You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War

by Elizabeth Becker

WINNER OF THE 2022 GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE
WINNER OF THE 2022 SPERBER PRIZE

The long buried story of three extraordinary female journalists who permanently shattered the official and cultural barriers to women covering war.
 
Kate Webb, an Australian iconoclast, Catherine Leroy, a French dare devil photographer, and Frances FitzGerald, a blue-blood American intellectual, arrived in Vietnam with starkly different life experiences but one shared to report on the most consequential story of the decade.

 

At a time when women were considered unfit to be foreign reporters, Frankie, Catherine and Kate paid their own way to war, arrived without jobs, challenged the rules imposed on them by the military, ignored the belittlement and resentment of their male peers and found new ways to explain the war through the people who lived through it.

 

In You Don't Belong Here , Elizabeth Becker uses these women's work and lives to illuminate the Vietnam War from the 1965 American buildup, through the Tet Offensive, the expansion into Cambodia, the American defeat and its aftermath. Arriving herself in the last years of the war, Elizabeth writes as an historian and a witness to what these women accomplished.

 

What emerges is an unforgettable story of three journalists forging their place in a land of men, often at great personal sacrifice, and forever altering the craft of war reportage for generations. Deeply reported and filled with personal letters, interviews, and profound insight, You Don't Belong Here fills a void in the history of women and of war.

 

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Feminism, Biography, War, Journalism, Womens

320 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2021

About the author

Elizabeth Becker is a former New York Times correspondent and the author of When the War Was Over.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his ten-part, 18-hour documentary on the Vietnam War, Ken Burns does not once mention the work of Catherine Leroy, a French photographer who was the first journalist to parachute with a combat troop into Vietnam and whose photographs of American soldiers brought the agony of war into living rooms across America in the pages of Time and Life magazines; nor of Frances Fitzgerald, the American journalist who won the National Book Award, the Pulitzer and the Bancroft for Fire in the Lake, her seminal book about the war that she wrote after years of reporting from the front lines; nor does he acknowledge Kate Webb, the New Zealand-born, Australian foreign correspondent who became UPI bureau chief in Phnom Penh and was captured by North Vietnamese troops operating out of northern Cambodia.

This fact comes late in Elizabeth Becker's extraordinary You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War and by the time you read it, you will be as angered and bewildered by this inexcusable omission as I was. These three women, whose experiences during the Vietnam war are interwoven into a narrative that eventually includes Becker's own, when she arrives to report from Cambodia crushed by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, took on a white male establishment in one of the most dangerous places on earth and fought personal battles to claim their right to report on the tearing apart of Indochina by the American government.

They each arrived of their own accord, paying their way and picking up scraps as stringers —freelance reporters — until the quality of their work became undeniable and they were offered more stable and lucrative bureau jobs. Frances "Frankie" Fitzgerald was the daughter of a wealthy Boston Brahmin family with direct connections to D.C. power core, but even this worked against her as she had to prove she wasn't in Vietnam because of her family, but because she had something of value to show the world about the war. Tiny and ferocious Catherine Leroy carried all her own gear, marching alongside brawny American Marines and capturing the moments of agony and fear of soldiers and civilians alike. Kate Webb, soft-spoken and beautiful, arrived in Vietnam with the burden of recent tragedies that primed her to convey the misery of war.

Kate and Catherine died in their early 60s within a year of each other, both of cancer likely brought on by years of heavy drinking and chain-smoking, their chosen self-medication to manage severe PTSD. Frankie Fitzgerald is alive and well and recently won the inaugural Society of American Historians Tony Horowitz Prize for distinguished work in American history.

You Don't Belong Here is a riveting portrait of these women and their contributions to journalism, and of Vietnam at the height of the war. It gave me a new understanding of America's failed policies, its ignorance and arrogance, as well as a grounding in the experiences of the civilian Vietnamese and Cambodians who suffered so terribly.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

[Cait McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My master's adviser at the University of Washington had rejected my thesis on the Bangladesh War of Independence after I refused to sleep with him. He said the one was not related to the other but would welcome having an affair if I changed my mind."

