Published in the 1990s by an older, somewhat conservative man, this book contains random reminisces about Laura and Almazo, Rose and life on the prairie and in the Ozark mountains long ago. Unfortunately by the time anyone thought to interview Laura's friends and neighbors, most of them had passed on or were elderly. The recollections from Mansfield are scarce because Laura and Almanzo were elderly and lived way out in the country. They didn't drive and kept to themselves. There are some great memories from boys who worked for Laura at the end of her life and the few women she was close to. Everyone else keeps saying "If I had known...." The stories from DeSmet are more interesting. I had read recently that the stories about lonely, desperate women being dragged across the plains simply weren't true but here we have a story about a girl who grew up in DeSmet, South Dakota just after the long winter. Her mother had what the writers I read as a girl called "prairie sickness", a form of depression caused by isolation and loneliness.

The book also contains recipes from Caroline "Ma" Ingalls and other ladies she and Laura knew. Laura's writings for the Missouri Ruralist and the Athenian Club are included as well. Some of her writing, especially during WWI, sounds a little too deeply conservative for today's women. She wondered who was doing the women's work while the women were doing men's work while the men were away. A neighbor felt Laura was coming around to the idea of women working outside the home later in life though. There's some emphasis on Rose as well and the editor tries to include memories that portray her in a positive light. Apparently Rose's most difficult years were the 1930s when she was collaborating with her mother and also experiencing untreated depression. Rose still sounds like someone I would not like to be friends with though and caution to modern readers- a comment in her essay about pioneer women is a veiled racist statement. It doesn't mean she should be cancelled, it just shows she was from a different time and place with a different understanding of the world.

The editor includes an FAQ at the end of all the questions he had left. This was before Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography was published and some of his questions are answered in that book.

I recommend this to die-hard Laura Ingalls Wilder fans, before reading Pioneer Girl.

Love me some Laura Ingalls Wilder... but author Stephen Hines? Not so much. While the book offers several interesting accounts that expand on Laura's life and women of her background, the book comes across as a rushed attempt to cash in on Laura's legacy, following Hines' earlier work. Old boy couldn't even be bothered to correctly spell Caroline Ingalls' maiden name. Two stars all day.

I wonder what my neighbors would say about me

For (mostly) women of a certain age, there's a hardcore fan base that will love this book. And I did enjoy reading nuggets about her life. But the book also came across to me as a bit "too little, too late." Most of the anecdotes were of her later life. If only someone had thought of writing this book sooner, when there were still people around who remembered Laura as a child or young adult.

This is a somewhat interesting collection of primary sources of research. It’s not particularly well-written or organized. The recipes earned it a bonus star.

It was interesting reading about the recollections of Laura Ingalls Wilder from her peers, friends, newspaper articles, etc. I loved her books and the TV series, and this gave me a different side of her.

Another excellent book on the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. A must read for the true fan.

Mostly a collection of scraps of interviews and documentation, a good call for die-hard Little House fans (though perhaps not the ones who *like* the 'extended' ones.

Found this displayed in the library for Women's History Month. I love reading anything about Laura Ingalls Wilder.

This author also published a collection of Laura's early farm columns.This book came about after searching for evidence of oral histories about Mrs. Wilder following her death in 1957. He did not find any histories recorded. Mr. Hines decided to collect what remained of the collective memory of Laura from the small towns of her adult life. He also collected information about her husband and daughter. He collected a few other writings to add to the mix. It is described as a patchwork quilt and it has that feel.

It was interesting to read about others' impressions and memories of Laura but this book had a lot of information I also found boring.

My love of Laura continues, although this book wasn't what I was expecting.