Average customer rating:
- AThousand White Women
- Profound historical fiction....
- Wild story from the wild west
- Engrossing read
- Loved it
|
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd
Jim Fergus
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| African American
| Asian American
| Classics
| Collections & Readers
| Drama
| General
| Hispanic
| History & Criticism
| Humor
| Jewish American
| Letters & Correspondence
| Native American
| Poetry
| Short Stories
| Women Writers
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Westerns
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Water for Elephants: A Novel
-
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
-
The Other Boleyn Girl
-
Pope Joan: A Novel
-
The Wild Girl : The Notebooks of Ned Giles, 1932
ASIN: 0312199430 |
Book Description
One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial "Brides for Indians" program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world. Toward that end May and her friends embark upon the adventure of their lifetime. Jim Fergus has so vividly depicted the American West that it is as if these diaries are a capsule in time.
Customer Reviews:
AThousand White Women.......2007-10-22
I recommend this novel for anyone who is interested in history of the west. It is a page turner. The story is told from the perspective of a caucasian woman in her journals. It is about women who adjust to a totally foreign environment, about the marvelous way of the Cheyenne & about the US government during the mid 19th century (civil war era). I recommend this book.
Profound historical fiction...........2007-10-18
Been on a bit of a western reading Jag lately after reading Dances with Wolves and Across the High Lonesome(both are excelletn by the way) when I stumbled across this book. I ended up reading this book over the course of one weekend. I found Fergus' research on the Plains Indians and how he wove it into a fictional story fascinating. He does lean on stereotypes in places but the fictional premise of this novel drew me in and would not let go! Perhaps not a classic, but a very worthy historical fiction.
Wild story from the wild west.......2007-10-08
May Dodd is the daughter of a wealthy family in Chicago who humiliates them by running off with her lover and having two children by him without marrying. Her family has her committed to an asylum as her indiscretion could only be caused by insanity. But she is ultimately given an opportunity to gain her freedom from the asylum - she must relocate west and become the bride of a Cheyenne Indian.
Little Wolf is the Cheyenne Chief who proposes to President Grant that the two nations trade 1000 white women for 1000 horses. It is Little Wolf's belief that by having children with the white brides that the offspring will bring the Cheyenne closer to the white world and thus begin the process of assimilation. The US Government takes the Indian Nation up on its offer in secret sending only those women who volunteer or want the freedom to escape their current lives, such as women in asylums and jails. May Dodd jumps on this opportunity and becomes a leader amongst the other women who believe the west has something to offer.
This novel is comprised of the journal entries of May Dodd and letters that she writes to loved ones back home understanding that they will never be mailed. Her writing chronicles the daily life of the Cheyenne from the elaborate wedding ceremony the white women experience, to the everyday chores and friendships that are born on the vast prairies. It is a unique look at how the Native American life may have been in the late 1800s, but also provides a sharp contrast between that life and that of the whites. The story is not without conflict and does a good job of presenting the perspective of the Native American as the white man trampled over their lands and customs.
Something about this book just didn't grab me and hold on. It was interesting and informative, but I had trouble buying into the May Dodd character. She was a bit too strong willed to be plausible. While others around her experienced terrifying fear, she almost brushes her own experience with fear and danger aside too callously. Not to say that she didn't acknowledge the people and circumstances that scared her, but it was minimized in such a way that it became hard to read her as a believable character. The story is moving, but was missing something that is hard to put a finger on.
Engrossing read.......2007-10-06
I loved this book! At the very beginning I was a bit skeptical but once I got into it I couldn't stop listening. I read some other reviews that mentioned finding men writing in a woman's voice not believable but I disagree. An author is a story teller and can tell a story from many perspectives, you need to use your imagination... it's fiction! After only a little way into the book I was immersed in the time, place and beauty of the setting. I loved the characters, a lot of variety and different peronalities. The Native American way of life was quite interesting and although this book was written in a plain spoken way it really came alive for me. I would highly suggest this book to anyone. It's an easy read and I think a "page turner."
Loved it.......2007-10-03
I loved this book and am so sad that it ended. I hope his other books are as good as this one because I really liked his writing style. I read all the time and this is the best book I have read in a long time. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. I would highly reccomend it!
Book Description
This book, reprinted form the rare 1769 Dublin edition, allows Major Rogers to tell portions of his life in his own words. To supplement his account, numerous annotations have added by Timothy Todish to give a broader picture of the events described. Gary Zaboly's original illustrations, along with page-length captions, add an invaluable dimension to this edition. A special contribution is his chapter on the uniforms worn by Robert's Rangers.