That infuriating fact  introduces us to Elizabeth Becker. Becker is no stranger to reporting; she has covered revolution, war, and genocide all over the world. She has won many prizes for her work, including (but not limited to the) Pulitzer Prize for Public Service shared with her team at the New York Times for 9/11 coverage in 2002. As a young reporter in Cambodia she narrowly escaped assassination after interviewing Pol Pot face-to-face. She's an established expert and author, and now she has taken the time to tell the stories of three women who opened the door for her and many others to follow.

Holy Hell, do these women have stories worth telling! Catherine 'Cathy' Leroy, Frances 'Frankie' Fitzgerald, and Kate Webb all marched themselves to the frontlines of Vietnam and Cambodia despite their countries, their male coworkers, and the world at large doing everything in their power to hold them back.

What starts as an introduction to the women reporters who charged the front lines becomes a larger lesson in military history, the long-lasting detrimental effects of colonization, the dangers of imperialism, and the blatant sexism and misogyny that women in war- no matter the role- faced and still face today.

Becker deftly weaves her story throughout those of Leroy, FitzGerald and Webb. She has incredible knowledge of the conflicts in Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as firsthand experience reporting in the area. She also has access to the notes, letters, and private journals of her subjects. She uses these snippets to create a heartbreaking, maddening, thrilling and frequently disgusting portrait of these women and the conflicts at large. She works hard to undo the old romantic tropes of war reporting. Becker describes awestruck new journalists entranced by the colonial cities in the war-torn jungle.  She puts the rosy glow of film and fiction on trial.

"Filmmakers and novelists build war stories around passionate love affairs to provide an intimate narrative to the chaos of the battlefield and as a relief from the body count. Buddy movies do the same thing. At no other time are the senses so alive, the chance of survival so low, and a night of companionship so electrifying. A few intense months are as full as a lifetime. A night of tenderness can offer deeper relief from the sights and sounds of death than a night of drinking."

What she does, most importantly, is give Leroy, FitzGerald, and Webb the stage. Three remarkably different women with three unique perspectives talked their way past borders and into the heart of the conflict. These borders are far from just geographical; they had to push past family expectations, long-held sexist traditions, double-standards, and heavily armed soldiers on all sides. They faced a barrage of attacks: attacks against their character, attacks against their ability, attacks against their subjects, and attacks against their own bodies as they joined the frontlines and escaped capture. I am struggling with the prospect of giving away too much; my notes overflowed from this book- there is something shocking, hilarious, and/or worth sharing in general on every page.

Webb's account of watching napalm rain from the sky is terrifying on multiple levels:

"They are running, laughing at that pretty napalm." Webb said with alarm. The two of them chased the children, racing to stop them. Frosch didn't want to frighten them so he laughed when tackling them to the ground, turning the rescue into a game of rice-paddy rugby. Webb did the same and the children returned to their buffalo, Webb shaking her head at "the terrible innocence of those children running towards the napalm, laughing with joy at the pretty colors."

Leroy's kinship with "her Marines" bleeds through every photo she took:

"The Hill 881 photographs demonstrated Leroy's very personal approach to photography and her attachment and identification with her subjects. "The Gls were like my brothers. We were the same age, and I loved them. Besides, I cannot photograph anybody for whom I don't have any feelings. I would rather stay at home, smoke a cigarette, and drink a good glass of wine."

FitzGerald is cool, calm, and plucky while running for her life:

"We hurtle along," she wrote. "It's safer to drive fast as the mines tend to blow up behind you and cause the snipers to miss."

While they shared similar experiences in the war, the three women featured here all came from very different worlds. They returned to very different lives. They were not part of an inherent and special sisterhood- in fact, they bristled against the Women's Liberation movement- they were unwilling to be lumped together into any cause based on their gender alone. They all shared the  untreated effects of trauma. They treated themselves in the best ways they could: digging deeper into their work, finding company amongst broken soldiers returned to countries that discredited and tossed them away, and drinking. Lots of drinking.

