Wondrous Times on the Frontier: America During the 1800s by Dee Brown

Wondrous Times on the Frontier: America During the 1800s Reviews

• 
  Koren

  I used to think that if I could go back in time and live in any era it would be the frontier days but this book made me change my mind. Times were pretty tough back then and the author does not sugar coat it. The name of the book must have been meant sarcastically. If you want to know what life was REALLY like back then this is the book for you.
• 
  Genetic Cuckoo

  I was a little disappointed with this book, only because I was expecting another incredible book like ‘bury my heart at wounded knee’. This book was far more sedate and dealt almost exclusively with westerner’s experiences of the frontier, with barely a mention of native Americans. This would have been fine it itself, but the cover of my copy has native Americans on horseback in the snow, and so I was expecting them to play a bigger role, which was disappointing.
  I learned a lot from this book, and I liked how it broke down the historic information into chapters around a theme. It has certainly ignited my interest to read more books on the history of the frontier, particularly things like the OK corral, which are commonly referenced but I know very little about.
  It is always difficult when an author has a worldwide best seller, as they often struggle to keep the audience satisfied with subsequent books. This book is very good, and a fascinating history of the ‘wild west’, focusing on real people’s lives and experiences rather than the Hollywood version of events. I would recommend this book to anything interested in American history, or history generally.
• 
  Jim

  A fun easy read, of older & freer times that those of us today will never know. full of tall tales, adventures & tragedies that made the legend of the old west.
• 
  Matt Curry

  This was my second book by the late great Dee Brown, the first being his classic Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which introduced the world to Western expansion from the perspective of the Native Americans. This is a far different book, yet, like Wounded Knee, it showcases Brown’s rigorous research, attention to detail, and gift for storytelling. Wondrous Times shares stories from the Old West through long forgotten tales - both real and apocryphal - and illustrates how pioneers and Native Americans both found laughter as the best medicine during perilous times. An entertaining read!
• 
  Alison Fletcher

  great book! easy to ready and very entertaining. I like how the author tells tales of all the different people involved in westward expansion
• 
  Candice

  I was hoping for more from this book. it was terribly boring and boringly written.
• 
  Mike Little

  Parts were enjoyable but some was unintelligible for me. I think that Dee Brown kept a file of readings from his research for quite a long time. The readings were from old newspapers, magazines, government documents, memoirs and so on. All these files were then organized into this book. Wild guess, I admit.
  
  But the phrasing and long-lost words made some passages difficult or impossible for me to understand. I found myself wondering if the people of the time understood what they were reading. Perhaps they were accustomed to the vernacular and I’m ignorant of it.
  
  That said, there’s some fun and interesting information here. I enjoy reading diaries and memoirs of the common people who lived in the 1800’s in the American West and this is a nice addition to that collection.
• 
  Nancy

  Wondrous Times on the Frontier is a compilation of anecdotes, quotes, and recollections of the 18th century in the western United States. Dee Brown has brought together and organized a broad spectrum of material and organized it into an interesting look at what it was really like during the settlement of the US. It is not the Wild West of cowboy movies and dime novels. It is sometimes funny, sometimes baffling, and sometimes sad. It’s a book one can pick up, read a chapter or two, put down and come back to later.
• 
  Mary Ellen Woods

  Good info but not well written. It was pretty much just quotes from original sources with a bare minimum of context. It often lacked dates of the events he related. It is a good source of folktales from the west. I think this author's talents lie in fiction. His non-fiction books seem like a way to monetize his research.
• 
  Larry Kloth

  Dee Brown writes on various aspects of frontier life, illustrating each by sharing the stories of the people, famous and obscure, who lived it. It is an interesting way to do history. I learned a lot.
• 
  Scott K

  Lively and informative
  
  This is a fun tour of the greater "Old West" over the course of the 19th century, from the Ozarks to the Rockies and the Great Plains to the Pacific, presented in an easy, conversational style.
• 
  Carol

  Nice, light read.
• 
  Mark Luongo

  Interesting little book of anecdotes about life on the frontier by an excellent historian of the Old West, Dee Brown.
• 
  Janet

  A reliable author. If I live long enough I will get around to reading all of his books.
• 
  Alex

  Vignettes and exaggerated tales of memorable characters in the Old West. Some amusing stories sprinkled throughout, but was a bit tiring by the end.
• 
  Stefanie Robinson

  This book gave a pretty good glimpse into what life on the frontier was like. It was not one of my favorite books of the year, but I was determined to learn more about United States History, and this was a good one for that. He was well researched and the material was presented in a manner that was engaging. It was a decent read.
• 
  Roxanne

  This is very good book about the diversity of the Old West frontier. There were settlers, pioneers, farmers, ranchers, Indian tribes, trappers, outlaws and everything in between.