The Klondike Gold Rush is a fascinating time and so are its
characters. Deb Vanasse's Wealth Woman delves into the life,
culture, and controversy of Kate Carmack, the native wife of George Carmack and
the sister of Skookum Jim, the men who discovered the gold that changed the
whole region.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the insight
into Kate's childhood, culture, and traditional ways of thinking, knowing, and
behaving. It' not just traditions and
stories, ceremonies and survival knowledge passed down through the generations,
but a different mindset, and Deb Vanasse gives us an intriguing glimpse of it.
The book also captures Kate's amazing adaptability and the
waves of wealth and poverty in her life—often not a poverty or wealth of
gold.
In addition to Kate and George, unique characters from history
people the pages, bringing to life the history of the Klondike Gold Rush and
the often skimmed-over years before and after.
In some parts the timeline jumps around a little for
creativity's sake which makes it hard to keep track of the order of
events. For people like me, who have
difficulty remembering dates, it would have been useful to have a few more
references to the length between events ("Five years after event X…")
instead of assuming the readers remember.
To help keep the secondary characters straight, I would have enjoyed an
appendix with a list of important people.
Otherwise, the writing is clear and engaging, and I learned a lot.
The book is well-researched and documented, with fascinating
snippets from original sources, sometimes complete with all their historical
bigotry. The extensive end notes add
even more detail to the book.
Kate Carmack's life makes for very interesting reading,
especially in the hands of an author like Deb Vanasse. If you want to learn more about Kate Carmack,
life in the wilds of Alaska and Canada in the late 1800s, the Klondike Gold
Rush, and the aftermath of the bonanza, read Wealth Woman.
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