FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 3, 2008
CONTACT:  Martyn Beeny, SDSHS Press, (605) 773 8161, martyn.beeny@state.sd.us

Two great books from South Dakota State Historical Society put focus on Women’s History Month

PIERRE, S.D.—March is Women’s History Month, and two of the South Dakota State Historical Society’s recent books put the focus squarely on women in South Dakota. Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life and Sunshine Always: The Courtship Letters of Alice Bower and Joseph Gossage of Dakota Territory feature strong, important women of South Dakota, along with excellent research and great writing.

Pamela Smith Hill’s acclaimed biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder sheds new light on the writing career of the famous children’s author, particularly in regard to Wilder’s relationship with her daughter Rose Wilder Lane. The Christian Science Monitor called Hill’s book “insightful,” while The Homesteader noted that it is a “fascinating and remarkable book.”

In Sunshine Always, Alice Bower’s courtship with the founder of the Rapid City Journal sparkles through the couple’s love letters and her diary entries. The book, edited by Paula Nelson, shows Bower’s strength, courage, and determination in carving out a career in the newspaper business at a time when such a life was unusual for women.  The Midwest Book Review “enthusiastically recommended” Sunshine Always, and the South Dakota Library Association recommended it for “readers interested in history, biography, or love letters.”

Celebrate Women’s History Month this March and learn more about women’s history in South Dakota with either or both of these books.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, a paperback, is available for $12.95 plus shipping and tax. Sunshine Always, a hard cover, is available for $24.95 plus shipping and tax. Both books can be purchased from most bookstores or ordered directly from the South Dakota State Historical Society Press. Visit www.sdshspress.com or call (605) 773-6009.