Pioneering the Vote Review

By Neylan McBaine

Rating: 3/5

In 1895, Utah’s leading suffragist, Emmeline B. Wells, welcomed her friends Susan B. Anthony and Reverend Anna Howard Shaw to a gathering of more than 8,000 people from around the West at the Rocky Mountain Suffrage Convention. They were there to celebrate the suffrage movement’s recent wins and strategize their next triumphs. Pioneering the Vote tells the remarkable, largely unknown story of the early suffrage victories that happened in states and territories in the American West. With the encouragement of the eastern leaders, women from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho came together in a unique moment of friendship and unified purpose to secure the vote for women in America.

Told in alternating fiction and non-fiction narratives, this book offers a rare look at the suffrage movement from the point of view of the women in the western United States. With 2020 marking the centennial of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, join with these remarkable figures from the past to celebrate women’s right to vote.

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I was given a copy of this book through Shadow Mountain Publishing asking that I read it and feature it on my page. Thank you!

I don’t think this book could have come out at a better time! Perfect timing!

Going into this, I didn’t think I would enjoy it so much. However, I was curious about learning this untold story. I know it’s more about facts with this one. It’s not true historical fiction. It’s filled with both fiction and non-fiction narratives.

It took me a while to actually pick this book up. As I mentioned, I didn’t think I would enjoy it so much so to actually open it and start reading it took some effort on my part. But once I did, I actually enjoyed it more than I expected. There are some really interesting and intriguing facts to learn about this part of the history of how women got to vote.

That being said, yes I did mean it when I said I found parts of this very interesting to read and learn. But getting farther into it, I learned this book was just not for me. Only because I’m not a big fan of history. Never was. I could only read small portions of the book at a time. I definitely think others will enjoy this book more, especially if this particular topic interests them or they truly enjoy history.

There were parts that were truly interesting to read and if I were more into history, I know I would have enjoyed this book way more. The idea that this book is filled with fiction and non-fiction is definitely unique and makes this more entertaining to read.

So don’t pay attention to my rating. Decide for yourself if you want to learn about this piece of history.