I really liked this book's focus on the rarely told stories of the suffrage movement. In my high school Women's History course I pulled excerpts from the book to help show that women from many places in the country played a part in the movement.

Not everything important in the US happened east of the Mississippi, the author notes early on. Even the story of women's suffrage in Wyoming is told far too simplistically--leaving out the women of Utah because of the ties to LDS and polygamy. The author takes the 1895 Suffrage Conference as a focal point for retelling the biographies of some key figures in the movement. I didn't love the amount of imagined dialogue between the women, but some may like that style.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review

Filled with great facts and thoroughly researched this book weaves together the facts to turn an interesting tale of a wonderful topic into a must read.

5 Star Review

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Read my full review here: https://bit.ly/3oLOusF

My opinion: This book was BRILLIANT! Forget that it was chock full of well researched history that is little known to those who do high level research on the women's path to voting rights. The author took what could be considered a dry non-fiction writing and partnered it with fiction. This gave the figures much more "life" than simply writing about their accomplishments. At first, I wondered how it would work out and would it be cheesy. The author pulled it off masterfully.

This book gives a different perspective to the study of the suffragette movement. So often we forget that women in the West had rights before those in the East. This book does an excellent job of telling that story.

This was an interesting read as far as learning more about the role of Utah women in women’s suffrage. I learned a lot that I didn’t know before. I also found myself doing additional research into the lives of some of the women highlighted in the books.
I’m giving it three stars because there were parts that were supposed to be more of a narrative but to me those parts didn’t flow as well.

I picked up this book interested in women's suffrage, but learned so much about the history of Utah and the Church of Latter Day Saints - much more than I anticipated initially. The text centers around the Rocky Mountain Suffrage Conference in 1895 in Salt Lake City, and jumps back and forth in time to tell the story of Mormons and Suffrage while holding around this frame for the narrative. While it works sometimes, and I can understand trying to keep a clear interest, I felt it would have been stronger with a more streamlined linear timeline. The ARC I received also had some formatting issues that also embedded what might have been short text box biographies of certain critical characters into the middle of each chapter, but these text boxes in my ARC always started in the middle of sentences and after the character had already been introduced, which minimized its overall effect.
A huge strength of the text for me was the historical reporting and inclusion of official speeches by those involved, particularly as a rhetoric teacher who's always looking to uncover more speeches to use in class. When the text is firmly grounded in these official speeches, the text is engaging. However, some of the connective tissue and creative nonfiction elements were a noticeable tone shift for me that was less effective. McBaine herself notes in the epilogue that she has "manufactured dialogue in order to present background information or themes" and makes note of it in the endnotes, but some of that dialogue does indeed feel manufactured and stilted, like it is overplaying to be old-fashioned, with an awkward and bulky flow that didn't sound genuine to the women's voices. I didn't enjoy these sections, and some (like when Emmeline Wells is sitting alone in her house wondering if someone will ever stay to love her) felt out of place and like a dramatic tone shift.
Overall, if you're looking to learn more about history, particularly that of Utah, LDS, or suffrage, this is a solid read to provide information, which I think works best in installments rather than a binge. Many individuals are introduced (and occasionally seem to blend into a large mass), but Emmeline B. Wells, who I viewed as the protagonist of the book, is given a strong overall biography. This however, is not the best book I have read on women's suffrage.

If you are interested in the history of how women got the vote in America, this book may be a valuable addition to your information library. The book focuses on how women in western states worked together to gain the vote for women. You may encounter some unfamiliar names, as well as familiar names in suffragist history in "Pioneering the Vote."

The author includes a forward as well as back material to further expand the reader's knowledge of the topic. Extensive research references and end notes provide sources for further reading.

I received this book from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Neylan McBaine introduces the history of women receiving the right to vote in a unique and entertaining way. With snippets from the many different people involved in the story of women's rights Pioneering the Vote brings to light a part of history seldom heard before. This book is well-written and empowering for women.

I like the intent of this book to provide a perspective of the role of early Mormon women in the suffrage movement, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. And there’s a lot of useful information in here, providing snapshots of these women’s lives, relevant quotes, and general information about their role in the movement alongside more well known names like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. However, the style choice to be part fictional narrative, part informative text was an odd one, and one I think hurt the book overall. I feel like there was a way to make a book readable and informative, without trying to combine these two styles, at least not in the way it was done.

Highly readable and easily enjoyed, the history oh the suffrage movement in the west comes alive thanks to Neylan McBaine’s work. In short, I was entertained and enlightened. Recommended.

𝐏𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐭𝐚𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭
𝐁𝐲 𝐍𝐞𝐲𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐜𝐁𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞
⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐭𝐚𝐡 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐭𝐚𝐡 𝐈 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝.

Thank You to Shadow Mountain for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts and reviews.

Book Synopsis:
"In 1895, Utah's leading suffragist, Emmeline B. Wells, welcomed her friends Susan B. Anthony and Reverend Anna Howard Shaw to a gathering of more than 8,000 people from around the nation at the Rocky Mountain Suffrage Convention. They were there to celebrate the suffrage movement's recent wins and strategize their next triumphs. Pioneering the Vote tells the remarkable, largely unknown story of the early suffrage victories that happened in states and territories in the American West. With the encouragement of the Eastern leaders, women from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho came together in a unique moment of friendship and unified purpose to secure the vote for women in America."

