'Military Wives in Arizona Territory: A History of Women Who Shaped the Frontier' 

By Jan Cleere. TwoDot. $19.95, Kindle $14.49.

'…chintz and muslin, and a little skillful arrangement did wonders,' wrote an upbeat Julia Edith Kirkham Davis in 1869 of her hardscrabble accommodations at Camp MacDowell in the Arizona Territory. Davis was accustomed to a comfortable life in Oakland, California, but she wasn't about to let her fragile health or her new baby prevent her from accompanying her husband across the treacherous desert from San Diego to Yuma, then on to his posting at Camp McDowell. Like many military wives, Davis was determined to make the best of it. As Jan Cleere demonstrates in this collection, military wives who anticipated hardship in the Arizona Territory were rarely disappointed: at best, it was a rough and dangerous life, marked by deprivation, hard work, and few female friends. At worst, it could be deadly. Not all the wives highlighted in this fascinating book were as chirpy as Mrs. Davis, but they were determined, resourceful, and quietly courageous. Cleere sums it up neatly in her enlightening introduction: 'The husband's career,' she says, 'became the wife's profession.' They lived with their decision not to be left behind and were remarkably adaptable: one wife reported that the safest place to hide during an Apache raid was in a stone fireplace; another remarked that rattles from a rattlesnake made an entertaining baby toy. Surprisingly, many would have fond memories of their time in the desert.

The narrative is composed of writings by and about these women gathered by the author, who traveled widely and dug deeply to turn up journals, letters, newspaper clippings and photographs. Cleere, a foremost authority on women's lives in Arizona's territorial years, will be familiar to readers of the Arizona Daily Star where her column, 'Western Women,' appears monthly. She lives in Oro Valley.

— Helene Woodhams for the Arizona Daily Star

Military Writers Society of America, June 2021 review of Military Wives in Arizona Territory, by Barb Evenson.

“Unlike many formal histories which put theory and context front and center, Military Wives in Arizona Territory by Jan Cleere honors the first-hand experiences of women who followed their military spouses to the remote outposts in the American West. The book gives an authentic, immediate account of their travel to and from the outposts, life on the frontier and their homes.

The author has assembled letters, diaries, interviews, published books, and unpublished manuscripts to allow the women to tell their stories directly, and in their own words. The author does provide some context, but does not overshadow the women's own descriptions of their experience.

Each section focuses on a particular woman or group of women. It usually begins with a recounting of their journey across the country. Sometimes beginning with a long train ride or sea voyage through the Panama Canal, the women then moved with wagon trains or by oxen carts through dangerous territories. They speak of their fears: the attacks by Indian tribes, loss of their husbands through battle or accident, and the illnesses which took many along the way.

The book also contrasts the privileged life left behind in the East with the deprivation and rough conditions in the remote outposts. Although most of the women were officers' wives and therefore afforded more than soldiers' families, those privileges might be the use of boxes covered with linen to make up tables and chairs. They recount the creativity necessary to entertain visiting dignitaries or even to feed their families when food supplies were uncertain.

Military Wives powerfully shows the devotion, duty, creativity and grit of women who chose to share life on the frontier with their husbands. It provides a valuable and vivid window into life during a critical period in our history. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy authentic, first-person history, and those with particular interest in women's history and frontier military history.”

SEE FULL REVIEW

Goodreads, February 14, 2016 review of "Never Don't Pay Attention:" The Life of Rodeo Photographer Louisa L. Serpa

"This is a lively written biography of a legendary woman photographer who made her own way in a man's world and who shaped the character of rodeo.  She often said she was born in the wrong place, to the wrong woman, at the wrong time.  She was the epitome of tough elegance!  This is the best of Jan Cleere's 5 books detailing the lives of early Western Pioneers."

Bookman's preview of 2016 Tucson Festival of Books programs.

"Jan Cleere is possibly the best local historian and public speaker.  With titles like Levi's & Lace: Arizona Women Who Made History and Amazing Girls of Arizona: True Stories of Young Pioneers, she gifts us with all the desert grrrl (sic) power we need!  After you catch up on your local lady knowledge, we also recommend Outlaw Tales of Arizona: True Stories of Arizona's Most Famous Robbers, Rustlers, and Bandits, in which we learn about the rowdy villains of the Southwest! This is one amazing woman we can't wait to see at the festival."

