Here I will list books and sources I have read and gathered information from to share on this blog. Hopefully you will also want to read some of them for yourselves! Everything I have read is available free, either from your local library or online.
"Wilderness Series" by Sara Donati (fiction) 6 books beginning with Into the Wilderness
based on the story of the Bonner Family beginning in the late 1700s in upstate New York, takes you to Scotland, Florida, New Orleans. Story ends in the 1840s in New York. Includes the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Donati is a superb storyteller that keeps you wanting the next book and when you have finished the series you will love the Bonner Family.
1. Into the Wilderness - 1998
2. Dawn on a Distant Shore - 2000
3. Lake in the Clouds - 2002
4. Fire Along the Sky -2004
5. Queen of Swords - 2006
6. The Endless Forest - 2009
Black Hills by Daniel Simmons. (fiction) The story of a Sioux boy, Black Hills and his life beginning with the Battle of Big Horn and ending with the construction of Mount Rushmore faces. Good background of customs and lives of the Sioux Indians during the settlement of the Dakota territory. Published 2010
History Channel - both online at History.com and on TV on the History Channel (check your own program guide for series on Pioneers, the Wild West, etc.
Frontier Women 1840-1860 Julie Roy Jeffrey Published 1979 A great source of information on how the women of the frontier evolved from sedate "ladies of the parlor" to what helped shaped the wild and rugged frontier. Makes me proud to be female :)
Women and Indians Glenda Riley 1984 University of New Mexico Press.
Enjoyed this look at how pioneers, especially women, grew from fear to friendship with the Indians of the West. Presents both sides of the situation with understanding and facts. Heartwarming stories.
Westering Man: The Life of Joseph Walker, Master of the Frontier. Bil Gilbert 1983, Athenuem New York
Fantastic book about someone I had never heard of because he wanted it that way. What a man of the west and what he accomplished! The basis of cross country journey from the Appalachians to the Pacific coming soon. He discovered and did things actually credited to other people...hope I do this book justice.
We Lived There Too - My apologies to the author as I neglected to note the author of this book about the Jewish influence in the Western Frontier. Search by Title and you should find it. Filled with journal entries and personal accounts of Jewish business people. You will be able to tell when I quote a story from this book. Lots of actual photos in this book as well.
Also some Children's Literature such as The Oregon Trail, The Civil War Cookbook...Look in the kid's section for these. I will be sharing recipes I have collected along with these along the way.
One Thousand White Women - The Journals of May Dodd. Although a fictional story, it is based on mostly fact and takes you into Indian Territory, customs and life through the eyes of a "white woman bride" of Chief Little Wolf. A great story!
Any book by Frederick Manfred whose realistic sagas of Wild West were published in the early 1960s published by Signet. Hard to find but very educational. Titles cover Indians from pre-white times with Conquering Horse, through Mountain Men in Lord Grizzly, to Sioux Uprising in Scarlett Plume, Black Hills in King of Spades, and Cattlemen in Riders of Judgment.
Centenenial by James Michener, is the fictional story, but based on historial fact, of the settlement of the area around the Platte River in Colorado. A good representative of the history of the Plains Indians and the invasion and abuse by the white man. Michener's books always immerse you in the characters of the time period.
If you have favorite pioneer based books, feel free to share them in the comments section on the main page and I will post them here along with a website if you have one.