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kcdigangi2112's review against another edition
Fascinating untold story of American heroes who didn’t get the respect and acknowledgment they deserved. Will revisit later when I can spend more time on the stories.
judelon's review against another edition
3.0
It was very informative, but I would have preferred more stories about flying and day-to-day operations and adventures. The political infighting between Love and Cochrane was too much a part of the story for my taste. I found a previous book much more moving: Women Pilots of World War II, by Jean Hascall Cole, one of the original WASPs at Sweetwater. Because it was an earlier book, there were more personal stories from living WASPs.
theabhorsen's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed a lot about this book and I'm not sorry I took the time to read it; it was a really interesting look at the experiences of the WASPs during the war as well as a nice background on how each of the women whose personal stories were focused on ended up in the program as well as their experiences of the program itself. The dissection of some of the behind-the-scenes tension was also fascinating and definitely not something I'd been aware of going into it.
That said, this isn't my favorite book about women service during World War II. I do absolutely agree that the program ending and the WASPs' experiences after the war ended were important to include, but they ended up being the last third-ish of the book. For me, that was too much, and a lot of those chapters also dragged a little - I would have much preferred to have more focus on their actual time in the program and the post-program information communicated more succinctly.
In addition, while I was glad that racism and anti-semitism within the WASP program was acknowledged, it felt like it was really downplayed in favor of focusing on the white Christian women's experiences of sexism. For example, she drops a line about Jewish women in the program not liking the way they were expected to engage with Christianity to prove that the WASPs were respectable, but then moves on as though that isn't part of the pilots' stories, too. I would have preferred to see detail about experiences like that than the repeated play-by-plays of failed legislation later on the book.
Overall, it's interesting and was worth reading, but it also had some significant shortcomings and I'm not sure I'd recommend it.
That said, this isn't my favorite book about women service during World War II. I do absolutely agree that the program ending and the WASPs' experiences after the war ended were important to include, but they ended up being the last third-ish of the book. For me, that was too much, and a lot of those chapters also dragged a little - I would have much preferred to have more focus on their actual time in the program and the post-program information communicated more succinctly.
In addition, while I was glad that racism and anti-semitism within the WASP program was acknowledged, it felt like it was really downplayed in favor of focusing on the white Christian women's experiences of sexism. For example, she drops a line about Jewish women in the program not liking the way they were expected to engage with Christianity to prove that the WASPs were respectable, but then moves on as though that isn't part of the pilots' stories, too. I would have preferred to see detail about experiences like that than the repeated play-by-plays of failed legislation later on the book.
Overall, it's interesting and was worth reading, but it also had some significant shortcomings and I'm not sure I'd recommend it.
picklespost's review against another edition
5.0
This history needs to be taught in every class. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve been inspired to figure out how I can learn to fly...
ngreader's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I am LIVING for this book. It took me a WHILE to read but I learned so much about this amazing group of women and I'm so glad I stuck with this book. Great book - not just to learn about WWII female pilots, but also to learn more about aviation and policies in general. Landdecck clearly took time to research this and it clearly holds a close place in her heart, while still being well-researched and well-written.
I am LIVING for this book. It took me a WHILE to read but I learned so much about this amazing group of women and I'm so glad I stuck with this book. Great book - not just to learn about WWII female pilots, but also to learn more about aviation and policies in general. Landdecck clearly took time to research this and it clearly holds a close place in her heart, while still being well-researched and well-written.
chelswillread's review
4.0
I enjoyed learning about our country's first women airforce service pilots; I had never heard of them before. They were so brave and strong and, boy, did our country neglect their recognition for way too long.
kelseysees24's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable read on a topic I knew little about! These women were amazing. I enjoyed learning more about women pilots during WWII (and of course enraging to read the sexist bs they were up against). A good mix of the women's stories and the logistics of their missions. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a WWII read about a topic you don't hear much about.
canadianbookworm's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-women-with-silver-wings.html
annieb123's review against another edition
5.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The Women with Silver Wings is a well written and true history of the female Airforce service pilots (WASPs/WAFS) serving during WW2. Released 21st April 2020 by Crown Publishing, it's 448 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a meticulously researched and annotated history of the WASPs which includes photographs and documents. As a work of nonfiction, I found it readable and worthwhile. The author is adept at bringing the stories of the women to life and I found these tantalizing glimpses of their lives before and after their service to the war effort absolutely riveting. I hadn't heard much about what their service entailed or how it took until 1977 for most of them to be recognized and awarded the status their service deserved.
In addition to the meticulous research and writing, the book is comprehensively annotated with reference notes and documents for further reading. Many of the notes have links to web resources for more information. This would make a superlative selection for relevant classroom study in history or allied subjects including gender studies and women's history.
I found the in memoriam list of the names of the 38 women who lost their lives in service very touching. It was a nice addition to the book.
Five stars. Well worth a look.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Women with Silver Wings is a well written and true history of the female Airforce service pilots (WASPs/WAFS) serving during WW2. Released 21st April 2020 by Crown Publishing, it's 448 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a meticulously researched and annotated history of the WASPs which includes photographs and documents. As a work of nonfiction, I found it readable and worthwhile. The author is adept at bringing the stories of the women to life and I found these tantalizing glimpses of their lives before and after their service to the war effort absolutely riveting. I hadn't heard much about what their service entailed or how it took until 1977 for most of them to be recognized and awarded the status their service deserved.
In addition to the meticulous research and writing, the book is comprehensively annotated with reference notes and documents for further reading. Many of the notes have links to web resources for more information. This would make a superlative selection for relevant classroom study in history or allied subjects including gender studies and women's history.
I found the in memoriam list of the names of the 38 women who lost their lives in service very touching. It was a nice addition to the book.
Five stars. Well worth a look.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.