Gina Barreca reviews Nina Baym’s new book Women Writers of the American West, 1833-1927 in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Brainstorm blog.

“If you study American literature, you have to get the book; if you are interested in women’s writing, you must get the book; if you are intrigued by the period of history during which America’s ‘manifest destiny’ became emblazoned across the map even as the country itself was torn apart by civil war, you should get the book; and if you want to hear about a whole big bunch of remarkable tales told by settlers—who happen to be women—as this country entered its adolescence, you will enjoy this book.”