What do you think?
Rate this book
An Unladylike Profession: American Women War Correspondents in World War I
When World War I began, war reporting was a thoroughly masculine bastion of journalism. But that did not stop dozens of women reporters from stepping into the breach, defying gender norms and official restrictions to establish roles for themselves—and to write new kinds of narratives about women and war.
Chris Dubbs tells the fascinating stories of Edith Wharton, Nellie Bly, and more than thirty other American women who worked as war reporters. As Dubbs shows, stories by these journalists brought in women from the periphery of war and made them active participants—fully engaged and equally heroic, if bearing different burdens and making different sacrifices. Women journalists traveled from belligerent capitals to the front lines to report on the conflict. But their experiences also brought them into contact with social transformations, political unrest, labor conditions, campaigns for women’s rights, and the rise of revolutionary socialism.
An eye-opening look at women’s war reporting, An Unladylike Profession is a portrait of a sisterhood from the guns of August to the corridors of Versailles.
Chris Dubbs tells the fascinating stories of Edith Wharton, Nellie Bly, and more than thirty other American women who worked as war reporters. As Dubbs shows, stories by these journalists brought in women from the periphery of war and made them active participants—fully engaged and equally heroic, if bearing different burdens and making different sacrifices. Women journalists traveled from belligerent capitals to the front lines to report on the conflict. But their experiences also brought them into contact with social transformations, political unrest, labor conditions, campaigns for women’s rights, and the rise of revolutionary socialism.
An eye-opening look at women’s war reporting, An Unladylike Profession is a portrait of a sisterhood from the guns of August to the corridors of Versailles.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2020
14 people are currently reading
272 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 17, 2025
I enjoy reading of the girls that done good. This is great and highlights women who put themselves forward against all the patriarchal norms and resentment which did give a different/new perspective on stories coming in from the front line. I knew nothing of these gals. I knew nothing of reporting from the front lines. It jumps from the time of one reporter to the next so is more a consolidation of 'files' rather than a story of the women.
In reading this I learnt more about WW1 than I had previously.
In reading this I learnt more about WW1 than I had previously.
April 20, 2020
A fascinating book that mixes the history of the First World War with the history of Journalism and, in particular, the work of women journalists reporting from the home front and the battlefront.
There are details of news stories and features from 3 dozen American women who overcame the men only club of war reporting and official restrictions on their movements to provide a female perspective of soldiers fighting and dying and the suffering of civilians forced to flee their homes.
This was the "women's angle" on war.
When journalist Elizabeth Frazer was prevented from reaching the front line she joined the Red Cross as a nurse to gain access to the trenches. Similarly, Elizabeth Warren reached the front lines by working for the YMCA canteen, taking food to soldiers. The more enlightened newspaper editors believed that women were more likely to get soldiers to share their thoughts and emotions.
Mary O'Reilly joined a group of Belgian refugees, conducting interviews with some as they fled from the oncoming German Army. There were horrific stories of wounded and dying soldiers. One, by the already famous reporter Nellie Bly, describes the terrible fate of a Russian soldier in a Budapest hospital. The surgeon had summoned her, telling her the man's wounds were the worst he had ever seen in his life. The full details of the Russian soldier's injuries require the reader to have a strong stomach, so those of a nervous disposition have been warned.
For a writer such as Corra Harris of the Saturday Evening Post it was the refugees who showed the real face of war.
However, at all times, both male and female reporters and the editors of various American newspapers and magazines had to be wary that their reporting of the facts of the war did not turn in to propaganda for one side or the other.
Meanwhile, female journalists travelled to European capital cities as well as the battle front not only to report on the conflict but to write of overwhelming social change due to the campaign for women's rights as well as political unrest and the rise of revolutionary socialism throughout Europe. They also wrote of the involvement of women in organising aid for refugees and setting up hospitals to cope with the tens of thousands of wounded soldiers and civilians.
In his 3rd book on the First World War, the author Chris Dubbs mixes the drama of women's war reporting with an eminently readable history of the years between the outbreak of the "war to end all wars" and the contentious peace settlement at Versailles.
