The Gentle Tamers

"The promise implicit in the title of this book is not broken. Mr. Brown has assembled a notable collection of women who took part in the migrations westward, mostly in the period of 1850–1880, and presents them, often with enthusiasm and always with sympathy. . . . I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Brown's book."—Stewart Holbrook, New York Herald Tribune Books

"Underlying the book's fascinating comedy and pathos and terror, there is a sociological overtone. Mr. Brown shows that the reactions of these women to their frontier experience were as important as male reactions in the development of American mores and American democracy."—Marshall Sprague, New York Times Book Review