Non-fiction double-review

This isn't really a proper review post, because my mind just doesn't seem to be working that way. But I've recently finished a couple of works of non-fiction, one audio, one on the Kindle, and at least have a few thoughts. 

First, the books. Both were fairly random selections from the library's Overdrive collection, nabbed in something of a hurry for my road trips. As a result, the print book was read in snatches, the audio book with whatever attention was left after driving.

In general, for me the mark of a good work of history is that it makes me care about something I may not have known I was interested in. Both of these books managed that.

In print we have:

        

Title: Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II

Author: Adam Makos

Publication info: Ballantine Books, 2019. 395 pages 

From the author of the international bestseller A Higher Call comes the riveting World War II story of an American tank gunner’s journey into the heart of the Third Reich, where he will meet destiny in an iconic armor duel—and forge an enduring bond with his enemy.

When Clarence Smoyer is assigned to the gunner’s seat of his Sherman tank, his crewmates discover that the gentle giant from Pennsylvania has a hidden talent: He’s a natural-born shooter.

At first, Clarence and his fellow crews in the legendary 3rd Armored Division—“Spearhead”—thought their tanks were invincible. Then they met the German Panther, with a gun so murderous it could shoot through one Sherman and into the next. Soon a pattern emerged: The lead tank always gets hit.

After Clarence sees his friends cut down breaching the West Wall and holding the line in the Battle of the Bulge, he and his crew are given a weapon with the power to avenge their fallen brothers: the Pershing, a state-of-the-art “super tank,” one of twenty in the European theater.

But with it comes a harrowing new responsibility: Now they will spearhead every attack. That’s how Clarence, the corporal from coal country, finds himself leading the U.S. Army into its largest urban battle of the European war, the fight for Cologne, the “Fortress City” of Germany.

Battling through the ruins, Clarence will engage the fearsome Panther in a duel immortalized by an army cameraman. And he will square off with Gustav Schaefer, a teenager behind the trigger in a Panzer IV tank, whose crew has been sent on a suicide mission to stop the Americans.

As Clarence and Gustav trade fire down a long boulevard, they are taken by surprise by a tragic mistake of war. What happens next will haunt Clarence to the modern day, drawing him back to Cologne to do the unthinkable: to face his enemy, one last time.

 My thoughts: (Note I'm not claiming "review" status for this). 

With reference to my above comment on how to know if a history or biography is good, I can't claim I wasn't already interested in WWII. But I had no idea I cared about the tank war in particular, and in fact had never thought about the men who operated them. I had no idea there were so many in each of those tanks--they hardly look big enough for one or two crewmen, let alone a half a dozen. Makos brought those men to life, and brought home how young they were-- most of them around the ages of my sons, a sobering thought.

This was a good book to have chosen for reading, rather than listening, as there were lots of photos and maps. It would probably have been even better in print, where the maps are bigger and easier to reference as you read!

 

Title: Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Author: Robert K. Massie.  Read by Mark Deakins

Publication Info: Random House Audio, 2011 (24 hours). Hardback Random House, 2011, 625 pages

The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure German princess who became one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into empress of Russia by sheer determination. For thirty-four years, the government, foreign policy, cultural development, and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She dealt with domestic rebellion, foreign wars, and the tidal wave of political change and violence churned up by the French Revolution. Catherine’s family, friends, ministers, generals, lovers, and enemies—all are here, vividly brought to life. History offers few stories richer than that of Catherine the Great. In this book, an eternally fascinating woman is returned to life. 

 My thoughts:

This one really was something I wouldn't have gone looking for. If I knew there was a Catherine the Great of Russia, that was as much as I knew. I was predisposed to be attracted once I saw the book, because Eldest Son is studying Russian, but I'd never have gone in search of such a book. 

It didn't take long to get me interested in the history, starting right off from the unexpected fact that one of the "Great" Romanovs wasn't even Russian, and was a Romanov only by marriage. On the other hand, since all the noble houses of Europe seemed to be related one way or another, it didn't seem to matter that much.

