Customer Reviews

Twenty Miles From A Match: Homesteading In Western Nevada (Bristlecone Paperback)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was turned on to this book by the authors great nephew. This woman's tale of hardship, perseverance and determination is one to be admired by all. An easy read and a wonderful adventure.

The struggles and hardships survived by this family should make us think twice about whining when we've had a bad day at the office, the dog throws up on the carpet, there's a traffic jam on the way home, the cable guy is four hours late, or any of the other happenings we find annoying in our modern lives. (how about that three-day trip to town and back?) As an animal lover, I skimmed over the semi-graphic descriptions of trapping animals. Other than that, an enthralling read.

This book is a real page turner. Once I started reading it I could not put it down. It was satisfying from beginning to end and I did not want it to end. I highly recommend it.

Delightful rendition of the Pioneer spirit. Easy to read and hard to put down.

Cell phone reception bad? Or maybe your email is slow today? You think your life is tough?

HA! You should have been Sarah E. Olds! Who was Sarah E. Olds? Just about the toughest homesteading woman EVER. Seriously, this woman was amazing.

"Twenty Miles From a Match: Homesteading in Western Nevada" is Sarah E. Olds autobiography. Olds and her family homesteaded in a region north of Reno beginning in 1908 and finally leaving for the city in 1930. It's a deserted area that is dry, boring and devoid of any charm at all. Oh yeah, and it's also dangerous, filled with rattlesnakes and deadly heat.

Did that stop Sarah E. Olds? Oh goodness no! In fact, in her autobiography she seemed to relish the idea of homesteading in order to give her family a fresh start after monetary and health problems forced them from the mining camps of California. While Olds sets up a growing ranching operation in the middle of nowhere, she also cares for an ailing husband as well as her growing brood of children. Olds learns to dig wells, spot rabies in her cattle and fight for a small school district to be established in her house. Along the way, she and her family attend country dances and entertain cowboys and miners that just happen to stop by the house. Olds' life story truly was fascinating to read!

Olds never set out to be a literary star, so the book is not a fresh work of poetic genius. What the book is, though, is a retelling of a true tough-as-nails gritty homesteading life. These pioneers were astonishing. They made a life out of literally NOTHING.

And we complain if we can't find the TV remote...

This book was very good. A must read for all those who dream of freedom that we will never have again. Yes there were hardships, but no one to tell us that we could only build a certain way or someone to come and take your children if you had too many. The only one who will ever be able to own this much land again ....the Government! How sad. Read this awesome book!