Thursday, September 5, 2019

25. Prairie Fires: The American Dream of Laura Ingalls Wilder

By Caroline Fraser (516 pp ebook)

This book is about Laura Ingalls Wilder's real life with deeply researched reporting about what was going on in the United States at the time: history, economy, politics, society. The first section about what was going on during the time the books are set -- is riveting. Laura's real life is interesting but also together with historical events - I learned so much. The books are an idealized version of what really happened and the facts are sometimes heart-breaking and sometimes aggravating. I remember as a kid thinking it was so unfair that the government made them leave their little house on the prairie after all the work they did. Now: HA! Settling on Osage Indian lands - shame on you, Pa. The section about her daughter, Rose, is long and hard to read. She was not a wonderful person. Overall, highly recommend to Little House fans and still recommend to people interested in U.S. history.

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