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Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'
The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Katherine Sharp Landdeck
1 review
wogslandwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
I learned a lot of new things reading this book and it was refreshing to read a book about World War II that did not glorify the war. It just was part of these women's lives and it changed the course of their lives forever. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and it was a quick history lesson about a part of the war I had never hear about. I would recommend at least reading the Wikipedia page on the WASP program if you don't have time for the full book.
That said, it is disappointing to me that the author has been researching and working with this specific part of history since 1996 and this is the book that came out of it. She mentioned in her author's note at the end of the book that she did her PhD research on these women and helped record their oral histories. I was already dissatisfied with the depth of the book, but knowing how much research the author has under her belt I am even more dissatisfied.
I would have loved a book twice as long covering more details about the women's lives and tracking the stories of more diverse women. The author mentions the only Native American woman to fly just once and then shares some stories of two Chinese women who flew, but not nearly to the emotional depth of the stories around the other women.
I also would have appreciated a more nuanced breakdown of the demographics of the WASP. It is stated the majority where white and no black women were allowed but there were Chinese women and many of the white women whose stories the book follows closely are first generation immigrants, like Theresa. Whiteness is a societal creation and I would have appreciated more time spent breaking down the true backgrounds of these women instead of lumping them into white and non-white, especially since the book was published so recently.
The book reads more like a popular history book than the more academic-style history book that I was expecting. I wish that it was more academic. I want to know more about these women and their stories.
That said, it is disappointing to me that the author has been researching and working with this specific part of history since 1996 and this is the book that came out of it. She mentioned in her author's note at the end of the book that she did her PhD research on these women and helped record their oral histories. I was already dissatisfied with the depth of the book, but knowing how much research the author has under her belt I am even more dissatisfied.
I would have loved a book twice as long covering more details about the women's lives and tracking the stories of more diverse women. The author mentions the only Native American woman to fly just once and then shares some stories of two Chinese women who flew, but not nearly to the emotional depth of the stories around the other women.
I also would have appreciated a more nuanced breakdown of the demographics of the WASP. It is stated the majority where white and no black women were allowed but there were Chinese women and many of the white women whose stories the book follows closely are first generation immigrants, like Theresa. Whiteness is a societal creation and I would have appreciated more time spent breaking down the true backgrounds of these women instead of lumping them into white and non-white, especially since the book was published so recently.
The book reads more like a popular history book than the more academic-style history book that I was expecting. I wish that it was more academic. I want to know more about these women and their stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, War, Death, Sexism, and Suicide
Moderate: Mental illness, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Antisemitism, Homophobia, Addiction, Dementia, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Cancer, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Abortion
It is a book about veteran woman who flew planes in WWII, so it covers a lot of heavy topics.
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