Wild Women of the Wild West

Engaging and informative profiles, an attractively designed collective biography. ( )

Wild Women of the Wild West by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Susan Guevara

This book explores some of the legendary women of the Wild West, some well-known, others more obscure. The book is illustrated with pen and ink caricatures and watercolor portraits of the various women. The introduction explains the history of the “Wild West” and talks a little about some of the women we read about in the book. The book covers famous women like Calamity Jane, Mary Fields (Stagecoach Mary), Annie Oakley, Belle Starr, Sarah Winnemucca, Carry Nation, as well as more obscure women. Activists, public speakers, and warriors like Mary Lease, The-Other-Magpie, and Esther Hobart McQuigg Slack Morris. Entertainers, including Lola Montez and Lotta Crabtree, and businesswomen such as Dona Maria Gertrudis “La Tules” Barcelo, Polly Pry, Nellie Cashman, and Mary Ellen Pleasant. The book finishes with a time line, map, bibliography, and illustrator’s note.

This was a fascinating read, although some of the text was a bit uneven. Some of the stories read more like fiction, with a strong narrative swing, while others sound more like factual history.

Verdict: An interesting look at a wide variety of women in the Wild West with a good variety of occupations, ethnicities, and stories. Recommended.

ISBN: 978-0823416011; Published October 2011 by Holiday House; Review copy provided by publisher; Added to the library's wishlist