My thanks to the publisher Potomac Books and to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.
There are details of news stories and features from 3 dozen American women who overcame the men only club of war reporting and official restrictions on their movements to provide a female perspective of soldiers fighting and dying and the suffering of civilians forced to flee their homes.
This was the "women's angle" on war.
When journalist Elizabeth Frazer was prevented from reaching the front line she joined the Red Cross as a nurse to gain access to the trenches. Similarly, Elizabeth Warren reached the front lines by working for the YMCA canteen, taking food to soldiers. The more enlightened newspaper editors believed that women were more likely to get soldiers to share their thoughts and emotions.
Mary O'Reilly joined a group of Belgian refugees, conducting interviews with some as they fled from the oncoming German Army. There were horrific stories of wounded and dying soldiers. One, by the already famous reporter Nellie Bly, describes the terrible fate of a Russian soldier in a Budapest hospital. The surgeon had summoned her, telling her the man's wounds were the worst he had ever seen in his life. The full details of the Russian soldier's injuries require the reader to have a strong stomach, so those of a nervous disposition have been warned.
For a writer such as Corra Harris of the Saturday Evening Post it was the refugees who showed the real face of war.
However, at all times, both male and female reporters and the editors of various American newspapers and magazines had to be wary that their reporting of the facts of the war did not turn in to propaganda for one side or the other.
Meanwhile, female journalists travelled to European capital cities as well as the battle front not only to report on the conflict but to write of overwhelming social change due to the campaign for women's rights as well as political unrest and the rise of revolutionary socialism throughout Europe. They also wrote of the involvement of women in organising aid for refugees and setting up hospitals to cope with the tens of thousands of wounded soldiers and civilians.
In his 3rd book on the First World War, the author Chris Dubbs mixes the drama of women's war reporting with an eminently readable history of the years between the outbreak of the "war to end all wars" and the contentious peace settlement at Versailles.
My thanks to the publisher Potomac Books and to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.
May 13, 2020
This as an interesting look at World War I through the eyes of the female war correspondents that covered it.
Most of them I had never heard of (with the minor exception of Nellie Bly, who only featured briefly) but I ended the book feeling the desperate urge to strike off, somehow, into the unknown myself. These women were certainly characters, and managed many times through unconventional means to get closer to the action than their male colleagues.
The book emphasizes that they tended to cover the war in a more "personal" way, telling stories of day-to-day encounters and experiences, rather than writing sweeping name-and-date type articles about tactics and strategy. Overall, though, it isn't really an exploration of how WWI impacted the state of women in journalism, nor is it about journalism in WWI in general; it's more a collection of micro-biographies, snapshots of a group of intrepid women, following their correspondence careers until the end of the war.
It was interesting in an "oh, huh" sort of way, but definitely not unforgettable required reading.
Most of them I had never heard of (with the minor exception of Nellie Bly, who only featured briefly) but I ended the book feeling the desperate urge to strike off, somehow, into the unknown myself. These women were certainly characters, and managed many times through unconventional means to get closer to the action than their male colleagues.
The book emphasizes that they tended to cover the war in a more "personal" way, telling stories of day-to-day encounters and experiences, rather than writing sweeping name-and-date type articles about tactics and strategy. Overall, though, it isn't really an exploration of how WWI impacted the state of women in journalism, nor is it about journalism in WWI in general; it's more a collection of micro-biographies, snapshots of a group of intrepid women, following their correspondence careers until the end of the war.
It was interesting in an "oh, huh" sort of way, but definitely not unforgettable required reading.
September 1, 2020
This is a rounded, readable and riveting book, following many female and some male journalists through the course of WW1 and its immediate aftermath. While most of the women are American, we also meet some British ladies; one who was closer to the scene when the war broke out and headed straight for Belgium.
The women stowed away on troop ships; they gained letters of introduction and press credentials for everything from the Saturday Evening Post to Good Housekeeping. When men filed reports from London because correspondents were not allowed to travel to Europe, the women volunteered with first aid, nursing stations or the YMCA canteens to reach the war, often just behind or at the trenches, and endured shelling, privation, cold, filth, stench, diseases and appalling sights. For weeks or months on end as they reported from the hospitals and trains and towns and embattled cities.