I was intrigued by the ways in which strong, intelligent women with a knack for leadership had to negotiate their times. The limitations on female power were real, and only partly went away when one was crowned Empress. If the book spends a lot of time talking about Catherine's lovers (and those of her predecessor, the Empress Elizabeth), it's because they had an outsized influence on the course of the nation's history for as long as each remained a favorite.

 The structure of the book did sometimes confuse (the overall progress was from beginning to end of her life, but each chapter seemed to follow one thread for a long way, then the next would jump back), but in general the narration was easy to follow while my attention was on the road, and I credit both author and narrator for keeping me awake.

 

My Recommendation:

Give history a chance. Check out random books and learn about something you never knew happened. 

 

FTC Disclosure: I checked the above-reviewed books out of my library, and received nothing from the writers or publishers for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."    

Non-fiction review: A Woman of No Importance

Title:  A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
Author: Sonia Purnell
Publication Info: Viking Press, 2019. 368 pages.
Source: Library digital resources

Publisher's Blurb:
In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her."

The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill's "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and--despite her prosthetic leg--helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it.

Virginia established vast spy networks throughout France, called weapons and explosives down from the skies, and became a linchpin for the Resistance. Even as her face covered wanted posters and a bounty was placed on her head, Virginia refused order after order to evacuate. She finally escaped through a death-defying hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown. But she plunged back in, adamant that she had more lives to save, and led a victorious guerilla campaign, liberating swathes of France from the Nazis after D-Day.

Based on new and extensive research, Sonia Purnell has for the first time uncovered the full secret life of Virginia Hall--an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance, and personal triumph over shocking adversity.

My Review:

I’m not sure where I got the tip-off for reading this book—I think it might have been the collection of brief sketches on women heroes of WWII I reviewed here. Whatever the reason, I’m glad I picked it up. The biography is well-written and historically diligent, with no effort to create thoughts and motives where they aren’t known—which is almost everywhere.

Virginia Hall was an exceptionally private person, perhaps because of her work as a spy, perhaps just by nature (which caused which?). In any case, we have to learn to know her primarily through the eyes of the men she worked with, and official documents. The reward for that research effort is a book that combines all the elements of a spy thriller with a strict adherence to fact. You might even call it a slightly dry spy thriller, except I was never bored. 

The other aspect of the book that makes it both a valuable and at times painful read is the history of sexism it exposes. Virginia Hall was acknowledged by the vast majority of those who knew her work as one of, if not the best spy in France during the war. Yet because of her gender, she was consistently passed over for promotion, and for much of the war the SEO (British Intelligence) and later the OSS (US Office of Special Services) routinely tried to put men with less—or no—experience and qualifications in command of her. After the war, it was even worse.

Happily for all of us—because in the end Ms. Hall performed feats of espionage and guerrilla warfare that may have tipped the balance for the Allies after the D-Day landings—she wasn’t particularly inclined to give in and accept her “place” as a woman. I might say she was a woman ahead of her time, but in fact I would argue that she was one of the women who made our time possible.

My Recommendation:

This is a book that helps to explode the myths not only about what women can do, but also about what they *did* do. And I didn’t even mention the fact that she had a disability, having lost one leg below the knee due to a hunting accident and a case of gangrene. Any time I’m feeling sorry for myself because things hurt when I’m hiking, I’ll be remembering Virginia, crossing the Pyrenees on foot, in winter, with a 1930s-technology false leg (named Cuthbert).

FTC Disclosure: I checked A Woman of No Importance out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Book Review: Women Heroes of World War I

 

Title: Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics

Author: Katheryn J. Atwood

Publication Info: Chicago Review Press, 2014. 256 pages (hardcover)

Source: Library digital resources

Publisher’s Blurb:

In time for the 2014 centennial of the start of the Great War, this book brings to life the brave and often surprising exploits of 16 fascinating women from around the world who served their countries at a time when most of them didn’t even have the right to vote.

Readers meet 17-year-old Frenchwoman Emilienne Moreau, who assisted the Allies as a guide and set up a first-aid post in her home to attend to the wounded; Russian peasant Maria Bochkareva, who joined the Imperial Russian Army by securing the personal permission of Tsar Nicholas II, was twice wounded in battle and decorated for bravery, and created and led the all-women combat unit the “Women’s Battalion of Death” on the Eastern Front; and American journalist Madeleine Zabriskie Doty, who risked her life to travel twice to Germany during the war in order to report back the truth, whatever the cost. These and other suspense-filled stories of brave girls and women are told through the use of engaging narrative, dialogue, direct quotes, and document and diary excerpts to lend authenticity and immediacy.

