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momwrex's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
An important addition to my knowledge of women's history. Talented, determined women working hard to do their jobs, in spite of misogyny and inequity.
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Alcohol, Body horror, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, War, Misogyny, Infidelity, Blood, Rape, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Gore, Grief, and Genocide
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Suicide
Minor: Cancer, Torture, Car accident, Body shaming, Abortion, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, and Infertility
nataliealane's review against another edition
5.0
****I received an e-ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. This is an honest review.
“In the reports they filed, in the memoirs, diaries and letters they kept, Sigrid, Martha, Virginia, Clare, Helen and Lee were not only writing history, at the moment it was being made; they were also writing a version of history that was theirs, a version that was shaped by the realities of being a woman, and was inflected by a female voice.”
~
I love learning about women in history, and The Correspondents was a fascinating read for sure! While there certainly were female war correspondents prior to the world wars, there weren’t many. But during WWII, the sheer scale of the war increased the demand for reporters, and as many as 250 were allowed in the field. That gain was not without its obstacles; the British war office had strict policies about where they were allowed to go, they were often treated as second fiddle to “real” (male) reporters, and as many of the women in this book did, they often had to carve their own way into the war and employ creative and sometimes risky strategies, even if it meant skirting or even breaking the rules. The Correspondents follow 6 of these women: Lee Miller, Helen Kirkpatrick, Martha Gellhorn, Sigrid Schultz, and Virginia Cowles. If you’re not a big nonfiction person, it reads like a story, even the parts giving background information on war events! Each of the women lived fascinating lives and I enjoyed seeing how each of them approached the war and developed their own writing style—-and often, their ideology and sense of identity as well. Their stories also intertwine, as they were contemporaries of one another, and chapters will often switch between them, efficiently comparing and contrasting their war, reporting, and personal experiences without being super confusing. Their stories are woven together expertly, and Mackrell really brings them to life. The only major flaw to me is that I would have liked to hear more about Sigrid Schultz, a Jewish reporter. We heard about her more at the beginning of the war, as she witnessed the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Regime in Berlin (and totally bashed him in the press while writing under a secret pseudonym!) but as the book went on she didn’t appear very much. Overall I enjoyed it a lot, did a lot of annotating, and definitely want a copy when it comes out in the fall! If you love learning about military/war history, women’s history, or the lives of writers, mark your calendars! THE CORRESPONDENTS releases Nov.2.
“In the reports they filed, in the memoirs, diaries and letters they kept, Sigrid, Martha, Virginia, Clare, Helen and Lee were not only writing history, at the moment it was being made; they were also writing a version of history that was theirs, a version that was shaped by the realities of being a woman, and was inflected by a female voice.”
~
I love learning about women in history, and The Correspondents was a fascinating read for sure! While there certainly were female war correspondents prior to the world wars, there weren’t many. But during WWII, the sheer scale of the war increased the demand for reporters, and as many as 250 were allowed in the field. That gain was not without its obstacles; the British war office had strict policies about where they were allowed to go, they were often treated as second fiddle to “real” (male) reporters, and as many of the women in this book did, they often had to carve their own way into the war and employ creative and sometimes risky strategies, even if it meant skirting or even breaking the rules. The Correspondents follow 6 of these women: Lee Miller, Helen Kirkpatrick, Martha Gellhorn, Sigrid Schultz, and Virginia Cowles. If you’re not a big nonfiction person, it reads like a story, even the parts giving background information on war events! Each of the women lived fascinating lives and I enjoyed seeing how each of them approached the war and developed their own writing style—-and often, their ideology and sense of identity as well. Their stories also intertwine, as they were contemporaries of one another, and chapters will often switch between them, efficiently comparing and contrasting their war, reporting, and personal experiences without being super confusing. Their stories are woven together expertly, and Mackrell really brings them to life. The only major flaw to me is that I would have liked to hear more about Sigrid Schultz, a Jewish reporter. We heard about her more at the beginning of the war, as she witnessed the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Regime in Berlin (and totally bashed him in the press while writing under a secret pseudonym!) but as the book went on she didn’t appear very much. Overall I enjoyed it a lot, did a lot of annotating, and definitely want a copy when it comes out in the fall! If you love learning about military/war history, women’s history, or the lives of writers, mark your calendars! THE CORRESPONDENTS releases Nov.2.
randywgravitz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
latisha's review against another edition
I stopped reading when the author used the offensive term ‘crippled’ instead of disabled