Through the stories we see many facts I didn't know; the destruction by Germans of the city of Louvain and its college's medieval manuscripts (1914); the refusal of a German commander to let milk through to a captured town for babies, since the Fatherland made war on man, woman and child equally, he said (1914); Belgium halted the German advance by flooding fields with the sea (1914); the continued sale by Holland of food to Germany, against the wishes of Britain (1916); Russia saw the Czar ban alcohol sales on the same day as he declared war. The Russian Revolution is covered; the Turkish atrocity against Armenian villagers; the American troops idling in Russia after the war's end.
The swift move of women into men's jobs is covered; what women were considered unable to do, they now did. Through the war they created the support system for the warriors, nursed the fallen and received the bad news. They kept their countries functioning and made munitions. They could not vote. A woman covering the Treaty of Versailles saw that not one woman sat at the table.
You will know some of the names mentioned, such as Nellie Bly and John Reed; other journalists were literary women, murder mystery authors, playwrights, suffragists, photojournalists, household hints writers, socialites and foreign correspondents. We also see the evolution of war correspondents; and journalism as a tool of war departments, and neutral reports as something to be managed.
The author has done exceptional work for us and I thank her.
Bibliography P.301 - 311 in my e-ARC. Many classic, posed photos of the day showing the ladies dressed in the latest warm coat, a Russian fur hat, or khaki battledress, as appropriate.
I read an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.
The women stowed away on troop ships; they gained letters of introduction and press credentials for everything from the Saturday Evening Post to Good Housekeeping. When men filed reports from London because correspondents were not allowed to travel to Europe, the women volunteered with first aid, nursing stations or the YMCA canteens to reach the war, often just behind or at the trenches, and endured shelling, privation, cold, filth, stench, diseases and appalling sights. For weeks or months on end as they reported from the hospitals and trains and towns and embattled cities.
Through the stories we see many facts I didn't know; the destruction by Germans of the city of Louvain and its college's medieval manuscripts (1914); the refusal of a German commander to let milk through to a captured town for babies, since the Fatherland made war on man, woman and child equally, he said (1914); Belgium halted the German advance by flooding fields with the sea (1914); the continued sale by Holland of food to Germany, against the wishes of Britain (1916); Russia saw the Czar ban alcohol sales on the same day as he declared war. The Russian Revolution is covered; the Turkish atrocity against Armenian villagers; the American troops idling in Russia after the war's end.
The swift move of women into men's jobs is covered; what women were considered unable to do, they now did. Through the war they created the support system for the warriors, nursed the fallen and received the bad news. They kept their countries functioning and made munitions. They could not vote. A woman covering the Treaty of Versailles saw that not one woman sat at the table.
You will know some of the names mentioned, such as Nellie Bly and John Reed; other journalists were literary women, murder mystery authors, playwrights, suffragists, photojournalists, household hints writers, socialites and foreign correspondents. We also see the evolution of war correspondents; and journalism as a tool of war departments, and neutral reports as something to be managed.
The author has done exceptional work for us and I thank her.
Bibliography P.301 - 311 in my e-ARC. Many classic, posed photos of the day showing the ladies dressed in the latest warm coat, a Russian fur hat, or khaki battledress, as appropriate.
I read an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.
Read
July 17, 2020trigger warning
In this book, author Chris Dubbs explores women journalists who covered WWI, illustrating how they created such a field and focused on aspects their male counterparts most often ignored.
Most of these names were completely new to me, the exceptions being Edith Wharton and Nelly Bly.
Two things bothered me about this book, with only one being a problem:
- there are no footnotes, you have to gather what you're looking for from the bibliography
- I learned more from this book about WWI than I did in school.
The latter, of course, is neither a thing the book can do anything about nor something that reflects in any way upon it. The German school administration just avoids this topic, going from the assassination of a person whose name I am constantly forgetting because I coulnd't care less to the traity of Versailles, as if no time passed between those two.
