Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II [B1556]

2024 PB in excellent condition. National Bestseller. Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist. "An ingenious look at WWII."-Publishers Weekly (Starred Review). A groundbreaking new history of the role of American servicewomen in WWII, illuminating their forgotten yet essential contributions to the Allies' victory. Valiant Women is the story of the 350,000 American women who served in uniform during World War II. These incredible women served in every service branch, in every combat theater, and in nearly two-thirds of the available military occupations at the time. They were pilots, codebreakers, ordnance experts, gunnery instructors, metalsmiths, chemists, translators, parachute riggers, truck drivers, radarmen, pigeon trainers, and much more. They were directly involved in some of the most important moments of the war, from the D-Day landings to the peace negotiations in Paris. These women--who hailed from every race, creed, and walk of life--died for their country and received the nation's highest honors. Their work, both individually and in total, was at the heart of the Allied strategy that won World War II. Yet, until now, their stories have been relegated to the dusty shelves of military archives or a passing mention in the local paper. Often the women themselves kept their stories private, even from their own families. Now, military analyst Lena Andrews corrects the record with the definitive and comprehensive historical account of American servicewomen during World War II, based on new archival research, firsthand interviews with surviving veterans, and a deep professional understanding of military history and strategy.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Wonderful to read these stories of special women and the mark they left on this world."; "This is a great read for those interested in WWII or women's history. I think you're guaranteed to learn something and be impressed by the women in the book. My husband and I both learned a lot despite each of us being history majors. I was shocked to learn of the lengths to which sexism had gone in attacking women in uniform in WWII. I knew it was bad, I did not know it was that bad. The racism was as bad as I had previously heard, though still frustrating to learn about. There are some wonderful profiles of women I had never heard of previously and wish had full-length biographies or documentaries focusing on them!"; "I was amazed how accomplished many of these women were before they joined the service, and what they did afterwards. I was not surprised how the men treated them. I applaud the men in the military and government who supported them."