The horrors of war remain, but so do the battles to be respected and relevant. As recently as 2017 these women and their contributions were still being swept aside:

"When the 2017 multipart PBS documentary on the Vietnam War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick offered what it called a full reading list to accompany the series, the fifty-eight history books did not include Fire in the Lake, the most honored book on the war. Fredrik Logevall, the respected historian of Vietnam, warned that while parts of the book did prove problematic with later research, he feared that some of the criticism was tinged with envy. He said: "Whatever we want to call it-a first-cut history-this book stands up very well even though she didn't have access to archives. I would put it on a short shelf of really important books on the war. It's of enduring importance." But then, Kate Webb's On the Other Side: 23 Days with the Viet Cong was not on the Ken Burns list of recommended Vietnam books nor was Catherine Leroy's Under Fire: Great Photographers and Writers in Vietnam. In fact, the Burns list did not include a single published work by any of the female journalists who covered the war."

Becker is fighting the good fight for the women who came before her and for her own work as well. She is filled with righteous fury. You will catch her fire while reading this ferocious testament to the women who rewrote war.

I received this ARC from PublicAffairs via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads like a history of the Vietnam War, something I knew little about and had no interest in learning anything more.

But the story of these three amazing women was well worth reading the book. Two journalist and one photographer – Kate Webb (New Zealand born Australian/Journalist) – Frances FitzGerald (American/Journalist) and Catherine Leroy (French/Photojournalist) all of whom ended up winning many prestigious awards for their ground breaking work in the field where women before had never been accepted or welcome.

Three women from very different backgrounds and countries chose to put themselves in harm’s way to tell the story of an unpopular war. No one forced them, no one told them they HAD to do this, the very fact that they chose this way of life is enough for me to shout out a thousand KUDOS to them.

They led the way for all females who would come later and make the same choice of career to benefit from the struggles these women had endured and, for the most part, won.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am a tough grader. Melville’s “Moby-Dick” gets five stars. This is not “Moby-Dick”. And, it is not “Miss Congeniality”. It was earned. This compact book finally identifies and gives credit to the women (a.k.a. “girls” and/or numerous demeaning monikers at the time) who fought to write and capture images side-by-side with the troops on battlefields. Those spotlighted and others not named made a difference not only in combat journalism but giving a more nuanced angle of the U.S.’s Southeast Asia fiasco. “You Don’t Belong Here” is profiles, history, sociology, politics, military tactics, horrors of war in just the right blend. Becker’s pacing is impeccable. (And, it only took until 2021 to see the light of day. Oh, how much we failed to learn in the interim.)

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Becker does a fabulous job sharing the true story of three women journalists who covered the Vietnam War at a time when women weren't allowed to serve in combat roles in the military or cover the news or photograph a war.

Her descriptions of the military and political actions and strategies by the North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese and US is terrific. I did extensive research for my book, Standing Up After Saigon, so it was fascinating to read Becker's historical account.

Becker demonstrates the courage of each journalist, particularly when their reporting was very different than the typical reporting/storyline of other journalists.

Highly recommend!

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three-and-a-half stars rounded up.

This was an interesting deep dive into three women who greatly helped to shape the American story of Vietnam: Catherine Leroy, Frances FitzGerald, and Kate Webb. Becker also talks about her own time as a reporter in Cambodia covering the internal conflict there and the Khmer Rouge.

However, for anyone looking to understand the experiences of female journalists in Vietnam, I wouldn't start here. Instead, start with War Torn: Stories of War from the Women Reporters who Covered Vietnam or On Their Own: Women Journalists and the American Experience in Vietnam, both of which Becker used as sources. War Torn is especially valuable because each chapter is a firsthand account of each woman's experience. So read those two first, and then tackle Becker's book for more information, especially about her work on the war in Cambodia, which is often overlooked.

A couple of things bothered me about Becker's book. One was that it occasionally felt gossipy. Even though she was using primary and close secondary sources, I wondered if some of the more personal information about family and romantic relationships was really necessary. I suppose it did lend itself to providing the full picture of what women were up against at the time. The second thing was small, but it bothered me: she refers to renowned photographer Mary Ellen Mark as "Mary Ellen Marks." That's an easy typo to make, but nobody (author, editor, proofreaders) caught it, and it made me wonder what else might not be correct.