Introductory material opens each section to provide solid historical context, and each profile includes informative sidebars and “Learn More” lists of relevant books and websites, making this a fabulous resource for students, teachers, parents, libraries, and homeschoolers.

 

My Review:

When I picked this book out on the library web site, I didn't see anything to indicate it is a kids' book (though if I'd looked at the reviews I could have figured it out,  since the only review there is from the School Library Journal). As a result, I was frustrated by the lack of depth in the biographical sketches. After the first two or three I looked harder, realized it wasn't meant for adults, and began to consider the information in a more realistic light.

The sidebars and explanations included in the text (some of which had a kind of "duh" feeling for an adult reader) give a lot of good information and background for students, providing the context they need to understand the really remarkable accomplishments of some of the women. In a few cases, it felt like a bit of a stretch to make heroes out of the women, but the majority of them did, in fact, act with courage under fire.

In all, despite the thin information in some areas, I found the book a nice supplement to my other reading on the war as well as on women's history. Further, it offered information about the war in a number of eastern European countries, which I haven't heard much about.

My Recommendation:

In the fine print the book is listed as for grades 6 and up (that's age 11 up, roughly). I would agree with that. The writing is only slightly noticeably simplified for younger readers, and the subject matter is, after all war, so I wouldn't recommend it for younger readers than that.

Full Disclosure: I borrowed an electronic copy of Women Heroes of World War I from my library, and received nothing from the author or the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Non-fiction review: The Glass Universe, by Dava Sobel

It's happened again! Lost track of the days of the week, but there is a review for you today, and my clock says it's still Monday :)

Title: The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars
Author: Dava Sobel
Publication Info: Viking, 2016, 336 pages
Source: Library Digital Resources 

Publisher's Blurb:
In the mid-nineteenth century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or “human computers,” to interpret the observations made via telescope by their male counterparts each night. At the outset this group included the wives, sisters, and daughters of the resident astronomers, but by the 1880s the female corps included graduates of the new women's colleges—Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith. As photography transformed the practice of astronomy, the ladies turned to studying the stars captured nightly on glass photographic plates. The “glass universe” of half a million plates that Harvard amassed in this period—thanks in part to the early financial support of another woman, Mrs. Anna Draper, whose late husband pioneered the technique of stellar photography—enabled the women to make extraordinary discoveries that attracted worldwide acclaim. They helped discern what stars were made of, divided the stars into meaningful categories for further research, and found a way to measure distances across space by starlight.

Their ranks included Williamina Fleming, a Scottish woman originally hired as a maid who went on to identify ten novae and more than three hundred variable stars, Annie Jump Cannon, who designed a stellar classification system that was adopted by astronomers the world over and is still in use, and Dr. Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin, who in 1956 became the first ever woman professor of astronomy at Harvard—and Harvard’s first female department chair.

My Review:
Over the last couple of years, I have read a number of books about the contributions of women to significant scientific and mathematical accomplishments. The Rise of the Rocket Girls (the Jet Propulsion Lab), Hidden Figures (NASA), The Girls of Atomic City (the development of the atomic bomb), and Code Girls (WWII code breakers) have all worked hard to dispel the myth that women can't do math and science, and were never able to even try until very recently (well, that latter is true for the most part, especially depending on how you define 'recent'). Most, however, also show us a limited scope that the women were given for their intelligence and talent (Code Girls seems to be an exception, as the necessities of war led eventually to allowing the women to truly run things, as long as they didn't want equal standing with the men). 

Sobel's Glass Universe fits this category of book, but stands out: she highlights a rare case where women were early and genuinely granted the right to be scientists in their own rights. They were not without their (largely externally-imposed) limitations, of course. The first generation or two of female astronomers at the Harvard Observatory couldn't hold academic posts (unsurprising: they couldn't attend Harvard as students, so why would the institution grant them an official title?). And in general, they were passed over when awards were being handed out. Only a few asserted themselves to the extent of actually operating the telescopes, which at the time involved climbing up and down ladders to make manual adjustments (work generally considered too hard for women to do; we won't go into the irony that many women did similar and harder work, known as "housework," on a regular basis).