I have the Utah First to Vote license plate and not only did I take Women’s Studies at Brigham Young University, I was the TA for the class for multiple semesters. None of those things gave me the information provided in this book. There were names I knew from church history but I can’t say that I knew much about their lives.

This book was very informative but a bit dense at times. There were so many names that I struggled to keep who was who straight, but there is not much helping that when the book is historical non-fiction and is discussing a community of real people. I was hoping that I would find one of my ancestor’s names but alas I did not (not that I’m overly surprised by that fact.

I will say that I do not think this book was meant to be an eBook. There were issues with the formatting that meant that I didn’t have chapter breaks, and inserts that would have had mini-bios of individuals were mixed in with the text. These things made it difficult to read. One other thing that I found a bit odd was that the author included dialogue between people. There is no way to know what was said and it makes me question the authenticity of the rest of the book.

This book was very well done in that it provides a look at women winning the vote from an angle that I personally have never seen done.
I think this was a pivotal event in USA history and I enjoy learning more about it.

I commend the Author on making these historical events come alive and opening it up for a view from a different side.

While I do not 100% agree with everything in the book, this was an educational read and I enjoyed learning a little more history.

***I received a copy of this book via Netgalley. All views expressed are my own.***

After taking a women's history class in regards to voting and similar subjects that women were not allowed to have a voice in before we gained the vote in 1920, I found myself wanting to know more about the people involved who made it happen. The focus of what I learned in school was based on Eastern supporters and fighters for women's rights, not Westerners. Therefore, this book was a treat in teaching me more about how the West started giving the most rights to women back in the 1800s first before the East did. It was interesting to have a narrative through Emmeline though I think it might have been better to have just had straight facts without trying to romanticize the events that occurred but it wasn't bad. I am not sure if the author was aiming for this type of book on purpose or wanted a more pure historical stance on what occurred in the past, but in any case, it is an enjoyable read. I still learned new information that tied together with what I learned about how women won the vote. I would not be opposed if this book was provided in the same class I took for future students to learn about another aspect about the people who changed the lives of women and people in general everywhere. I do recommend this book if one is looking to learn more about the history of women's rights.

Setting her narrative around the 1895 Rocky Mountain Suffrage Conference, Neylan McBaine expertly weaves the history of women's right to vote in Utah, the Mountain West, and beyond. The narrative of the 1895 conference, attended by Susan B. Anthony and Reverend Anna H. Shaw, is presented as a smooth flowing story, novel-like in its ability to capture the reader. Well defined historical glimpses both before and after 1895. Mini-biographies highlight key figures in the suffrage movement in Utah and other parts of the country.
I chose to read this as my Independence Day reading and have no regrets. Previously aware of many of the facts and players in the history of the women's vote, it surprised me how they wove together with the issues of polygamy and statehood. McBaine helps the reader see these events through the eyes of Emmeline Wells helping the reader to understand the perspective of women who lived more than 150 years ago.
This book is a must-read for anyone commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. The opinion expressed in this review is mine alone and may not reflect the views of the author, publisher, or distributor.

An interesting little missive!

Sometimes books about history can be doorstops, which makes them intimidating to some readers. Having a concise book about some of the driving forces behind the American West's suffrage movement is a perfect way to introduce readers to the subject, especially ones who may be new to researching the topic.

I've seen Susan B. Anthony's shawl. I've read about her and seen documentaries where she's a focal point. But the pioneer stage is one that hasn't received much attention. I think it should, having finished McBaine's account of the history.

This comes to the publishing world at a good time, too. More than ever we need to examine who receives rights and who doesn't, then examine why that is. I'm excited to get this into the hands of one of my coworkers.

This book is a heavy read full of interesting facts and a narrative surrounding Polygamy and Women's suffrage. Included is information about those that participated and led the movement that brought women the vote in Utah and beyond. Included is a perspective of how polygamy played into that.

I enjoyed the history shared in this book and appreciated the new facts of a subject I haven't really studied but felt appropriate this year. It might not be one I read again simply because I prefer more fiction based books, but I would recommend it to those that have an interest in women's suffrage and polygamy and how they played through history.

I received an early e-copy from Netgalley and this is my honest review.

On the border between dry history and fiction, this books subject (the role of Mormon women in the sufferage movement) was one I was interested in learning about. However, the book’s conversational tone felt too light for the subject matter.

Years ago when I moved from Ohio to Wyoming, I had to take a Wyoming history class in order to be certified to teach in the state. The first thing I learned was that Wyoming was the first state to give women the vote. I wasn't told that the measure had been presented as a bit of a joke or that it was later rescinded. Nor was I told that the first woman to actually cast a vote was in Utah.
This book tells the story of women fighting for suffrage in the western United States. It's a complicated and surprising tale. To clarify it, the author has chosen to center her book around a meeting arranged and held by Emmeline Wells in 1895 in Utah. Emmeline was the 6th wife in a plural marriage of a leader in the Mormon church. At this event we run into Susan B. Anthony and a number of other less famous but important supporters of female suffrage. The author takes some time out of the main story to summarize the lives of some of these women. I don't remember ever hearing Emmeline Wells' name before and she certainly does deserve the central place she has in this book.
This is an important story, one we still don't learn enough about in school. This account is sometimes repetitive, but, over-all, the author does a good job in telling it. August 26 2020 is the one hundredth anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment giving women the vote. I've thought for a number of years that August 26 should be a national holiday.