And the first is kind of funny when you consider that the sources to the pictures are listed sometimes right down to their Library of Congress signature.
The main focus of this book is on the obstacles the journalists had to face, the strategies they employed to gain access to the front lines, and the stories they told.
Getting approved as a war correspondend proved to be a challenge in itself, but if people thought you frail and suspectible to strange outbursts of emotions - a.k.a. a woman - you had two ways to go:
Either you were so popular that your connections could get you where you wanted to be, or you took a job with a charity, doing some medical training or just helping with providing food. I have great admiration for those who chose the latter way, because it meant not only working your fingers to the bones for the main job, but collecting your thoughts in a coherent way after hours to cobble something worth publishing together when you already spent the energy you had available for that day.
Those women who reported from Europe's trenches told stories of "the women angle", meaning how civilians percieved the war efforts and what they did to do their part, being nurses, ambulance drivers, factory workers - how women stopped caring only for their own household and were able to get "real" jobs, paid jobs, jobs that brought public acknowledgement.
What interested me more were the women who worked at the front lines, because it turns out that women were everywhere. While only one or two allusions to prostitution are made, you see that women were everywhere, trying to built where the men destroyed - this gets very clear in the recounting of the Women's conference, which decided that imminent peace is needed.
I think that if I were to further my knowledge on anything mentioned in this book, actively seeking out more information, it would concern said conference.
I think what this book did best is to illustrate the differences and similarities shared by the different (white) women who either happened to be in Europe when war broke out or specifically traveled there - here - to report on what they saw.
There is no one type of female war correspondent.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
In this book, author Chris Dubbs explores women journalists who covered WWI, illustrating how they created such a field and focused on aspects their male counterparts most often ignored.
Most of these names were completely new to me, the exceptions being Edith Wharton and Nelly Bly.
Two things bothered me about this book, with only one being a problem:
- there are no footnotes, you have to gather what you're looking for from the bibliography
- I learned more from this book about WWI than I did in school.
The latter, of course, is neither a thing the book can do anything about nor something that reflects in any way upon it. The German school administration just avoids this topic, going from the assassination of a person whose name I am constantly forgetting because I coulnd't care less to the traity of Versailles, as if no time passed between those two.
And the first is kind of funny when you consider that the sources to the pictures are listed sometimes right down to their Library of Congress signature.
The main focus of this book is on the obstacles the journalists had to face, the strategies they employed to gain access to the front lines, and the stories they told.
Getting approved as a war correspondend proved to be a challenge in itself, but if people thought you frail and suspectible to strange outbursts of emotions - a.k.a. a woman - you had two ways to go:
Either you were so popular that your connections could get you where you wanted to be, or you took a job with a charity, doing some medical training or just helping with providing food. I have great admiration for those who chose the latter way, because it meant not only working your fingers to the bones for the main job, but collecting your thoughts in a coherent way after hours to cobble something worth publishing together when you already spent the energy you had available for that day.
Those women who reported from Europe's trenches told stories of "the women angle", meaning how civilians percieved the war efforts and what they did to do their part, being nurses, ambulance drivers, factory workers - how women stopped caring only for their own household and were able to get "real" jobs, paid jobs, jobs that brought public acknowledgement.
What interested me more were the women who worked at the front lines, because it turns out that women were everywhere. While only one or two allusions to prostitution are made, you see that women were everywhere, trying to built where the men destroyed - this gets very clear in the recounting of the Women's conference, which decided that imminent peace is needed.
I think that if I were to further my knowledge on anything mentioned in this book, actively seeking out more information, it would concern said conference.
I think what this book did best is to illustrate the differences and similarities shared by the different (white) women who either happened to be in Europe when war broke out or specifically traveled there - here - to report on what they saw.
There is no one type of female war correspondent.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
January 23, 2022
More a series of anecdotes than a coherent narrative, but an interesting piece of WWI history/storytelling nonetheless.
