1000 White Women by Jim Fergus - 3 stars

[Ellen]

In the spring of 1875, President U.S. Grant was approached by the chief of the Cheyenne tribe to trade 1000 white women for 1000 Indian ponies. The chiefs goal was to bring these women to his tribe as brides so that they would bear children who would be able to assimilate into white society. Although the deal was never struck, author Fergus has written an historical fiction novel that follows some of the brides, especially May Dodd who wrote extensively in leather-bound journals of her life with the Cheyenne. While it is an interesting concept, and at times the storytelling is breathtaking, I found my mind wandering quite often; after all there are only so many birds, plants, wildlife and land formations that need to be described. It was a good book with a spectacularly capable heroine.

[Book Concierge]

I read this for my F2F book club back in 2004. I liked it a bit more than you did, but there were definitely flaws.

[Denizen]

I really enjoyed this book - 4 or 5 stars (read it prior to my Shelfari days and stars). I don't remember an over abundance of descriptions of the natural world but, then again, I have a strong interest in the natural world so would probably have thought the descriptions enhanced the book.