this show has a ring of truth, because my own father was born in a log cabin in Tennessee and plowed with mules. This book and the series jives with his stories and my childhood visits. The chief benefit here is the respect you develop for the people who still live like this (most Mexican families would have had very liitle difficulty doing the same thing- if anything it would have been a step up.)

Of course, I'd recommend this book, or the series, just for California boy saying he "thought it was going to be fun." I must have laughed for five full minutes. I guess he better stick to dude ranches in the future....

Oh yeah, the Indian college professor bringing by an elk to feed the poor, desperate homesteaders was a nice touch. Of course, if they would have murdered him afterward and stolen his land it would have been more accurate. That's how all that "free-land" for homesteading came into being in the first place. Hoka Hey....