Customer Reviews:
WHAT A GUY.......2007-07-09
A SHAME HE HAD TO END UP LIKE HE DID...HE WAS A REAL AMERICAN HERO.
Three Fine Books in One.......2004-07-19
This edition of the _Journals of Major Robert Rogers_ is really three books in one, and that amounts to a major treat for anyone even remotely interested in the struggle for colonial America's frontier.
Major Robert Rogers was one of early America's greatest frontier soldiers, and the feats performed by Rogers' Rangers are the stuff of legend. Despite the self-serving nature of Rogers' memoirs (and whose memoirs are not self-serving?), this work remains an essential source on the French and Indian War.
The annotations supplied by editor Timothy J. Todish, a longtime Rogers' Rangers reenactor and a widely published student of 18th and 19th century American military history, greatly increase the value of this edition. Todish provides the kind of insights, additional information, and corrections that can come only from someone who is thoroughly familiar with the subject.
The book's crowning touch comes from the twenty-two illustrations by Gary S. Zaboly, an accomplished historical artist whose knowledge of Robert Rogers and his times is unmatched by anyone working in the field today. Zaboly wrote short essays explaining each one of his illustrations, along with an authoritative, 31-page examination of the uniforms worn by Rogers' Rangers.
By combining the talents of Rogers, Todish, and Zaboly, this handsome volume serves as a window opening on some of the most harrowing and thrilling episodes in American history. This book is a must for anyone interested in colonial America, the Eastern Woodland Indians, and the French and Indian War.
Roger¿s Journals Finally Go Snap, Crackle & Pop.......2003-07-31
No one lived through more extraordinary adventures than Major Robert Rogers: they were bone-chilling, hair-raising. But Rogers understates them. Spine-tingling events historians know-from others who were present-that Rogers lived through he skipped over. Once he jumped twelve feet into a river to escape capture by French and Indians and never even mentioned it. Perhaps Rogers was a genuinely modest man. Perhaps his "adventures" were scarey memories he didn't wish to revisit. Perhaps it was bad judgment mixed with a phlegmatic mind. Low key or not, Roger's journals are standard reading for history buffs of the French and Indian War. Todish and Zaboly imminently enhance Roger's accounts without altering them, to the point readers glimpse an exceptional man. Todish indents his annotations in the middle of the narrative at to flesh out details of time, place, and historical significance. His scholarship is first rate: insertions are by others who were present, or are comments from earlier Rogers scholars. His co-author, Zaboly, takes great care to make the his illustrations historically accurate in lieu of setting, clothing, and military accouterments. Drawings are a page or two pages wide, with an accompanying page of explanation of included details. These chosen details are themselves footnoted to their museum source. If one decides to read Roger's journals, read them in this edition.
History brought to Life.......2002-09-08
A creation of the two greatest experts on Robert Rogers and his Rangers, this book is a must for all American history buffs. Not only is Rogers' own journal reproduced, but Todish and Zaboly both contribute fascinating and insightful introductions. If there is any more to be learned about Rogers, it will be found in Zaboly's forthcoming full-scale biography. His numerous full page highly detailed illustrations add immeasurably to this work's appeal. For those who are interested in the period, to miss this volume would be a sin.
Outstanding.......2002-05-13
Very well done book. This book will add alot to the knowledge on the French and Indian War. And one of the most colorful people of that time. If you would like to understand more about the modern army rangers and the past history of this great nation this is the book.
Book Description
This volume brings together for the first time the known writings of the pioneering Native American religious and political leader, intellectual, and author, Samson Occom (Mohegan; 1723-1792). The largest surviving archive of American Indian writing before Charles Eastman (Santee Sioux; 1858-1939), Occom's writings offer unparalleled views into a Native American intellectual and cultural universe in the era of colonialization and the early United States. His letters, sermons, journals, prose, petitions, and hymns--many of them never before published--document the emergence of pantribal political consciousness among the Native peoples of New England as well as Native efforts to adapt Christianity as a tool of decolonialization. Presenting previously unpublished and newly recovered writings, this collection more than doubles available Native American writing from before 1800.
Average customer rating:
- The Journal of Jesse Smoke : A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838 (My Name Is America)
- the journal of jesse smoke
- The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy
- Jesse Smoke was a real boy.