January 6, 2021
An Unladylike Profession offers a fascinating look into the ever growing field of books on women and war. Chris Dubbs tackles the difficulties and hardships of women trying to cover the First World War and the Russian Revolution, a most unladylike profession. Not wanted by the packs of male reporters or even supported by their newspapers / news services, these tough women go where women have literally never gone before--the modern battlefield. At a time when most female reporters were still relegated to the back pages of gossip columns, weddings, and society pages, these women writers forged ahead into the chaos, blood, and disaster of the full scale calamity engulfing Europe. Undaunted, the women find their voices as they cover the battlefields, the scorched cities, and refugee camps of the war. Their fearlessness and courage allow them to capture aspects of war often overlooked by men. Their stories bring to life the human element of a world at war and revolution.
Many of the tales the women wrote bubble with danger and excitement as they face the unexpected. Sometimes professional roadblocks and lack of finances hemmed their ability to maneuver and travel The constantly changing terrain of the war impeded their ability to cover the fighting. Hampered by refugees, the wounded, military personnel, and transportation problems, the reporters forged on to provide unique insights into the conflict. Nellie Bly, Mary Boyle O'Reilly, Florence Harper, Mildred Farwell, and many others blazed their way through the European cataclysm and captured stories ignored by male reporters. These gutsy women carved a path in the very male world of combat reporting for future generations of female reporters.
While Unladylike Profession brims with great stories and exciting tales, it starts a little slow focusing on the Belgian front and the male reporters covering the escalating war. Too often the tales of the men override the focus on the women's stories. The inclusion of the traditional reporters and their hostility to these most unladylike of women is necessary to expose the sexism and misogyny often experienced by the female reporters, The hostility and resentment often hinders their ability to cover the same stories, forcing the "ladies" to carve their own narrative of the war. These women showed that their voices provide a necessary layer of news reporting during wartime. An Unladylike Profession provides a fascinating look at the birth of modern combat journalism and the impact on the careers of female combat reporters.
Many of the tales the women wrote bubble with danger and excitement as they face the unexpected. Sometimes professional roadblocks and lack of finances hemmed their ability to maneuver and travel The constantly changing terrain of the war impeded their ability to cover the fighting. Hampered by refugees, the wounded, military personnel, and transportation problems, the reporters forged on to provide unique insights into the conflict. Nellie Bly, Mary Boyle O'Reilly, Florence Harper, Mildred Farwell, and many others blazed their way through the European cataclysm and captured stories ignored by male reporters. These gutsy women carved a path in the very male world of combat reporting for future generations of female reporters.
While Unladylike Profession brims with great stories and exciting tales, it starts a little slow focusing on the Belgian front and the male reporters covering the escalating war. Too often the tales of the men override the focus on the women's stories. The inclusion of the traditional reporters and their hostility to these most unladylike of women is necessary to expose the sexism and misogyny often experienced by the female reporters, The hostility and resentment often hinders their ability to cover the same stories, forcing the "ladies" to carve their own narrative of the war. These women showed that their voices provide a necessary layer of news reporting during wartime. An Unladylike Profession provides a fascinating look at the birth of modern combat journalism and the impact on the careers of female combat reporters.
August 9, 2020
I learned a lot of new things reading this work; not just about women war correspondents, but history of the world in the period from about 1914-1919. My undergrad degree was in History/Political Science, but the 20th century as history wasn't taught much during the 70s. Yes, I remember the Archduke being assassinated and kicking off World War I (I admit I didn't realize the U.S. didn't start then until a few years later when I was reading history for "fun.") And my knowledge of the time frame of the WWI Russian Front and the civil revolutions in Russia was rather confused.
This book clarified all that, plus. I enjoyed discovering all these women that were pushing their way into the territories usually considered "men's work"; I don't think many people realize that not all women were only at home raising kids, cooking, and cleaning during these times. (I use "only" in a sarcastic way. After staying home with young children for four years I realize that being a good housewife is soooo much harder than going out to work everday! I wasn't "good"...)
I read an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publishers, in order to give an honest review.
