Customer Reviews

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This book was chosen for me by our book club. It has to be one of the best books I have read in a long time. May Dodd is the type of woman we all want to be; strong, true to herself and a real leader. The story is very believable and I learnt so much from that time in history. It took me a while to finish the last 100 pages as I just didn't want it to end. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Marie Suzanne Dillon, author of Two Weeks in Vieques.

This book will join other classic fiction about the west. And like the best westerns (at least in my opinion) is at least based on some historical fact. In the case a little known Brides for Indians program. This was a semi top secrete program the US government instituted with the Cherokee Indians as a way to assimilate the Indians into civilized society. The author takes this actual historical situation and writes a truly original piece of western fiction! This is one of the best books I have read since "Lonesome Dove."

Upon a strong recommendation of a friend of mine, I read this book. The premise is terrific and the story kept me engaged throughout - the writing was fine, in that the images were vivid and the pacing quick and entertaining. If only the author could craft characters with a bit of complexity and depth! The racist Southerner (who realizes the errors of her ways), the proud and strong Black Woman, the noble but conflicted passionate Captain - how much more cliche can you get? This book also confirmed to me why men should not write love scenes - I rolled my eyes at nearly every passionate embrace. But, if you're looking for entertainment and not mind-expanding literature, it would be great book for the beach!

This is a highly original work of historical fiction. Written as if were a personal journal, the story captivates the reader right from the get-go. The book is premised upon a real life incident where, at a nineteenth century peace conference, Native Americans of the Northern Cheyenne tribe suggested to the United States Army authorities the trading of one thousand horses for one thousand white woman as a way of promoting assimilation. While this proposal was never agreed to, it does form the basis for this book, where such an agreement does, in fact, takes place.

Written as the journal of May Dodd, a free thinking, intelligent, and independent woman, it is through her eyes that the reader sees events unfold, as the first group of women are traded and introduced to life on the western frontier as brides for male members of the Cheyenne tribe. The reader will discover what drove these women to engage in such an adventure and what it was that happened to them.

Entertaining and engaging, this is a skillfully developed story and a worthy debut novel. The only criticism is that the voice of May Dodd seems, at times, to be almost too contemporary and serves to distract the reader a bit, and some parts of the story read as if it were a romance novel. Moreover, the book seems more focused on the plot, rather than on character development, although this does not take away from the enjoyment of the overall story, as the plot is so intriguing. Those who like the historical fiction genre will not be disappointed by this imaginative and ambitious novel.

This was a wonderful story filled with rich characters, great detail and touching emotion. Good thing I didn't have anything pressing to do the day I started it...I was hardly able to put it down.

I don't think I've read a book like this before. It's an interesting alternative look at frontier history and US/Cheyanne relations. The various women in the book are nicely flushed out as characters rather than being cookie cutter versions of the narrator. I've read actual diary accounts from women on the frontier from this time period and the style of May's prose fits with those actual journels, making it hard to remember at times that this story is in fact a novel.

One Thousand White Women is an interesting novel in which Jim Fergus plays a little "what if" with history. In the mid-1800s, several prominent native American leaders proposed a trade--one thousand white women for brides for the native Americans in exchange for one thousand horses. As far as we know, the offer was never accepted, but Fergus takes the ball and runs with it. One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd, a young women from Chicago who had been institutionalized by her family for "promiscuity." She had fallen in love with a man below her station and had two children before her family caught up with her. Her participation in the "exchange" program offered her an escape from her wrongful detention. Most of the other women in the program were similarly situated--women seeking escape from mental institutions, prisons, and other undesirable situations answer the call of their government to live with the Cheyenne. May's adventure is interesting as well as heartbreaking. She is a charming narrator and her story is full of ironic humor. The writing at times can get a little clunky, but that is my only complaint about this engaging novel.

Having been recommended this book by my mother, I was determined to prove her wrong and not like it. But, by the 10th page, I was already lost, thoroughly engrossed in May Dodd's world.

The book is very well written and, although a man, Jim Fergus has a unique gift for capturing the feminine and spunky spirit of May Dodd.

It tells of the Cheyenne and their outlook on life, nature, and respect of all things. I was ashamed of America's tactics to the Indians and at times I had to stop and let the words soak in.

I am a voracious reader, and I usually finish books this size in a day. Yet this book is different, it pulls at your heart strings and it took me a week to read it, after dinner and during breaks in the day, almost as if it were a delectable treat.

Although you wish for a happy ending, you read the book knowing the whole time that it cannot be.

So savor this book, I really, truly recommend it; it is one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure to read.

I just finished this book and I was actually depressed to put it down. One of the very best books I have ever read. It is a wonderful story and gives a great insight into an American Indian tribe, one I have never had before. The main character in the book, May Dodd, is an inspiration to women.

Although the premise of this book is creative and the writing style is polished, the characters and story left plenty to be desired. Good things happen, bad things happen, but the characters don't seem to develop or grow.

It's like watching a mediocre sitcom: the same characters put in different situations, but nothing ever really changes or develops. Each one has their "issue" that they came into the story with, and we see that "issue" as the background for everything that person does.

Often the friendships between the women are spoken of, yet I don't see anything that convinces me of any real bond between anyone here. The closest bond I see is a few fearful characters who look to follow May Dodd's lead.

Read the first 100 pages, and then move on.