- The Journal of Jesse Smoke
|
The Journal of Jesse Smoke : A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838 (My Name Is America)
Joseph Bruchac
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Fiction
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
1800s
| Fiction
| United States
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Native North & South Americans
| Multicultural Stories
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Biographies
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Bruchac, Joseph
| ( B )
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
My Name is America
| Historical
| Series
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Children's Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty : A United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh,Vietnam ,1968 (My Name Is America)
-
My Name Is America: The Journal Of Jasper Jonathan Pierce, A Pilgrim Boy (My Name Is America)
-
The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: A World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 (My Name is America: A Dear America Book)
-
My Name Is America: journal Of Rufus Rowe, Witness To The Battle Of Fredricksburg (My Nam Is America)
-
My Name Is America: The Journal Of William Thomas Emerson, A Revolutionary War Patriot (My Name Is America)
ASIN: 0439121973 |
Book Description
The Cherokees call The Trail of Tears Nunda¹utsun¹yi, or ³The Place Where the People Cried.² In Joseph Bruchac¹s Scholastic debut, Jesse Smoke, his mother, and his sisters are forced to abandon their home, their land, and their possessions when they and several thousand other Cherokees are forced west on The Trail of Tears.
Customer Reviews:
The Journal of Jesse Smoke : A Cherokee Boy, Trail of Tears, 1838 (My Name Is America).......2007-03-22
The book was a book of triumph and struggle. It tells the sad story of native americans and how they were frced of of there land because of the white man( power to the people . it is a great book and i highly recomend it..
the journal of jesse smoke.......2007-01-11
The book was very good because it combines action and adventure and sadness the book was so good i read it two times and i always liked it so i read other books by the auther but i liked it best of all.
The Journal of Jesse Smoke: A Cherokee Boy.......2007-01-09
I read The Journal of Jesse Smoke. The author of Jesse Smoke, the owner of the journal. The book is historical fiction. It is about about a boy named jesse Smoke. He is apart of a Cherokee tribe. Jesse Smoke is Cherokee and has 2 sisters and a mother. His father had died and he does the work around the house. He owns this journal and wrights in it, it mainly takes place in camp Cherokee when he is captured and brought there. Many die there, he makes friends with a soldier named Will who gives information in camp. They get to leave when they pay for a pass to leave Camp Cherokee. I liked this book alot. I recommend it to people who like history. It is also recommend for people who like Indians or Cherokees. It is also for ages 12-adult. This book is good for people who like to read peoples journals.
Jesse Smoke was a real boy. .......2006-01-16
Through the eyes of a young man, we were able to see the tragedy that the Andrew Jackson administration orchestrated in behalf of the Cherokee nation as well as many other Southeastern Indian tribes. We were able to feel the hurt and know the injustice of a peaceful people uprooted and driven, in the dead of winter, to a reservation in what is now Oklahoma. We were able to feel the hopes and dreams of a boy and a people shattered by greed, politics and military might. This is a classic which should be in every school library in the country. Yes, I have that drop of blood in my veins that makes me a bona fide Cherokee. I am proud that the legend of a proud, industrious, creative people still remains in our hearts.
The Journal of Jesse Smoke.......2002-11-21
The Journal of Jesse Smoke
If you like historical fiction then I think you should read The Journal of Jesse Smoke because it was very exciting. It was exciting when the soldiers came to take all the Indians away. I thought that was interesting because then a white man tried to steal a house when a soldier beat him up. Then they went to the fort. Many died. They called it the Trail of Tears.
The Journal of Jesse Smoke is about how the Cherokee and the Creek Indians have to live in forts. They think it is very unpleasant. Then a lot of Indians die. Most of them are very weak or and ill.
The soldiers wanted the Indian's land so they came and kicked them out. Some of the Indians refused to go so then the soldiers killed them. I thought that was very mean and sad.
11-19-2002
Amozon.com
Customer Reviews:
Timeless works from a pioneering Indian author.......2001-11-22
Editor O'Connell has done something very valuable in making these forgotten texts available to a wider audience. The writings of William Apess are, regrettably, still highly relevant even now. This is partly because of the universal import of the issues of religious conversion, ethnic identity and the personal challenges he confronted, but even more because American Indians are still denied the civil and human rights enjoyed by other Americans. Apess's fiery prose and profound insights into the American experience from his Indigenous perspective are guaranteed not only to shed much light on his life and times, but will shatter cherished misconceptions of European Americans concerning the presumed fairness of our society.
