Kind of dry. But for those who, like me can't know too much about LIW, a quick read with a different twist.

A fascinating book, it's a really good history of De Smet.

There are new titles coming out about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family all the time. It makes it hard for a writer with an interest in sharing Laura's story to come up with a unique idea that will be attractive to publishers. But that's exactly what Laura Ingalls Wilder biographer, John E. Miller did with Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little Town: Where History & Literature Meet.

As a review by Library Journal says, "Taking concepts such as place and community, freedom and control, and love and affection, Miller considers how they operate in Wilder's novels of prairie life..."

The amount of research Miller put into this book is evident and there are almost twenty pictures, maps, and diagrams--some of which I had never seen before.

Focusing on Wilder's By the Shores of Silver Lake and Little Town on the Prairie, Miller proves how Laura's novels are just as historically valid as nonfiction accounts of the time period because these are Wilder's experiences as a young pioneer girl growing up on the prairie--living history.

Other interesting portions of this book include:

* Miller's discussion on the controversy over Rose Wilder Lane's involvement in writing the first eight novels of the series

* The similiar historical contributions of Harvey Dunn and Laura Ingalls Wilder, though Dunn was a painter and Wilder a novelist

* And fact and interpretation in Wilder's novels

All this and more makes this one of the most interesting Laura Ingalls Wilder biographies I have ever read.

Best quote ever by anyone! " I believe we would be happier to have a personal revolution in our individual lives and go back to simpler living and more direct thinking. It is the simple things in life that make living worth while, the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty, work and rest and living close to nature. There are no hothouse blossoms that can compare in beauty and fragrance to my bouquet of wildflowers" Laura Ingalls Wilder. How I admire this woman!

I noted this review as containing spoilers because I wanted to warn people who might prefer their illusions intact. It's a good "fact vs. fiction" book for teenagers to adults.
I found it informative but it wasn't necessarily enjoyable. My life will never be the same after learning that another family lived with the Ingalls during the Long Winter.

This reads like it might be Miller's dissertation. Actually, no, I think it would be less repetitive and the chapters would flow together better if it were a dissertation. This is more like a series of essays, which could be okay, but was not what I had hoped. Miller clearly did extensive research into the history of De Smet, but I found that history was not paired with nearly as much insight into Wilder's books as I wanted. Also, Miller completely ignores, or is oblivious to, the history of Missouri and the US in general in the 1930s and 1940s when Wilder was writing, and the tremendous impact the attitudes and daily life of that place and time period had on her books as well. Finally, the publication date for this book is 1994, and as a 2023 reader, I notice the complete lack of examination of the underlying sexist, racist, heteronormative, and colonialist attitudes that permeate Miller's own writing, and likely most of the sources he references.

Torn between 3 and 4 stars... Interesting, yet not quite what I anticipated. Less focus on LIW specifically, with more of a discussion of railroad towns of that era in general.

I liked it except for the chapter on De Smet's leisure activities, which I thought deadly dull. List writing, I call that sort of thing, something I always fear with University press books but most of the chapters in this book don't slide into it. There is a fair bit of repetition, which is often the case with books including articles printed elsewhere, but that I didn't mind so much.

Someone who thinks the Little House books are dead accurate history probably wouldn't like this book much, but I found the discussion on how Laura filtered her own history into story fascinating, and also enjoyed seeing glimpses of how Rose encouraged and guided her mother into writing better books.

I finished this book.

It is great to read about all the facts that weren't written in the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Her story isn't just stories for children. If you know the background of her life, there was adult life going on that she left out. She fictionalized the Ingalls pioneer stories quite a bit, but also a lot that was written really happened to her. She also messed with their ages and timeline when and where things happened.

This book deals with some of this and as lot about the town that Charles and Caroline settled in last. It sometimes moves away from her story and just talks about the frontier town and that gets to drag a bit, especially the last chapter where he brings in the painter Dunn.

I really enjoyed learning more facts I did not know about her life

I love the books that dig deeper into the Little House series. This book gives much information about the town of DeSmet. Those who like American History or Laura Ingalls Wilder will enjoy this.

This is more a biography of De Smet, South Dakota than a book about Laura Ingalls Wilder, which, looking back at the title, I should have realized. I did enjoy reading more about the historical context of the Little House books. What kept this book from getting four stars from me is the repitition. Several of the chapters are really reprints of articles the author had published in different journals, and the same information shows up again and again. A little editing could have cleaned that up and made this book more readable. Also, I am not unfamiliar with communication analysis, but I totally didn't get the chapter titled "Fact and Interpretation in Wilder's Fiction." Miller looks at the Little House books through the lens of semiotics. I understood his definition of semiotic theory, but I didn't understand his analysis. It seemed to have little to do with semiotics, or at least, it wasn't clear to me.