Since this is the advance version, there wasn't an index yet. My hope is that the index cites pages where each woman is included because I did begin to get confused about which woman was being highlighted. Chapters often covered a number of women's experiences during a certain time period, so the continuity of each journalist's experiences was broken up. I really liked the appendix with all of the covered women and their information. However, maybe that information would be better at the beginning so that readers know they can check there if there's confusion. The bibliography will be helpful for anyone desiring to delve in to this topic or coverage of the war in general.
I do recommend the book to those interested in women's studies, journalism, history, or World War I specifically.
This book clarified all that, plus. I enjoyed discovering all these women that were pushing their way into the territories usually considered "men's work"; I don't think many people realize that not all women were only at home raising kids, cooking, and cleaning during these times. (I use "only" in a sarcastic way. After staying home with young children for four years I realize that being a good housewife is soooo much harder than going out to work everday! I wasn't "good"...)
I read an ARC provided by NetGalley and the publishers, in order to give an honest review.
Since this is the advance version, there wasn't an index yet. My hope is that the index cites pages where each woman is included because I did begin to get confused about which woman was being highlighted. Chapters often covered a number of women's experiences during a certain time period, so the continuity of each journalist's experiences was broken up. I really liked the appendix with all of the covered women and their information. However, maybe that information would be better at the beginning so that readers know they can check there if there's confusion. The bibliography will be helpful for anyone desiring to delve in to this topic or coverage of the war in general.
I do recommend the book to those interested in women's studies, journalism, history, or World War I specifically.
July 10, 2025
An interesting look at the largely unknown roles of the three dozen or so female war correspondents in World War I. Some of them, like Edith Wharton, Nellie Blye, and Mary Roberts Rhinehart are well-known writers but most are largely unsung gutsy women who defied convention and managed to file stories from some of the most dangerous places - war ravaged cities, front line trenches, and lesser known patches of horror involving civilians caught up in the maelstrom of war. They did this in spite of the hugely male-dominated world of journalism at the time. By joining the Red Cross or the YMCA these reporters were able to circumvent restrictions to put themselves in harms way to get their stories. They are found in the midst of the beginnings of the Russian Revolution and the little known war in Russia at the end of the war. They report from a uniquely feminine perspective and describe the behind-the-scenes lives of the people caught up in the major battles. The stories of the individual women are a bit disjointed almost like Wikipedia articles with little transition from one to the next but the book is a valuable record of these brave, talented, and determined female war correspondents.
July 11, 2024
Dubbs has written a fascinating account that covers more than just women's correspondents.
Through his account, he tells the story of how the war was reported and how that changed throughout the war. At first, countries were against journalists on the battlefield because of security concerns. They quickly understood that the news could be manipulated to increase public support, especially in neutral countries like the United States. Interestingly, this evolution was repeated with the US military, which went from banning media for the Grenada invasion to embedding journalists in combat units during the Second Gulf War.
As part of telling this story, he includes an account of the Women's Peace Conference in 1915 and the hopes of the attendees that they would be able to develop principles for a peaceful settlement.
The other fascinating aspect is his discussion of the Russian Revolution, during which women reporters who could not cover the Western Front were an important source of information on what was happening, especially within the Kerensky government.
This is a 'must read' for anyone interested in the War, women's history or the history of journalism.
Through his account, he tells the story of how the war was reported and how that changed throughout the war. At first, countries were against journalists on the battlefield because of security concerns. They quickly understood that the news could be manipulated to increase public support, especially in neutral countries like the United States. Interestingly, this evolution was repeated with the US military, which went from banning media for the Grenada invasion to embedding journalists in combat units during the Second Gulf War.
As part of telling this story, he includes an account of the Women's Peace Conference in 1915 and the hopes of the attendees that they would be able to develop principles for a peaceful settlement.
The other fascinating aspect is his discussion of the Russian Revolution, during which women reporters who could not cover the Western Front were an important source of information on what was happening, especially within the Kerensky government.
This is a 'must read' for anyone interested in the War, women's history or the history of journalism.
May 1, 2024
I really liked this one. We get a lot of books about war and those fighting on the front and their sacrifices. We get less about those who suffer the effects of war at home without any of the glory.
