Reviews for Wild Women of the Old West, Vol. 1

The average rating for Wild Women of the Old West, Vol. 1 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-12-04 00:00:00 Dominic Belmonte Emily Morgan, Martha Canary/Calamity Jane, and so many more women/legends of the west reside in these pages. These are in-depth biographies and well supported in bibliographical notes - sometimes a bit dry to read - about the cowgirls, sex workers, daughters and outlaws who populate, at the very least, the Hollywood version of the western women of America. These are good stories, pointing out the obvious fictions while telling, or at least trying to piece together, the truest story they can.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-05-27 00:00:00 James Simmons Jr An in-depth history book with biographies of nine different figures, including prostitutes, cowgirls, and "almost outlaws." I read the included biography of Calamity Jane. It was a comprehensive overview of her life with entertaining anecdotes and a critical analysis of the many ways Jane's life was fictionalized and embellished both while she was alive and after her death. Included in the back of the book is a list of sources and further reading for each figure. The book is well-researched and manages to keep each biography short enough to be read in a few sittings. It's not a textbook, it's not creative nonfiction, and it's not going in depth enough for a true scholar of the era; perhaps it's targeted towards someone like me, who wants an engaging, scholarly overview without having to go to all the primary sources myself.