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jenhurst's review
This book was not what I expected at all. I expected to get a biography of Laura ingalls wilder and instead I got an American history book, negativity and how Rose wilder is the worst. I made it 260 pages in and we sped through Laura’s childhood with more focus on Charles and way too much on rose.
khornstein1's review
5.0
Wowza. Just. Wow.
You think you know someone...and their life...and then??
First, it will be impossible to understand this book unless you've read some of the Little House books to begin with. I read all of them as a child, and then The First Four Years, and some other Little House background books like The Wilder Life.
Are you kidding me? At first, I couldn't quite believe it. Pa was not seeking to find true independence on the prairie, he was a person who made a series of really, really bad decisions and drove his family further and further into poverty? Laura did whatever her daughter said, including making a series of very poor investments and editing her books per Rose's instructions? And then, Laura and Rose were not just bigoted, but kind of wildly super duper right wing and thought people shouldn't get Social Security?
I was riveted. My couple of complaints: some things are really opinion, not fact. If you look at an old photo of a person, you don't know what's going on with them, like they're "defiant." Remember, these are studio portraits where people are asked to pose a certain way, and they may have had to stand a long time to get the photo, because of the nature of early photography. Fraser also gets in a couple of digs about Rose Wilder Lane before she's even been born into the story; there are other little comments about personality that strike me as opinion, not fact. And the book doesn't follow a neat timeline, which makes it very hard to follow if you don't have some understanding of the original books.
That said, I plowed through the 515 pages with a mixture of awe, disgust, and I guess a take-away that people are complicated! The life story, as well as the environmental story of the "opening" of the west were fascinating. The environmental details work well because you suddenly remember things like the grasshopper plague from the books, how weird it was, and Fraser explains why it happened.
I went back to the intro and saw that Fraser's family had lived out on the plains as well, so I also realize that this is a book of self-discovery for her as well. Super highly recommended!
You think you know someone...and their life...and then??
First, it will be impossible to understand this book unless you've read some of the Little House books to begin with. I read all of them as a child, and then The First Four Years, and some other Little House background books like The Wilder Life.
Are you kidding me? At first, I couldn't quite believe it. Pa was not seeking to find true independence on the prairie, he was a person who made a series of really, really bad decisions and drove his family further and further into poverty? Laura did whatever her daughter said, including making a series of very poor investments and editing her books per Rose's instructions? And then, Laura and Rose were not just bigoted, but kind of wildly super duper right wing and thought people shouldn't get Social Security?
I was riveted. My couple of complaints: some things are really opinion, not fact. If you look at an old photo of a person, you don't know what's going on with them, like they're "defiant." Remember, these are studio portraits where people are asked to pose a certain way, and they may have had to stand a long time to get the photo, because of the nature of early photography. Fraser also gets in a couple of digs about Rose Wilder Lane before she's even been born into the story; there are other little comments about personality that strike me as opinion, not fact. And the book doesn't follow a neat timeline, which makes it very hard to follow if you don't have some understanding of the original books.
That said, I plowed through the 515 pages with a mixture of awe, disgust, and I guess a take-away that people are complicated! The life story, as well as the environmental story of the "opening" of the west were fascinating. The environmental details work well because you suddenly remember things like the grasshopper plague from the books, how weird it was, and Fraser explains why it happened.
I went back to the intro and saw that Fraser's family had lived out on the plains as well, so I also realize that this is a book of self-discovery for her as well. Super highly recommended!
bec2015bec's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Amazing book! Loved learning about the real Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the author did a great job showing us her story. Very well researched! It was a slow read for me, but it was also my first Non-fiction so I'm still getting comfortable with that style of writing. However, for a beginner it was still very well written and easy to follow, unlike some other nonfiction I DNFed quickly due to their overwhelming information.
bookwoman1967's review against another edition
5.0
This is an amazing book. It goes beyond the Laura Ingalls Wilder we think we know from the Little House books and shows us the real woman while affirming the wonder of the stories themselves. It places the historical Ingallses in the context of the world they lived in, with all their faults and virtues. At the same time, it is not a tell-all nor does it denigrate Laura’s writing but lauds it as outstanding fiction.
Yes, it is a bit too long – I could have done without details of every piece of writing Rose Wilder Lane did, or the particulars of all her friendships. But it sheds light on Lane’s relationship with her mother; it also debunks the many fabrications arising from Lane, her protégés, and popular culture. As to Lane herself, I can only say what a nasty, unhinged piece of work that one was! Some of her offenses have to be seen to be believed, and the further I read the more outraged I became. Reading this is worth it for these revelations if for nothing else, but there is so much more here.
The notes (at the end rather than inserted in the text), the acknowledgements, and the index all provide documentation and help to researchers or those wanting to confirm provenance of facts. It’s easy to see why this won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.
Yes, it is a bit too long – I could have done without details of every piece of writing Rose Wilder Lane did, or the particulars of all her friendships. But it sheds light on Lane’s relationship with her mother; it also debunks the many fabrications arising from Lane, her protégés, and popular culture. As to Lane herself, I can only say what a nasty, unhinged piece of work that one was! Some of her offenses have to be seen to be believed, and the further I read the more outraged I became. Reading this is worth it for these revelations if for nothing else, but there is so much more here.
The notes (at the end rather than inserted in the text), the acknowledgements, and the index all provide documentation and help to researchers or those wanting to confirm provenance of facts. It’s easy to see why this won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.
erintowner's review
5.0
The descriptions of Laura's relationships with Almanzo and her father were beautiful. I love my dad and recognized Laura's bond with her father. If you have a connection to the west you will like this book. An engaging, well-researched biography.
madam_cyn's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Well researched biography of Laura, separating the facts of her life from the myth created in the Little house books. What's annoying was the parallel biography of Rose, Laura's daughter who was a thoroughly unlikable and cantakerous individual. While Rose did edit some of Laura's books, the amount of time the book spends on her and her political obsessions was excessive. While I enjoyed reading about Laura's life, I largely skimmed or skipped the Rose parts and would advise any reader to do the same.