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was prompted to buy this book, You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War from watching a TV interview its author (Elizabeth Becker, herself a journalist who had covered the war in Cambodia during the early 1970s) gave to the CSPAN BOOK TV program.

I cannot praise this book enough. It does a fine job of highlighting the wartime experiences in Vietnam and Cambodia of 3 exceptional, talented, smart, and resourceful women who worked hard, often against the disdainful, sexist and contemptuous attitudes of many of their male colleagues, to perform outstanding work --- both on the front lines, streets, and alleyways of Vietnam and Cambodia --- as war correspondents.

Catherine Leroy was a petite Frenchwoman who arrived in South Vietnam in 1966 (during the early phase of the American involvement in the Vietnam War), where she managed to ingratiate herself with the U.S. military establishment --- and the coterie of journalists and news services covering the war --- as a photographer, often accompanying paratroopers and soldiers into combat. Several of Leroy's photographs are featured in this book, and they are some of the best war photographs I've ever seen, conveying the tragedy and misery of war on soldiers and civilians alike.

Frances FitzGerald hailed from an affluent, privileged background in New York society, was a graduate from Radcliffe College (Class of 1962) who made her way to Vietnam in January 1966, intent on writing a few articles from there about the war. With the help of several influential people she knew in Vietnam, FitzGerald took it upon herself to gain an understanding of the Vietnam conflict that she felt wasn't being reflected in the press. She would go on to spend a considerable amount of time in Vietnam before returning later in the decade to the U.S., where she would begin work on one of the first books to provide a nuanced, comprehensive look at the U.S. involvement in Vietnam that also examined the culture and history of Vietnam as well: Fire in the Lake, which became a critically acclaimed, best-seller in 1972 and won several top literary awards.

Kate Webb, a university graduate from Australia in her early 20s with scant journalistic experience, made her way to Vietnam in the mid-1960s. She knew no-one there and had few resources she could call upon. But Kate Webb had grit, determination, and through the final withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Vietnam in April 1975, would go on to establish a sterling reputation as one of the most astute, resourceful, and courageous journalists working first, from Saigon, where she received her baptism of fire covering the Tet Offensive first-hand, to the widening, horrific conflict in Cambodia.

I was very much taken in by the stories of these three women who "challenged the rules imposed on them by the military, ignored the belittlement of their male peers, and ultimately altered the craft of war reportage for generations."

Anyone with an interest in Vietnam and war reportage should read this book. Indeed, You Don't Belong Here should be required reading in any college or university syllabus covering the Vietnam War.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A revealing look at three intrepid female journalists who were right in the thick of the action during the Vietnam War. Frances (Frankie), Kate, and Catherine broke molds and defied decades of denying female reporters access to war. Becker details each woman's background, the parts of the war they covered, and the aftermath. The one item that jumped out at me was that although each had written excellent books on the subject, the Ken Burn's documentary on the Vietnam War didn't list any of them on the suggested accompanying book list. Anyone interested in reading about the war from a different perspective, from the lens of these determined journalists, needs to read this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Public Affairs for the early copy.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely find a biography that am drawn to read. This one attracted me not only because of the subject of the Vietnam War but also because of the subjects: Three women who broke the glass ceiling of journalism in the war.

Kate Webb, an Australian individualist in her opinions of the war. Catherine Leroy a French Photojournalist whose talent behind the lens, her free spirit, and her daredevil attitude more than made up for her small physical stature. Francis ("Frankie") Fitzgerald was an intellectual who constantly fought the theory that her family connections opened the doors to her career.

These women, getting to Vietnam on their own dollar, and once there persistently looking for the story eventually dug their way into the all-male world of journalism. They did it on their merit and talent. Enduring nepotism, chauvinism, and the constant ridicule of the industry.

