WOMEN’S WEST, A VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR

The secret to telling any great tale about the U.S. West is to make it an inclusive story with lots of historical actors from different backgrounds, places, and cultures. Decades ago, Bison Books made the conscious decision to tell inclusive stories about the West, and perhaps no single subject has received more justifiable attention than women’s experiences in the West. 

While male historians set about trying to define specific roles for women’s western experiences, and older textbooks spoke of “gentle tamers” or “school marms” or “soiled doves” or some other narrow and unhelpful identifying phrase that fell short of speaking to the diversity and intricacy of the women’s West, women writers set about telling their own damn stories that defied any easy categorization. Bison Books has sought to publish books by and about women that cover their vast range of experiences, whether as ranchers, miners, writers, politicians, wives, bikers, hikers, hunters, explorers, and/or mothers. Indigenous, Latina, Anglo, Asian, and African American women from around the globe have forever shaped and memorialized our understanding of the American West, and this virtual tour celebrates the complex and rich history they have helped to create. 

From civil rights fights in Omaha to courtrooms in Los Angeles, women have battled and succeeded in writing their own narratives, and this virtual tour celebrates a cast of tough, resilient, vulnerable, strong, and intriguing women who have enriched western storytelling for generations. 

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