Gu Kun asked Jim MacLachlan:

Hi Jim, could you recommend a good book (history or fiction) on American pioneer life to me? Something that answers questions like "how did these people cope without a dentist ?" Greets, Koen

Jim MacLachlan I've got to answer this about the same as the last - none. I'm not well read in the period, especially at that level. You might want to read some diaries of the period & I'm sure they're available since various western authors mention reading them. Check Gutenberg.org for some books of the time or historical societies. Even the fiction might shed some light, but they all tend to leave out the ugly parts like dysentery & rotting teeth. I'd guess you'd have to come at it from the sides.

For instance, I'd guess there was a fair amount of difference between the early 1800s & the latter half. In between, germ theory was developed & the idea of clean water caught on which made a huge difference. It's a long slog, but "The Ghost Map" by Steven Johnson does describe conditions well in London around the 1840s & how people thought about disease. They'd literally scoop water out of the sewer & let it settle then drink the clear top water. It took decades for the idea of germs to reach everyone & conditions on the frontier were far different from a crowded city like London for the most part. Gold camps & such could resemble it closely in terms of hygiene, though.

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