Publishers Weekly
★ 05/29/2023
Military analyst Andrews debuts with an enlightening revisionist history spotlighting combat support by women in WWII. In addition to working in factories, offices, and depots around the country, more than 350,000 women served in the WAACs (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps), the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Service), and other all-female corps. They brought tenacity, patience, and charismatic leadership to their roles, Andrews writes, but they earned half of what men were paid, were not assigned ranks, and were subject to a code of conduct stricter than the men’s. The book’s subjects served, among other roles, as advisers, cryptologists, draftswomen, nurses, oceanographers, spies, teachers, and transporters. For example, Charity Adams led the Black women of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion who broke up the massive backlog of mail sent to soldiers at the Battle of the Bulge; test pilot Florene Miller flew planes across the United States to prepare them for missions overseas; and instrument mechanic Jessie Kontrabecki repaired planes for the Navy before training men to fly them. Through interviews with the few servicewomen still alive and comprehensive research, Andrews takes an ingenious look at WWII “in a different way.” It’s a must-read for women’s and military history buffs. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
"This engaging account of the 350,000 women who served in uniform during World War II sheds new light on overlooked members of the Greatest Generation." — People, "Best New Books"
“Military analyst Andrews debuts with an enlightening revisionist history spotlighting combat support by women in WWII….Through interviews with the few servicewomen still alive and comprehensive research, Andrews takes an ingenious look at WII ‘in a different way.’ It’s a must-read for women’s and military history buffs.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A welcome celebration of military heroes who deserve more recognition. An invaluable addition to our knowledge of the Allied victory." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Brilliantly told. Firsthand interviews with living veterans and photographs spread throughout the text bring the lives, service, sacrifice, and the struggle for military inclusion of everyday women beautifully to life. ... Binge-able and easily approachable for those new to the subject, this book is perfect for WWII buffs and readers of history, military history, women’s history, and feminist nonfiction." — Booklist (starred review)
"Based on interviews, memoirs, and extensive archival research, this engaging book offers a wide-ranging look at women’s contributions to the war effort...Readers interested in women’s and military history, especially World War II events and experiences, will value this book." — Library Journal (starred review)
"Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II." — BookPage (starred review)
"Andrews paints a vivid historical scene, demonstrating the transformative nature of women in the war effort—not only for the more than 350,000 women who served in the armed forces before, during, and after the war, but also for U.S. society as a whole. ... Fascinating portraits of individual women enliven the narrative.... Andrews's book is a fitting history of and tribute to the women who contributed so vitally to the Allied victory." — Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"We tend to associate war with all things men: male soldiers, male officers, and male heroes. Lena Andrews, who happens to be a military analyst for the CIA, would like to have a word about that. In this can’t-miss piece of nonfiction, she gets into the many achievements of the women who served during World War II — working as everything from codebreakers to translators to parachute riggers and beyond. If you’re a history buff (or just love stories of women breaking barriers), add it to your list." — The Skimm
“This engrossing book highlights the long-neglected but vital contributions of an entire generation of American women to the decisive allied victory in World War II. Lena Andrews introduces us to these uncommon heroes – including pilots, mechanics, intelligence experts and gunnery instructors – and weaves their exploits into a fresh and surprising chapter of the largest war in history. At turns heartbreaking and inspiring, this unique narrative shares the powerful stories of these fearless women who made that decisive victory possible.” — Lt. General DAVID BARNO, US Army (Ret.), former senior American commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan
"Focusing on a fascinating dimension of the Second World War, Lena Andrew’s Valiant Women explores how American women uniquely contributed to the war effort, examining the organizational, cultural and personal dimensions, and demands, associated with their critical contributions. This illuminating account helps explain why World War II continues to cast such a large shadow over American society—and will continue to do so for years to come. Read it to learn about, and to honor, those amazing women that served." — Brigadier General PAULA G. THORNHILL, USAF (Ret.)
“Lena Andrews's lively book uncovers the little-known story of the amazing variety of women—from nurses to scientists, clerks to pilots—who sometimes had to fight a double battle during World War II: against the Axis powers, and against men who belittled their vital contributions.” — ADAM HOCHSCHILD, author of American Midnight and King Leopold's Ghost
Library Journal
★ 07/01/2023
By the end of the World War II, more than 350,000 U.S. women had served in uniform in several auxiliary units created by the military. Sometimes that meant being mere miles away from the front lines. In her first book, CIA military analyst Andrews explores the vital roles that women filled—pilots, machinists, instructors, chemists, codebreakers, weather observers, and more—in the Army Air Corps' Women Airforce Service Pilots, the Navy's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, the Coast Guard's Semper Paratus—Always Ready, and the Marine Corps' Women's Reserve. These organizations experienced growing pains as their commanders, newly minted women officers, fought stubborn and suspicious men over their worth and capabilities. The women faced harassment by men who were military personnel and questions about their morals and sexuality. In addition to that, Black volunteers battled racism. Based on interviews, memoirs, and extensive archival research, this engaging book offers a wide-ranging look at women's contributions to the war effort. VERDICT Readers interested in women's and military history, especially World War II events and experiences, will value this book.—Chad E. Statler
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2023-05-24
The extraordinary achievements of women serving during World War II.
Andrews, a military analyst at the CIA, has interviewed many of the last remaining survivors of the war effort, and she also incorporates many other first-person accounts written over the years. Her work encompasses all of the official U.S. programs created during the war years to incorporate women in the military. These included the Women’s Army Corps, the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, the Marine Corps Women’s Reserves, the Navy’s Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, and the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve. Though her focus remains on the impressive achievements of the women on the battlefield, she also amply delineates the contribution to the “unstoppable” manufacturing effort across the country by noncombatant forces. “By one account,” she writes, “women composed nearly forty percent of the workers in war industries by 1944 and, at their peak, made up thirty-five percent of the overall labor force, a ten percent increase from before the war.” Ultimately, noncombatant forces “were a critical, though often unseen and underappreciated, element of battlefield operations.” Andrews begins with the Army and Navy nurses stationed in the Philippines and at Pearl Harbor, the first women in uniform to participate in the war effort. The author creates a host of illuminating biographical portraits, including that of Oveta Culp Hobby, the enormously influential head of WAC who helped convince Congress to authorize the program, with the support of Eleanor Roosevelt and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Marshall. Andrews also explores the media’s efforts to undermine women servicemembers with questions about uniforms, the inclusion of Black women, and trumped-up accusations of lesbianism and indecency. The author shows how the Navy and Marines very reluctantly fell in line and how the sterling contributions of thousands of women eventually convinced most skeptics. It’s a welcome celebration of military heroes who deserve more recognition.
An invaluable addition to our knowledge of the Allied victory.
