"The diaries and letters . . . throb with excitement, pain, and mind-boggling determination."—Kliatt
"An outstanding collection of primary sources written by women moving west."—Wagon Tracks
"Kenneth L. Holmes made the very wise editorial decision not to update, revise, or parenthetically correct the quirky and often fascinating prose of these nineteenth-century women. . . . The writing is rich with the sounds of common speech and jargon . . . and it should be a gold mine for students of everyday life."—John Mack Faragher, Western Historical Quarterly
"Covered Wagon Women is to be valued. . . . First, it brings together in a single edition a major collection of the diaries of overland women. . . . Second, this is probably the most perfectly documented edition a researcher will find."—Lillian Schlissel, Pacific Historical Review
