Interesting book about women in the old west. If you're interested in how they live, doing research, or just want a quick story or two for your kids to better understand the history of our country, this book has great options. Each story is simple, unique, and great at giving a glimpse of the wild west from a woman's eyes.

OMG I love this book! It should’ve been called women take the wild west because oh my goodness there is an anything a man could do that a woman can’t do better in this book proves it. From 20 hour days to driving a team across the country women have done it all I loved every story in this book it was sad when I finished it. There is an anything I love more than American history in this book totally will be read again in the future. I would definitely put it on my favorite books of all times. A total five star read loved it! I received this book from Roman in Littlefield and netGalley but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Cheryl Mullenbach’s new book, “Grit, Not Glamour: Female Farmers, Ranchers, Ropers, and Herders of the American West” is a collection of short stories about hard-working women of the late 19th and early 20th Century. Taking on work usually relegated to men, these women were role models for generations to come and is a testament to the lie that “women didn’t used to work.” Oh yes they did, and they could outwork the men.

This compendium includes biographical sketches about all that is inluded in the title, plus cowgirls; olive, and apple growers; a land swindler; a cattle rustler; homesteaders; a livestock reporter for The New York Times; a celebrity actress, writer, and lecturer who represented the California wine industry; a buffalo conservationist and rancher; a dairy farmer who also raised fruit, nut, and olive trees; goat and pig ranchers; a cattle rancher who was known as “The Cattle Queen of Montana; and a livestock commission merchant.

All in all the book points out the tremendous contributions that women made to U.S. history in the pioneering, agricultural, and horticultural areas. These industries would not be nearly as developed as they are now without their dedication.

The vignettes in the book are filled with details of these women’s day-to-day work. The section about Minnie Eshleman Sherman building and filling a silo got my attention in particular. Kudos to her for building it, but I wonder if it had adequate ventilation? While I was growing up in farm country in northwestern Wisconsin in the 1970’s, I remember at least two farmers (men) dying from the gases that green chop produces and that concentrates in the bottom of the silo (nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide). Many farmers, including my family, refused to store and use green chop at all. Too dangerous, and they felt it wasn’t as good for the cattle as dry hay with supplemental feed in the winter. And yes, my grandparents in Wisconsin had a herd of Holsteins for dairy (like Minnie) and Herefords for beef. (The University of Pennsylvania has articles online about the dangers of using green chop.). All in all, I am glad to see that Minnie didn’t die prematurely in her silo.

The parts of this book about farming and apple orchards particularly resonated with me because of my upbringing and experience. I recommend this book for history buffs or anyone who wants to read about women’s history in the U.S.

Thank you to Cheryl Mullenbach, TwoDot, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a pre-publication eGalley of this book. I did not receive anything for my review and my opinions are notably my own.

ARC received by NetGalley. Thank you!

Grit, Not Glamour is a phenomenal book that tells the stories of the strong women that built the West. As woman originally from a farm in the Midwest I found this book to be an interesting read that had me thinking about the strong women in my life that endured similar struggles and successes as the women featured in this book. While not all women loved the cards they were dealt they all sought to carve out a meaning in a life that was often marked by devastating loss, emotional highs and distraught lows. The book put a spotlight on some of these women and left me feeling appreciation for all they went through. Great read and a book that I will be buying to share with some of those strong Midwest women in my life.