Leroy's photography was in a class of its own. Never looking for bravado or gruesome after-effects of a battle, but capturing the emotion in the faces and eyes of the young men thrown into this conflict. Webb and FitzGerald, in their reporting, dug deep into the human side of this war. Many of their stories were criticized and downplayed. All three women went on to win major awards for their reporting,

I knew nothing about these women, showing my age here, but while looking at the photo inserts I do recall seeing some of Leroy's photos on the front pages of the newspapers and in the big magazines at the time.

If you like biographies, search out books on strong female unknowns in history books then I suggest you pick this one up. Although the book takes place during the war, this book is about these 3 women who never gave up their fight to prove women could do the job.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Don’t Belong Here captures in some detail the Vietnam War, the beginning in the 50s and then the incredible escalation in the 60s. Ms. Becker’s focus on Catherine Leroy, Kate Webb and Frances Fitzgerald make these years more understandable and amazing. The difficulties of women journalists at this time and their sheer determination and bravery are breathtaking. I had name and battle recognition but I was 18 when the war ended and I lived my life in the 60s and 70s on the periphery of war protests. This is an important book on every level. It was mesmerizing.

[Eric J. Lyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. The fact that the three main subjects of the book were women at a time when female war correspondents were almost unheard of is what makes their story newsworthy. But the lessons the stories illustrate about integrity, ingenuity, and creativity are universal. I'd recommend this book for any journalist or aspiring journalist, as well as for anyone who wants to better understand what makes some journalism stand out above the rest.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good history of three female journalists who covered Vietnam, the writers Kate Webb and Frances FitzGerald, and the photographer Cathy Leroy. (I'd heard only of FitzGerald, several of whose books I own.) At points this still feels first-draft-of-history-ish, in that we just get a short paragraph followed by another, followed by a third, that veer from topic to topic--for instance, Becker mentions the rapturous reception of FitzGerald's Fire in the Lake, then briefly notes some academic complaints without exploring them further, and then goes on to celebrate its reception. Nonetheless, this is both a valuable social history of the hurdles women had to leap to avoid the (literal) grasp of men, get out into the field, and get taken seriously, all the while suffering sexist insinuations about what they were "really" doing, and with whom, while male reporters could of course simply be dashing. Also a very useful corrective to the coverage itself; Becker nails classics like Herr's Dispatches for their slighting treatment of women, which she points out continued through both the work of female journalists at the time, which could be catty, and through to Ken Burns's recent documentary, the reading list for which did not include works by women. She makes an especially good case for the importance of FitzGerald's work in pushing observers inside and outside government to view the war through a longer lens; I'd need more comparisons of Vietnam photos to see whether there's something formally new about Leroy's photos. Reading very brief excerpts of Webb's work makes me want to read more, though it seems like the only immediate availability is her memoir of being held captive by the VC and her chapter in the anthology War Torn. Also made me look up Gloria Emerson's Winners and Losers, which I though maybe I owned, but apparently not.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

At a time when women were belittled by their male peers and deemed unfit for the role of a war reporter, Leroy, Fitzgerald and Webb were determined to make their mark and left a legacy that has paved the way for generations of journalists to come. Becker uses their work and lives (as well as an insane amount of research) to illuminate the tragedies of the Vietnam War and its wider history. With thanks to Becker’s beautiful and personable writing, I felt like I was sat at a bar with the women hearing their stories and I cannot put into words how incredible I found reading about their accomplishments and struggles. Becker creates heartbreaking, maddening, thrilling and inspiring portraits and I’m only annoyed my poor knowledge of the war hindered some understanding in parts.

[Adelaine Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 I love finishing a book and knowing that I learned a lot. I never lost interest, even though I’m new to biographies, and truly loved and found interest in every chapter. These stories are deeply inspiring and incredibly fascinating and the world should never forget these women’s contributions in journalism.

[Friday · Rating 4 out of 5]

While these three women's lives didn't cross, they were in the same place at the same time, each carving out a different path for future females in the war correspondent career.
Elizabeth Becker's own book about the Cambodian genocide has been hard to find, but I'm very glad my library had this one.
It's not a long book, Becker works through the Vietnam War chronologically for the most part, telling the story of these three journalists and inserting some background about each one as she goes.

