"Among the numerous diaries published recently as scholars probe women's history, Farnsworth's is a real find." Sally Mitchell "The publication now of books like Martha Farnsworth's has contributed to radical revisions of women's history and reassessment of women's skills as writers." Elizabeth Hampsten " ... superb edition of the diary of Kansas pioneer Martha Farnsworth ... a fact-filled, revealing account of an extraordinary-but-ordinary woman ... " American Quarterly " ... the inside story of a women's life in the middle of America ... " Bloomsbury Review