Really enjoyed this book. It's just what Hines describes it as in the introduction, a "bouquet" of Laura Ingalls Wilder stuff. While I understand that there will be discrepancies in people's memories and experiences after all the time and everyone would have had their own experiences and impressions of Laura, I would have appreciated if Hines would have addressed some of the discrepancies and attempted to find out the truth or add context- this is the only thing missing from the book.

Lots of remembrances of Laura as a grown woman known by her friends and neighbors.

I am really enjoying this book despite the disorganized way the material is presented.

This collection seeks to shed life on best selling author Laura Ingalls Wilder. Through newspaper articles, memoirs of those that new her, interviews, recipes, and more, this book helps further illuminate the life of the author who first brought attention and fame to her own life through her beloved series Little House On the Prairie.

The author clearly spent considerable time collecting and seeking out remembrances of Laura, including reaching out to those living who might have memories of her, including family, friends, and relatives. The book is neatly organized into chapters by subject matter and each section includes a note from the author to provide context and background. Although I have read the full series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, books by her daughter, her autobiography, and other books, I do still think this book can stand on its own even if you have read no other texts. Any reader could browse through this collection for a deeper understanding of the author and her life.

The sections I enjoyed the most included the personal memoirs of a close childhood friend, Neva Whaley Harding. Her descriptions of how difficult life was on the homestead and how detrimental it proved for her mother's mental health gave a greater perspective and respect for the Ingalls family. I also loved the interview summaries the author included from former neighbors and friends, who mostly knew Laura as an older woman. She is consistently presented as quiet, ladylike, friendly and a down to earth presence. The inclusion of recipes from people who knew Laura likewise gave a unique perspective on typical meals of the time period. I liked that the author evidently attempted to fix each dish and included notes about how they turned out and suggested alterations.

This book does not attempt to be and should not be mistaken for a true biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder but a sort of memory book to accompany a biography and her best selling books. I was surprised there is no index or references included. Although the author attributes each piece to the original publisher or author throughout the pieces, it did seem surprisingly not to have a formal list of sources included.

Some interesting articles by and/or about Laura Ingalls Wilder & her family, including husband Manly & daughter Rose. This includes memories of neighbors in Mansfield MO, foster children of Rose, & neighborhood boys who helped on the farm.

I was pretty disappointed in this one, honestly. There were interviews with a handful of people that knew Laura and/or Rose personally, and some (not all) of them contained some interesting tidbits, but a lot of the material was newspaper clippings rehashing over and over the same litany of facts that most LIW fans already know anyway, or writings of Laura's that are available elsewhere. The editor's commentary also got kind of annoying at times; he seems to have a very specific image of Laura that he wants to portray, and that makes me question the objectivity of his editorial decisions. This is not to say that I was looking for some kind of gossipy, scandal-ridden tell-all — that would be ludicrous. But LIW is already lionized and mythologized enough; I'm more interested in seeing her as a real human being with actual foibles and flaws, and some of his comments make me doubt that this editor would be willing to present her as such.