Women of the Sierra

Great author. I have every one of her books and I enjoy the way all of these books are written. The stories/bios of these women are very well done.

In her usual informative and entertaining style, author Anne Seagraves shares the lives of fifteen strong, independent women who made their mark in the area of the United States called the Sierra (parts of Nevada and California). From entertainers, doctors, schoolteachers, and publishers to stagecoach drivers, businesswomen, and ladies of the night, Seagraves provides a wide-ranging vignette of life in that area from the 1800s to the turn of the twentieth century.Perhaps the most profound and moving of these portraits are those of the women who made no real "mark"-- except in the memories of the people whose lives they touched. Those memories live on to this day, and it is wonderful that they are remembered in this book.The purpose of books like this is threefold: to entertain, to enlighten, and to bright to light the stories of women who have-- unfairly-- languished in obscurity. Seagraves does important work here that not only entertains but encourages readers to learn even more. I intend to do so.

I have enjoyed reading about the strong women that were before their time.

I read Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the Early West by this same author and truly enjoyed it. I wanted to read some more books by author Anne Seagraves so I found Women of the Sierra, it was hardly a disappointment. This book tells the stories of the experiences of many different kinds of women. It was a great way to read about a variety of women and how they came to be in the west. I can't wait to get the rest of her books!!!

Pretty disappointed.I googled some of these women and they are really interesting. But this book was just an info dump and not in an interesting way. And there were odd details that got way more time than needed (about what they wore and what their figure looked like) and the author really overused words like beauty/beautiful in this book.A fair chunk of this book isn't even original content. There were a lot of photos and excerpts from other stuff these sections were usually as long as the section that the author actually wrote.I guess it is useful if you want all this info compiled in one place, but there is plenty of info at your fingertips on google that is better written.