One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd

by Jim Fergus

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Product 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.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 4 out of 5 stars

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

3 out of 5 stars

Better idea than execution, 2008-11-17
There was a point in this book when I had to decide if I wanted to continue. Only one other book in the last couple of years made me think that: A Wolf at the Table. That one so brutalized me as a reader that I never picked it back up. One Thousand White Women isn't nearly as harsh--or as well written. Still, it's clear where the book is headed, and I had to decide if I wanted to be sad while I read the last third of the book. I did finish, and I'm glad I did. Glad, but not surprised.

This story of May Dodd and her life with a band of Cheyenne Indians in 1875 is interesting and diverting. It's an intriguing idea: Women traded for horses, and then the "brides" contracted to be brood mares for the tribe. I enjoyed reading how Native Americans lived then, and all the little details of tribal life. Still, the idea for this book is better than the execution. The characters never come to life for me, either the good guys or the bad. It all seems kind of flat.

Also, there's a conceit to a book that is supposed to be written as a journal that I find distracting. Everything has to be written in past tense. The journal writer is always saying "Let me tell you what just happened!" Whole conversations are included, which of course the writer has to be remembering word for word. Lovemaking scenes, which normally could just be descriptive, seem different if you picture a woman actually writing down the details. In scenes where May is obviously in pain, there she is scribbling away. It doesn't ring true.

I recommend One Thousand White Women as a glimpse into Native American life when it was on the cusp of being destroyed. But you could just watch Little Big Man.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

1 out of 5 stars

What a horrible book!!!, 2008-11-14
This subject had such promise! Unfortunately the author turned it into a Harlequin Romance bodice ripper novel about exploited, misunderstood white women who could only find understanding by "volunteering" to become the wives of a Native American chief who was hoping to broker a cross cultural understanding by "marrying" his family to white women.He perpetuates every stereotype of native americans and the sexual motives of women that have come down through time. Shame on you!! This could have been a fantastic historical novel. I am sorely disappointed!! You have done a disservice to everyone involved.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

One Thousand White Women, 2008-11-01
It was difficult to believe that this was fiction. The characters became very real and identifiable. The story, although initially unbelieveable subject matter became real and emotional. Great story with great character development.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic story, 2008-10-31
I couldn't put this book down! The compelling story of a strong woman and her choice of freedom over oppression. Powerful imagery.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

4 out of 5 stars

Great book once you get into it!, 2008-10-24
This is a great book. I thought it was going to be all about the American Revolution, boring. But, it turned out to be inspiring and well written. It is a great book for women to read. Makes you cherish what you have.

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