But Sobel also shows us a rare case of a leader in an institution who started out seeing women as a type of machine ("calculators," as those who did the complex calculations needed for many aspect of science were called in the years before the invention of the electronic calculator), but quickly came to recognize that they could and did make genuine discoveries. Edward Pickering was looking for careful, cheap workers (at that time women were never paid the same amount as men for equal work, as though, one of his employees pointed out, they didn't need to eat) in the late 1800s when he began to hire women. When they began to make discoveries on the glass photographic plates taken through the telescopes, he almost unbelievably recognized their abilities and allowed many of the women to work directly on the research, and.

The story is both heartening and frustrating--as usual, the women met with far more obstacles to success and advancement than the men did, but it was nice to see that Pickering recognized their work and insisted on having it published and shared under their names. It is also in some ways an awkward story to tell. There is no single subject (though for much of the book I felt like it was as much about Pickering as about the women he mentored), and for that reason I think it at times lacks a good forward momentum as a story. At other times I got lost in the details of the science, which were often obscure to me (I don't necessarily consider that a bad thing. I learned things, and laid the groundwork to understand more in the future). I will admit I gave the lengthy appendices a quick skimming, but if one were reading the paper form of the book I think you could make better use of them as you go (reading the ebook, I didn't even realize they were there until I got there, thus once again confirming my sense that an e-reader is just not as good for non-fiction as paper is).

My Recommendation:
Sobel is a good writer, and this was worth the effort I put into reading it. If you want to know that there was at least one scientist in the late 19th Century who recognized women as (almost) the intellectual equals of men, take a look.

Full Disclosure: I borrowed an electronic copy of The Glass Universe from my library, and received nothing from the author or the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Non-fiction review: Code Girls, by Liza Mundy

Title: Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II

Author: Liza Mundy.

Publication Info: Hachette Books, 2017. 432 pages (Kindle edition).

Source: Library digital services

Publisher’s Blurb:

In the tradition of Hidden Figures and The Girls of Atomic City, Code Girls is the astonishing, untold story of the young American women who cracked key Axis codes, helping to secure Allied victory and revolutionizing the field of cryptanalysis.

Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.

My Review:

Another fascinating bit of history, and another story of smart women doing work that has been underappreciated and ignored. In this case, there was some justification for the silence: it was top-secret work. Still, like other books I've read (and still more I'm about to read), it's a tale both uplifting and frustrating. Frustrating to see such talented women being treated like second-class citizens, and equally so to see how they, on the whole, accepted it. Valued as "computers" for their attention to detail, they were still somehow seen (or treated) as less able than men at math and science. But it's also uplifting to see that even at a time when they were too often not allowed into graduate programs, or couldn't get jobs teaching math (beyond the high school level, anyway, and especially after the war), these women found a place where their math and reasoning skills were put to good use.

Not all of what the "code girls" did was highly mathematical, of course. But code breaking requires a level of mathematical reasoning beyond the average, as well as a sharp and creative mind that can leap to some intuitive connections. The author does a good job of conveying both the difficulty and the tedium of the work, the excitement and the frustration.

Mundy also presents some nice portraits of several of the young women who traveled to Washington, DC, with very little (or no) idea what they had signed up for. Many were civilians (especially early on), specially recruited from the best women's colleges of the East. Later, many more were WAVES (the women's unit of the Navy) who tested well for mathematical reasoning and were assigned to the code-breaking unit, as well as some WACs (women's army corps). 

I did at times lose track of the timeline, as Mundy traced individual women's courses through the war. It took me a while to realize that we were circling back repeatedly to different stages in the war effort. Other than that, I had no complaints. The writing was engaging and easy to read, and the story interesting. It's not one of the great works of history I've read, but it's good, and a story worth telling. 

