6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book about a Butte Montana Family's History, April 22, 2007
This review is from: One Night In A Bad Inn: A True Story (Hardcover)
I enjoyed this book a great deal, and only partly because I lived in Montana for many years and spent some time in Butte. For those who don't know, Butte was home to 'the richest hill on earth' a hundred years ago, sitting on top of the world's largest copper reserves. The town pulled in thousands of Irish, Polish, German, Chinese, English and more and became, in a sense, a smaller version of a typical eastern industrial city. Leskovar set out to write a family history and combines it with a great depiction of Butte and Montana from about 1900 to about 1950. Not all family histories would be interesting, but how many families can say that their great-grandmothers were jailed for murder, or tried to induce a daughter into prostitution, or had a grandfather who fought in some of the toughest battles of World War One and a grandmother who lived a life of purity and purpose though surrounded by weakness and debauchery?
The story skips from Leskovar's great-grandparents' early life as pioneer settlers near Forsyth, Montana to their move to Butte, and does a little preliminary work on family origins. The characters come to life as she tells her tale. She obviously spent many years researching background for this book. Equally obvious is her interest in her grandfather's WWI experiences, which appear to have taken on a life of their own in mid-book and which are almost a story unto themselves. Those who are not interested in WWI may find this section to drag a bit, but as a WWI and WWII enthusiast, I enjoyed the section greatly.
The book is also packed with excellent photos of Butte back in the day, as well as photos of the various characters which people the book. The obvious hero of the book is Leskovar's grandmother. Some of the characters don't do much with their lives, but she does from an early age. And there are plenty of dark characters, with the prime villainess being Leskovar's ammoral/immoral great-grandmother. Leskovar's grandfather, an Irish miner who quit one job after another while raising a large family, comes off as irresponsible and self-centered, but with a tender side as well.
This is a good book, of interest to anyone who enjoys western mining history, Montana history, or a well-turned family saga (that's true to boot). It may be of less interest to a general reader who does not have any of these interests.
Four and a half stars. Thank you, Ms. Leskovar, for an enjoyable and memorable trip back in time.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating, July 6, 2006
This review is from: One Night In A Bad Inn: A True Story (Hardcover)
This book is fascinating. The plot is riveting, the research impeccable and the characters memorable. The narrative is clear and the descriptions are intricate. Whether detailing turn of the century immigration, the Great War or the settling of the American West the author uses the characters to guide the reader through some of America's most tumultuous times. This book is a must read for any student of history and anybody who appreciates a well crafted story.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommend, February 6, 2007
This review is from: One Night In A Bad Inn: A True Story (Hardcover)
I became interested in this book because the author, Christy Leskovar, is a former student of my husband's. It is a wonderful book, not just a family history. It contained US and world history as a background for introducing the family members so rather than just being a "family tree", it was also a very well written history book. Christy's love and respect for her Grandmother was apparent through the book, but she wrote it in such a manner that it was interesting to an outsider. It is a very good read!!
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