Opponents of multiculturalism would probably complain that yet another insignificant author has been dredged up from the past. But Apess is not obscure, rather, his brilliance was obscured through the neglect of those who most needed to hear his message. There is far more to his work than merely documenting the victimization of Indians. As author, minister and also activist on behalf of his congregation of Mashpee Wampanoags in the 1830s, Apess's life work testifies eloquently that Indians have always exercised agency in shaping their history and ours as a whole---even in circumstances not of their choosing.
Timeless works from a pioneering Indian author.......2001-11-22
Editor Barry O'Connell performs a signal service in making these forgotten texts available to a wider audience (and also
his very useful introduction). The writings of William Apess are, regrettably, still highly relevant even now. This is partly because of the universal import of the issues of religious conversion, ethnic identity and the personal challenges he confronted, but even more because American Indians are still denied the civil and human rights enjoyed by other Americans. Apess's fiery prose and profound insights into the American experience from his Indigenous perspective are guaranteed not only to shed much light on his life and times, but will shatter cherished misconceptions of European Americans concerning the presumed fairness of our society.
Opponents of multiculturalism would probably complain that yet another insignificant author has been dredged up from the past. But Apess is not obscure, rather, his brilliance was obscured through the neglect of those who most needed to hear his message. There is much more to his work than merely documenting the victimization of Indians. As author, minister and also activist on behalf of his congregation of Mashpee Wampanoags in the 1830s, Apess's life work testifies eloquently that Indians have always exercised agency in shaping their history and ours as a whole---even in circumstances not of their choosing.
Outstanding.......1999-05-20
Eurocentric assumptions perpetrated by white males have obscured the incredibly brave and noble work of Native American writers. As a feminist who is interrogating those eurocentric paradigms, I am delighted to come upon this wonderful book.
Book Description
In the 1920s, the young J. R. Ackerley spent several months in India as the personal secretary to the maharajah of a small Indian principality. In his journals, Ackerley recorded the Maharajah's fantastically eccentric habits and riddling conversations, and the odd shambling day-to-day life of his court. Hindoo Holiday is an intimate and very funny account of an exceedingly strange place, and one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century travel literature.
Customer Reviews:
An Excellent Read.......2006-01-16
I personally enjoy memoirs so I jumped at the chance to read this book when my study abroad program had it listed as required reading. Although it seems a bit dated, since it's from the early 20s, Ackerley presents an awesomely sympathetic view of the Indian people mere decades before the Partition during a time when the British weren't so keen on the Idian culture (as Ackerley makes the reader aware of with his portraits of resident British). I thought Ackerley wrote a stunningly entertaining book, giving candid portraits of various Indians and British alike. As long as you don't mind reading about the everday goings-on then you'll love this book. Apparently it also gives a very accurate description of India at this time, or my program wouldn't have had it on its list of required reading.
A literary holiday........2006-01-06
What an absolute charmer this journal is. This is one of those books that I've been meaning to read for a number of years, but for one reason or another had never got around to. I'm so happy I finally did. Not at all what I expected. I've enjoyed a number of books covering the theme of East meets West culture clashes such as Orwell's brilliant "Burmese Days," Ruth Jhabvala's "Heat and Dust" and Forster's "A Passage to India" and "The Hill of Devi." Still, I think it is Ackerley's whimsical reminiscence I like best.
Published in 1932, I know that some will find this book dated and politically incorrect. I prefer to accept it as a product of its time. The journal covers the six months that Ackerley served as a private secretary to a Maharajah. The author pokes fun at the many arcane traditions and myths of the Hindu culture, without ever becoming malicious. The Indian King is somewhat of an incorrigible lech and maker of mischief as depicted by Ackerley. The stuffy British aren't spared the barb either. I particulary loved this exchange: "...'Do you like India?' Mrs. Bristow asked me. 'Oh, yes. I think it's marvelous.' 'And what do you think of the people?' 'I like them very much, and think them most interesting.' 'Oo, aren't you a fibber! What was it you said the other day about "awful Anglo-Indian chatter"?' 'But I thought you were speaking of the Indians just now, not the Ango-Indians.' 'The Indians! I never think of them.' 'Well, you said "the people," you know.' 'I meant us people, stupid.' 'I see. Well now, let's start again.'"
Openly homosexual, Ackerley has great fun documenting his flirtatious encounters with a number of the Maharajah's servants - "....And in the dark roadway, overshadowed by trees, he put up his face and kissed me on the cheek. I returned his kiss: but he at once drew back, crying out: 'Not the mouth! You eat meat! You eat meat!' 'Yes, and I will eat you in a minute,' I said, and kissed him on the lips again, and this time he did not draw away." Altogether disarming and delightful (and not at all exploitive). Highly recommended.