Their wartime work left a mark on some of the women, and on their families. I was delighted to read that Bill Nye (the Science Guy) is the son of one of the Code Girls. In that case, maybe the love of math and science was passed along. In other cases, codebreakers suffered from PTSD (utterly undiagnosed or treated, of course), due to either the stress of the work they did, or their failures to save lives--or the later realization of the lives they'd cost, too, since their work led directly to the sinking of many enemy ships. 

As so often, the women were first brought into this work because much of it was tedious, and women were considered better at tedium (got to wonder if any of the men ever examined the realities behind that assumption!). Later, as men became scarce, the women proved to themselves and their superior officers, and eventually the world, that they were fully equal to men in their abilities. It's a shame the story couldn't be told for so long, because it would have forced universities and other agencies to give up the stupid idea that women can't do math, and might have saved a whole generation of women from undermining their own skills.

My Recommendation:
This is an interesting and worthwhile story. I think it never hurts to remind ourselves that women have been doing things that "women can't do" for a very long time. Every book of this sort helps us examine our assumptions and perhaps break down some stereotypes, so read it!

This is just a random thought, but I was reminded of some books I've read about the "Navajo code talkers" of WWII, who used the same native language that the government had until recently been trying to eradicate to create an unbreakable spoken code. Seems that in time of war, the oppressed may suddenly become useful and prejudices temporarily set aside.


Full Disclosure: I borrowed an electronic copy of Code Girls from my library, and received nothing from the author or the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Non-fiction review: Home Fires/Jambusters

        

Note: this is the same book. The copy I read is on the left, and reflects a change of title and cover to go with the TV series made from the book. On the right is the original title and cover.

Title: Jambusters [Home Fires]: The Story of the Women's Institute in the Second World War
Author: Julie Summers
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2013. 368 pages.
Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:

Away from the frontlines of World War II, in towns and villages across Great Britain, ordinary women were playing a vital role in their country’s war effort. As members of the Women’s Institute, an organization with a presence in a third of Britain’s villages, they ran canteens and knitted garments for troops, collected tons of rosehips and other herbs to replace medicines that couldn’t be imported, and advised the government on issues ranging from evacuee housing to children’s health to postwar reconstruction. But they are best known for making jam: from produce they grew on every available scrap of land, they produced twelve million pounds of jam and preserves to feed a hungry nation.

Home Fires, Julie Summers’s fascinating social history of the Women’s Institute during the war (when its members included the future Queen Elizabeth II along with her mother and grandmother), provides the remarkable and inspiring true story behind the upcoming PBS Masterpiece series that will be sure to delight fans of Call the Midwife and Foyle’s War. Through archival material and interviews with current and former Women’s Institute members, Home Fires gives us an intimate look at life on the home front during World War II.  


My Review:  

I was torn about this one. I greatly appreciated the view into the lives and contributions of the ordinary women on England during WWII. The overall concept of the WI was fascinating, as well--women working together to improve the lives of women and children (often despite a general lack of interest on the part of the powers that be). Nothing else I have read has talked about the programs to ensure that all produce grown during the war was saved and used, nor how the small communities coped with the influx of refugees (from their own cities and abroad) during the war.

My criticism of the book is two-fold. I will admit that I didn't find the writing style or the organization of the book to be as gripping as the blurb would suggest. It's a difficult subject to make work, in many ways, especially when we are used to a more narrative style even in our histories. That's the readability criticism--I found it slow going, though interesting enough overall to push on.

My second criticism is that I found it generally too positive. There was little said of the problems and resentments that I know ran strong among those being asked to billet children from the city, and absolutely nothing about the abuses that I have read of elsewhere. Similarly, no one seems to have admitted to feeling like the women were being asked to do far too much, with far too little--that they were, in fact, being taken for granted. I know that during the war people were generally determined to "do their bit," but find it hard to believe that there was so little resentment, even when reflected on years later. A few nods at the frustration of being asked to preserve fruits but denied extra sugar, etc., tell me that there is a more nuanced story that could be told. I wish Ms. Summers had told it.

My Recommendation:
For those interested in WWII, this is definitely worth looking at--as it is for anyone who is interested in womens' history. It's not a perfect book, but it does offer an insight I've not seen elsewhere.

FTC Disclosure: I checked Home Fires out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."