Customer Reviews

West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915

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Thank God this is still in print. Sure, lots of fans of the "Little House"
series will find this a charming alternative. But Laura Ingalls Wilder was
already an accomplished writer by this time, and her recorded impressions
during a family visit to her daughter and son-in-law during the 1915 Pan
Pacific International Exposition was a godsend for anyone who wants to know
of San Francisco history.

The city was devastated by the 1906 earthquake and fire; the PPIE
was a chance for the city's residents to show how quickly they could
recover and rebuild, and they put their souls into it. The city fairly
sparkled for the Exposition's visitors that summer. Wilder's letters home
to her husband were an accurate and very personable observance of the city
as it was. She described the big events as well as the telling little
details that made San Francisco unique among American cities. The photos
accompanying her letters add to the authenticity.

This is book not just a "niche gem" for Wilder fans, but also for
those who love San Francisco, and those who live history. Her record of a
vacation to the coast may've seemed to her like trivial family
correspondence, but for this native son of Baghdad by the Bay, her letters
were a vivid portrait of a time that will not be seen again. This is one of
the top ten historical recollections of a major, turn of the century
American city.

This book is actually a series of letters that Laura wrote while visiting her daughter Rose. Rose Wilder Lane is a married journalist living in San Francisco. After years of begging her parents to visit her in this exciting, bustling city, Laura finally decides to go, but Almanzo must stay home and tend their farm at Rocky Ridge. These letters are sent to Almanzo, telling him of the World's Fair, riding the streetcars, and other exciting activities in the city. This book is really enlightening and educational. We get to see early San Francisco thru the eyes of our favorite pioneer. Children may not enjoy the letter form, but adults fans of the "Little House" series will enjoy connecting with Laura again.

This book compiles a group of wonderful letters written from Laura to Almanzo in 1915 while she was staying with her daughter Rose (now married) in Los Angeles. The letters are long and detailed, since she rather missed him and was also trying to give him the full experience as much as possible. As a result, this book is a feast for both fans of LIW's work and people with an interest in the culture of the period.

At this time, Laura is in her forties and has begun writing freelance for at least one magazine, but has not started on her famous Little House books yet. Her daughter is working entirely as a writer, particularly of serialised stories/biographies.

Warning: Anyone reading the Rose series by Roger Lea MacBride should leave this book until after they finish, as there are spoilers.

This is a very sweet and interesting book. Laura is visiting Rose in San Francisco for a few months and writes letters to Manly to fill him in on all she is doing and seeing.

The letters are detailed and filled with much information about San Francisco at the time. This is very interesting since it was 1915 and the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition was in progress.

I was thrilled to read it as I can't seem to read enough about Laura and her entire family! This is another wonderful and interesting book with the spirited Laura Ingalls Wilder as the star!

For those out there who feel that Laura's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, did most of the actual writing of the "Little House" books - well, you should read this book, which consists of letters written to her husband, Almanzo, while she was visiting San Francisco in 1915. Even though they were not written for publication, her descriptions of the events of the Pan-Pacific Expo, as well as San Francisco itself, are vivid, captivating, and colorful. You can also feel the great love and affection that existed between the couple, even though there are no letters from Almanzo himself. I also found this book interesting as I live in the San Francisco Bay Area myself, and am interested in its history.

In addition to Laura's detailed letters to Almanzo describing her adventure, this book includes over thirty photographs featuring Laura, Rose, the Pacific Ocean (ships, beachgoers, etc.), San Francisco, and many scenes of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition including an air show and night-lit festivities. Though in black and white, this pictorial insight into what was behind the letters is wonderful.

The book also includes an introduction telling how and where the letters were found and a lovely description of San Francisco at the time of Laura's visit. The letters themselves beautifully showcase the art of letter writing: Along with Laura's vivid descriptions of the technological marvels of the expo, her words are full of charming details to make us smile such as the price of eggs, hat shopping, and her favorite foods of the expo. Laura's expertise in writing compositions, as portrayed in the original Little House books, is very much evident even in these personal letters.

This book is a must have for Little House enthusiasts. Also recommended: On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894.

J.H. Sweet, author of The Fairy Chronicles, and longtime Little House fan

West of Home is a series of letters that Laura wrote to Almanzo while she was visitng Rose Wilder Lane in 1915 San Fransisco. Due to the farm, it was decided that Almanzo would stay at home while Laura went out for a long visit with Rose. Laura wrote in great detail of all the happenings. She was Almanzo's eyes in the same way as she was her blind sister Mary's eyes. She described the landscape, the 1915 Expo, Rose's life and work and the great foods of the California area. Rose was homesick for her parents and sent Laura the money for train fare and money home to help with Laura's absence. You can tell by the letters to Almanzo that he had written her about the happenings on the farm. It's too bad they weren't published along with these. You can tell Laura and Almanzo greatly miss each other but Laura is enjoying her time with Rose and Rose's husband Gillette. A wonderful look of San Francisco in the year 1915.

If you love Laura Ingalls Wilder, you must read this book!It is great to get to know Laura as an adult. She kept the wonderful sense of adventure she had as a child. It is a real treat to experience the pan-pacific exhibition through her eyes.

For any one that loves Laura, this is the book to read. In her own words, Laura writes about the the places and things she sees while visiting Rose in San Francisco. Visit the World's Fair from Laura's eye's. Laura writes of the things she loves and hates about the big city, and longs for her home and husband in the Ozarks

How marvelous that this has been reissued. I grew up in San Francisco, and came up on a copy of this book in my high school's library. It's a vivid, candid, refreshing snapshot of San Francisco in 1915. Her letters were most likely written to give the flavour of being with her as she visited her daughter during the expo; reading it has just that effect. Read her book, then visit the Palace of Fine Arts. Guaranteed time travel.