[Sara Broad · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You Don't Belong Here" by Elizabeth Becker is the true chronicles of several female photographers during the Vietnam War. I found this book really fascinating. It brings you straight into mid-century Southeast Asia through the descriptions about what these photographers went through and how they lived in order to capture the moments that earned them notoriety and brought to the world's attention the horrors of the Vietnam War. It also delves into American history, politics, and culture. Without this book, I never would have known that these photographers and their stories existed. I really recommend this book!

[Jeff Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely brilliant book headlining three women who impacted the role of a female journalist in wartime, forever changing long held perceptions and prejudices, written by someone who also deserves a place in that history. (Fortunately Becker includes some of her personal experiences toward the final chapters)
This book should be required reading for everyone, anywhere. It will inspire any female wishing to be a journalist and rightfully so.

[Julie Tulba · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone with even the remotest of interest in women's history, I highly recommend reading this book. It was such an eye-opening read concerning the Vietnam War but more importantly, it was eye-opening to learn about these three incredible women who for the most part are unknown in modern history (and this is quite the disservice to their amazing work and legacies).

[victor harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

No hedging, unequivocal 5 rating. Very powerful and poignant coverage of the women who covered various conflicts with the emphasis on their work in the Vietnam War and Cambodian calamity that led to the horrors of Khmer Rouge atrocities. Like so many victims in those wars, the journalists would pay a painful cost for the commitment to their craft.

[Robin Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential history not only on the Vietnam War, but on the role of correspondents who were women. Great read.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating - not only for the story of 3 female journalists covering the Vietnam War, but for the look at the war from inside the countries whose soil it was being fought on.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all these women, including the author, I knew only Frances Fitzgerald before reading this book. Now, I feel as if I've at least spent time with them, heard some of their war stories, and gotten a sense of what it was like to be them as young adults when I was just a child.

The book did remind me of events I'd lived through, and of other books I'd read including Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam, The Best and the Brightest, Dispatches, and The Time of Illusion: An Historical and Reflective Account of the Nixon Era. I hear from the friend who lent it to me, who was born in 1970, that she found it just as gripping as I did.

Becker could have used an editor to tame her sentence structure and a copy editor to reference her pronouns and root out the typographical errors that spring up like weeds toward the end of the book. Over all, however, this is an important book and a pleasure to read. It took me so long to finish it only because I was reading it aloud to my wife.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5


Prior to Vietnam, a law forbade women from reporting on the frontline of any war. But Vietnam was never declared a war: no war, no ban. Enter Catherine Leroy, Frankie Fitzgerald, and Kate Webb (and the author of "You Don't Belong Here," Elizabeth Becker, who would make a name for herself reporting on the subsequent Cambodian genocide).

Despite an onslaught of sexual advances and low-to-no expectations from their superiors, these three women risked life and limb to produce some of the finest and most significant journalism of the war. Just take a look at some of these images from French journalist Catherine Leroy, the 5' 87-pound photojournalist who, by the way, was on her 85th jump prior to the image you see here.

Too bad Ken Burns couldn't be bothered to mention a single one of them in his Vietnam series--a series I thought very highly of, for the record--despite their catalogue of journalistic accolades (including a Pulitzer).

Do yourself and the women in your life a favor: read this book. (See the last image.) Catherine Leroy, Frankie Fitzgerald, and Kate Webb deserve to be remembered.

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niesamowicie mocne 4,5 gwiazdki.

Zaczynając czytać wiedziałam o wojnie w Wietnamie tylko tyle, że się odbyła i brali w niej udział Amerykanie. Dowiedziałam się z niej ważnych wydarzeń z niemal całego okresu konfliktu, ale to nie jest najważniejsze.

Najważniejsze są tutaj trzy kobiety - Catherine Leroy, Frances, FitzGerald i Kate Webb - reporterki, które zmieniły losy reportażu wojennego. Kobiety z różnych krajów i środowisk, zajmujące się wojną we własny oryginalny sposób. Niesamowicie inspirujące postacie, które osiągnęły sukces i uznanie mimo przeciwności, na które były skazane przez swoją płeć.