Southwest Books of the Year review of Levi's & Lace (Notable Mention), by Bill Broyles.

"Arizona has had its share of fascinating, pioneering women, and here we meet 35 of them in short biographies that should spur us to look further. They include artists like potter Nampeyo and writer Katie Lee, teachers like Rebecca Dallis and Maria Urquides, businesswomen like Ada Bass, Nellie Cashman, and Louisa Wetherill, healers Florence Yount and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, and judge Lorna Lockwood. Each and all reveal much about our state and its progress. A fun, fine read whether you are an old-time Arizonan or newcomer. "

Southwest Books of the Year review of Levi's & Lace: Arizona Women Who Made History, by W. David Laird.

"Cleere includes photos, when available, so we modern readers can get a sense of what these woman, not all heroines, were like. That famous Apache “warrioress” Lozen is here, and 150 years later, Maria Urquides. Somewhere in between, chronologically, is perhaps the most famous Arizona woman, the Hopi potter Nampeyo. Nice tributes make easy reading. Only 30-some here, so there’s lots of room for another book, or two, Jan."

A Traveler's Library: Books and Music to Inspire Travel

Book review of Levi's & Lace: Arizona Women Who Made History, by Vera Marie Badertscher
http://atravelerslibrary.com/2012/02/15/arizona-women/

Western Writers of America Roundup Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 3 (February 2012)

"Women have oft been omitted from the annals of history. Enter Jan Cleere, who has pulled together accounts of many women who might not have made the pages of the encyclopedia, but, in their own way, changed the history of those they served. . . . Levi's & Lace is a must read."

Journal of Arizona History, Vol. 52, No. 4 (Winter 2011)

"Levi's & Lace is an enjoyable read, with lively writing about a diverse group of women who contributed to the development of the state."

Green Valley News & Sun

Book review by Karen Walenga
Levi's & Lace: Arizona Women Who Made History

Story Circle Book Reviews

Book Review by Laura Strathman Hulka
Levi's & Lace: Arizona Women Who Made History

Journal of Arizona History

Book review of Amazing Girls of Arizona: True Stories of Young Pioneers, by Bruce J. Dinges, Editor
"Oro Valley writer Jan Cleere has compiled her own 'profiles in courage' in Amazing Girls of Arizona: True Stories of Young Pioneers. . . . she presents lively biographies of eleven Arizona women whose childhood adventures presaged their productive adult lives. . . . Thanks to Jan Cleere, they are able to share their stories with adults and children today."

Desert Tracks

Newsletter of the Southwest Chapter of the Oregon-CaliforniaTrails Association, Book Review by Walter Drew Hill of Amazing Girls of Arizona: True Stories of Young Pioneers 
"Jan Cleere's collection of eleven fascinating real life accounts of early Arizona girls . . .  offer(s) a view of southwestern history that is often overlooked: childhood. Cleere writes with enthusiasm for her subjects, and consequently she has succeeded in making these Arizona girls come alive. Each sketch is adventure-intensive and interesting."

The Explorer Newspaper

Book Review, by Emil Franzi
Amazing Girls of Arizona
Local Reads on Western Lore Make Great Gifts This Year

The Journal of Arizona History

Book Review by Bruce J. Dinges, Editor:  Outlaw Tales of Arizona: True Stories of Arizona's Most Famous Robbers, Rustlers, and Bandits
"Jan Cleere recognizes a good story when she hears it, but she is skeptical enough not always to accept it at face value. . . . Cleere's bibliography is a handy guide to further reading and a testament to her own diligent research."

Arizona Daily Star

Book Review by J.C. Martin, "Southern Arizona Authors"
Outlaw Tales of Arizona: True Stories of Arizona's Most Famous Robbers, Rustlers, and Bandits

The Journal of Arizona History

Book Review of More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Nevada Women, by Bruce J. Dinges, Editor
"Her charmingly written book serves as both a tribute to the resourcefulness of the human spirit and an invitation for further research into the lives of these, and other, forgotten pioneer women."

Arizona Daily Star

Book Review by J.C. Martin, "Southern Arizona Authors"
More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Nevada Women

Las Vegas Review-Journal

"STAKING THEIR CLAIM: Independent Spirit - New book details 13 Nevada pioneer women who broke from convention," by John Przbys

Las Vegas Sun

"Pioneers no longer overlooked," by Susan Snyder
More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Nevada Women