Droll, often disquieting, observations of the British Raj.......2005-03-15
A journal of Ackerley's stay in the Indian province of Chhatarpur during the 1920s, "Hindoo Holiday" records and mocks the muddled morality and intellectual immaturity of both slothful Indian rulers and equally pampered British colonialists. After Ackerley returned from India, he spent several years touching up his diary for publication; he changed the names, toned down the sexual content, and removed passages that might be considered libelous. This recently published version is the first unexpurgated American edition, with all the cuts restored.
Ackerley's intent was to be mischievous and outrageous and comic; and his book became both a critical hit and, to everyone's surprise, his most commercially successful work. The book is at its best in its humorous depictions of the Maharajah, his private secretary Babaji Rao, and the contingent of valets, including the endearingly sweet Sharma and Narayan. For the most part, Ackerley's portraits are nonjudgmental and fond; he reserves his venom for the British guests and, to a lesser extent, for his sycophantic tutor, Abdul, and clumsy servant-child, Habib.
Throughout "Hindoo Holiday" there is a disconcerting, even creepy, undercurrent that revolves around the sexual despotism of the Maharajah, whose predatory advances are directed towards the "Gods"--his name for the boys in his employ. "Boys" is Ackerley's term; at least one is identified as being twenty and several are married, so it's possibly more accurate to call most of them young men. But, whatever their age, these youngsters are compelled to have sexual relations with the Maharajah--and with his wife while he's watching. Complicating this issue is the subtly hinted possibility that the ruler is suffering from the advanced stages of syphilis. (The paternity of the palace's heirs is a great mystery, as well.) Only a few of the youths seem able to withstand his advances, and Ackerley often must come to the defense of Narayan, one of the "Gods" who refuses to comply.
Ackerley reports these incidents with disquieting aplomb. His own role in these matters is rather innocent; according to biographer Peter Parker, he limited his affections to kissing and holding hands: "If he had sexual relations whilst in India, he left no record of the fact." (And Ackerley was not known for being shy about such matters in either his journals or correspondence.) Nevertheless, intentionally or not, the goings-on in the palace are emblematic of the corruption, indolence, and decadence of the British Raj.
Most modern readers, then, will find much of the tone and material and humor in "Hindoo Holiday" a bit dated. Yet Ackerley's memoir is still an accurate portrait of the time--and there are moments of brilliant hilarity.
I thought it was great.......2004-07-31
Ackerly is a naughty naughty man. I agree with another reviewer who said that he was honest in his depicitions of the people he encountered as well as himself. Ackerly understood the hearts of the people he knew. Often he made fun of what he saw in people, but he knew them and knew when to put away his naughtiness. This was a great book. It was funny and charming. It gave me a glance into what India was like and may still be. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an open mind.
Sly and Witty.......2003-07-14
This is one of those books that I will always keep by my bed as a reminder not to take myself too seriously in any capacity. I found this a terribly funny book, mostly becuase it rang so true. Ackerley is fabulous company, shockingly observant and brutally honest, even when it plunges him into bad light. We tip-toe so carefully around so many of the subjects he faces head on - racism, homosexuality, class and privilege. He doesn't flinch.
Books:
- Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-1998
- Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year
- Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year
- Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year
- Organic Housekeeping: In Which the Non-Toxic Avenger Shows You How to Improve Your Health and That of Your Family, While You Save Time, Money, and, Perhaps, Your Sanity
- Paula Deen Celebrates!: Best Dishes and Best Wishes for the Best Times of Your Life
- Real to Reel
- Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens: His Diary Kept When a Prisoner at Fort Warren, Boston Harbour, 1865; Giving Incidents and Reflections of His Prison ... reminisc (Library of Southern Civilization)
- Reflections from the Heart of God: Devotional Bible for Women [New King James Version]
- Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Attractor Factor: 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealth
- John Ozoga's Whitetail Intrigue: Scientific Insights for White-Tailed Deer Hunters
- Another Brummie in Burma
- Constitution of Liberty
- Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu
- Molecular Biology of the Cell, Fourth Edition
- Field and Laboratory Methods for General Ecology
- Working With Animals Uk, Europe, Worldwide
- Costly Policies: State Regulation and Antitrust Exemption in Insurance Markets
- Emilie's Voice: A Novel