The author did a great job of noting these women who reported on the war and chose to focus on those angles. Those who mentioned that mortality rates for pregnant women and children went up during war because doctors were at the front, the hunger and starvation. The author mentions we rightly glorify and remember the sacrificies of men, but the harms women face during war are not commemorated in statues, or films, or stories.
It was an intriguing look at women in World War I, putting a spotlight on that.
The author did a great job of noting these women who reported on the war and chose to focus on those angles. Those who mentioned that mortality rates for pregnant women and children went up during war because doctors were at the front, the hunger and starvation. The author mentions we rightly glorify and remember the sacrificies of men, but the harms women face during war are not commemorated in statues, or films, or stories.
It was an intriguing look at women in World War I, putting a spotlight on that.
December 15, 2020
“Today’s intrepid female reporters stand on the shoulders of women who pioneered in the role. Women had to fight for a place in the ranks of the press covering World War II and even decades later in Vietnam. But it was during the “Great War,” World War I, that women began showing up, against all odds, laying the groundwork for women who would, much later, follow their example.”
Well-written and well-researched, this book gives an engaging look into the work of female American WWI correspondents. These journalists set the scene for today’s, and contributed groundbreaking work as war correspondents at a time their role at home was still largely human interest stories.
Well-written and well-researched, this book gives an engaging look into the work of female American WWI correspondents. These journalists set the scene for today’s, and contributed groundbreaking work as war correspondents at a time their role at home was still largely human interest stories.
June 2, 2021
There are so many lenses through which to view the experience of war, and this book adds one that most folks would not think about--female war correspondents. The vocation of journalism is always risky, as is being a woman during wartime, as well as being a woman perceived as doing a man's job. The female WWI correspondents profiled, then, faced unimaginable difficulties in telling the horrific stories of war. Some names, like Edith Wharton, are well known. Others, like Mary Boyle O’Reilly, deserve to be.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
September 13, 2021
My only complaint with this is that as it followed correspondents' careers, it skipped back and forth time wise. So it would discuss say 1914 to 1918, and then 1917, and then 1918 again. So if you're not familiar with the WW1 timeline, do some googling!
But otherwise, it was fascinating. It covered women reporters on every front, from France to Mesopotamia to Siberia. I knew that Nellie Bly did some WW1 reporting, but I had no idea Edith Wharton was a war correspondent!
But otherwise, it was fascinating. It covered women reporters on every front, from France to Mesopotamia to Siberia. I knew that Nellie Bly did some WW1 reporting, but I had no idea Edith Wharton was a war correspondent!
December 10, 2021
A riveting and detailed account of female war correspondents in the Great War. The book delineates the difficulties of being a woman in the field of journalism during that era, while also revealing the suffering of soldiers and civilians. The reader receives an overview of the war and its aftermath, while getting up close and personal accounts of individual female journalists. Engrossing, informative and moving.
December 8, 2025
I saw the author on a history zoom talk so followed up by reading his book. It is well researched and I learned more about WWI and in particular how women played such a vital role informing the reading public about the situation on the front.
While the photos of the journalists are fine, the maps were a disappointment. They were scattered in the book, too small without enough detail. They would be better in a common section, larger, with more cities located.
While the photos of the journalists are fine, the maps were a disappointment. They were scattered in the book, too small without enough detail. They would be better in a common section, larger, with more cities located.
April 16, 2021
I bought this for some research I’m doing on women journalists during WWI, so I was disappointed with the lack of usable sources. I also missed some kind of conclusion that would pull together all the information and leave the reader with some tidy generalizations. Having said that, I still really enjoyed the book and found it very useful.
Read
February 17, 2021I know I should find this interesting, but I don't. Did not finish.
December 29, 2021
Very well written. It’s wonderful to hear these stories of women who reported WWI. They were true trailblazers so early in the history of women following their desired professions.
April 15, 2023
Women have been fighting for such a long time.
3 1/2 to 4 stars. Didn't love the narration
3 1/2 to 4 stars. Didn't love the narration
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews