Skirts that Swept the Desert Floor

They came from all points of the compass, these women. Some were married to men who had traveled to Nevada to make a fresh start in life or to maybe strike it rich. Others arrived alone as teachers, miners, or prostitutes. These are the pioneers ... the women who helped to build the Silver State and make Nevada great ...

Skirts that Swept the Desert Floor tells the stories of 100 women whose lives shaped the social, cultural, and economic world of Nevada over the last two centuries. Some of the women, like prospector Josie Pearl and singer Emma Wixom Nevada, are justly famous. But the book also celebrates the many less-known teachers, organizers, and suffragettes who influenced the course of the state''s history in ways both large and small. In the process, a few popular Nevada myths are busted, reputations are rehabilitated, and some of Nevada''s brave early pioneer women are rescued from undeserved obscurity.

As an historical and women''s studies resource, Skirts that Swept the Desert Floor is an invaluable reference work that deserves a place on the shelves of schools, libraries, or anyone interested in the state of Nevada and the place of women in the world.