The girls who stepped out of line : untold stories of the women who changed the course of World War II

by Mari K. Eder

Large Print, 2021

Publication

Naperville : Sourcebooks, [2021]

Collection

Eiland Center

Call number

Large Print Biography E

Physical description

585 p.; 22 cm

Status

Available

Call number

Large Print Biography E

Description

"The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line takes you inside the lives and experiences of 15 unknown women heroes from the Greatest Generation, the women who served, fought, struggled, and made things happen during WWII-in and out of uniform, for theirs is a legacy destined to embolden generations of women to come. Liane B. Russell fled Austria with nothing and later became a renowned U.S. scientist whose research on the effects of radiation on embryos made a difference to thousands of lives. Gena Turgel was a prisoner who worked in the hospital at Bergen-Belsen and cared for the young Anne Frank, who was dying of typhus. Gena survived and went on to write a memoir and spent her life educating children about the Holocaust. Ida and Louise Cook were British sisters who repeatedly smuggled out jewelry and furs and served as sponsors for refugees, and they also established temporary housing for immigrant families in London. Retired U.S. Army Major General Mari K. Eder wrote this book because she knew their stories needed to be told-and the sooner the better. For theirs is a legacy destined to embolden generations of women to come"--… (more)

Subjects

Heroes Biography

United States Armed Forces Women Biography

World War, 1939-1945 Participation, Female

World War, 1939-1945 Refugees Biography

World War, 1939-1945 Women Biography

Genres

User reviews

LibraryThing member jetangen4571

historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, espionage, resistance-efforts, torture, smuggling, science, aviation

Retired U.S. Army Major General Mari K. Eder wrote this book because she knew their stories needed to be told even as the last of them are

nearing or past their centenary. How these women lived to be forty is amazing given what they endured, let alone into their 90s and over. Some were tortured, many were starved, PTSD is a given, some were humiliated by their own branch of services, some were spies and/or resistance fighters, all were driven. And not all were white either! And shame on the US govt for denying them the recognition due them until so late. Even the US Army refused to acknowledge that they were veterans or deserved benefits--and the Army was the last branch to include women!
There are many photos from archives and families.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Sourcebooks via NetGalley. Thank you!
I have preordered a copy for my local library.

Show Less

3 more

LibraryThing member Carolee888

The rating was a struggle for me, I don't like short stories because I often get so invested in the main characters that I hate for them to end. The same thing happened with short stories about the women. Often, I yearned for much more information about their lives. I received an Advanced copy from

the publishers as a win from First Reads.

There were commonalities among the stories. One thing that I notice right away was that many of the women lived to be 99 or older. I wonder it if the driving force that compelled the women to succeed actually extended their live. Another similarity was that the women did not receive recognition for their achievements, often because they were women and sometimes because of the secrecy of their missions.

There were some women whose lives would have been great fodder for movie scripts. like Alice Marble, the Wonder Woman, Hilda Eisen and brave Betty Mcintosh. Then there was Mary Taylor
Previte was only nine years old when she was in an Japanese internment camp where the menu was cattle feed and crushed eggshells. Dame Mary Sigillo Batraco who fought in the Resistance aganist the Nazis.

This book is richly illustrated and backed up in the section of Notes with many references.

Show Less

LibraryThing member kayanelson

A very readable book about women who performed heroic feats and sometimes mundane tasks during World War II. Interesting that many of them lived until their late 90’s or early 100’s. I guess there may be a correlation between purpose and longevity. Something to think about.

LibraryThing member LyndaInOregon

Interesting collection of short biographies of young women of the WWII generation whose experiences or careers changed the course of the war and of the future of women's roles in American society.

Eder's brief write-ups aren't intended as full biographies, but they point the way for further

exploration in the field. She loses a few points for keeping things mostly on the surface achievements rather than on the internal drives of her subjects, but gets some back for the final chapter, in which she singles out likely candidates for outstanding achievement in the future.

Show Less

Fewer