Zaczynałam tą książkę trzy razy i dopiero teraz udało mi się ją dokończyć. Prawie zrobiłam dnfa, bo nie mogłam przebić się przez pierwsze rozdziały. Ale później było już o wiele lepiej, dużo ma do tego język. Tłumaczenie pani Anny Żbikowskiej jest po prostu świetne, mimo ciężkiego tematu przez książkę się płynie. Plastyczność i naturalność języka jest tak silna, że miałam wrażenie, jakbym czytała książkę polską, a nie przetłumaczoną.

Absolutnie wartościowa pozycja, o której będę jeszcze długo myśleć.

[Booknblues · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War is a fascinating account of three brave journalists who photographed and wrote about the Vietnam war, a French woman, an American and an Australian.Catherine Leroy, Frankie Fitzgerald and Kate Webb respectively.

The Vietnam war opened things up for women journalist because President Johnson refused to declare war and so it was uncensored.


"For women, this uncensored, unrestricted entry to the battlefield was an incomparable gift: a door to a profession that was closed to them at home. Without a declaration of war, the military also left dormant the ban on women journalists on the battlefield."

For those interested in the Vietnam War as well as an intriguing look at women's rights through the perspective lens of individual journalist. I feel as if I learned something about the war and how it was reported.

[Abra Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the story of 3 women who were journalists during the Vietnam War. It's chronicles how ground-breaking it was for women to be war reporters during that time. In fact, General Westmoreland tried to have them evicted from Vietnam and not allowed to report. That attempt failed. It's also a bit of a history of the War itself. It was sad and poignant. The War took such a toll on the people of Vietnam and Cambodia, the soldiers, and the reporters. The author also explains the American politics of the day that ended up prolonging the war. I now want to read more, especially books by Frances FitzGerald, one of the women reporters chronicled here, from the US. The others were Kate Webb, a reporter from Australia; and Catherine LeRoy, a photographer, from France. FitzGerald wrote Fire in the Lake which was the definitive book on Vietnam at the time and won the Pulitzer Prize, the Bancroft Prize, and the National Book Award. Also mentioned, Ken Burns' series on Vietnam failed to name or include any reference to any works from female reporters of the day, even though he mentioned 58 others. Exceptionally well written, I highly recommend this poignant book.

[Rei · Rating 4 out of 5]

i had no idea about the vietnam war besides its portrayal as a conflict between capitalist america and communist north vietnam and this book, i believe tells a more or less comprehensive history of the vietnam war in two major points. first, it tells the progression of the war and second, it tells the roles of three women within that conflict. the stories of these three women are remarkable.

the book narrates the experiences of three women: two journalists and one photographer: Kate Webb (a new zealand, born in Australian, a journalist), Frances Fitzgerald (an american journalist), and Catherine Leroy (a french photojournalist). the book also tells their backgrounds from birth until the end of their lives. i gotta say that they were truly exceptional individuals. they worked in a field where women had never been fully accepted before. despite the prevailing misogyny at that time, i found it impressive how they confronted this issue.

they worked tirelessly and got significant recognition and prestigious awards for their contributions. what sets their work apart is their dedication to uncovering the hidden story and political aspects of the vietnam war, unlike other male reporters and journalists who often focused solely on the war itself and america. their greatest achievements really paved the way for many other female journalists to report from the battlefield.

for me, their story is interesting but the narrative imo is lacking, it just kinda flat, but the language used is highly readable. even tho there were parts that dragged a bit for me, overall it still interesting and well worth reading. so i would rate it 4/5 stars.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Don't Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War is written by journalist Elizabeth Becker about three of her groundbreaking colleagues in country during the Vietnam War: Catherine Leroy, Frankie FitzGerald, and Kate Webb. Kate Webb searched to find relevant wire copy for a Sydney newspaper and ultimately decided write from the war torn country. Catherine Leroy, a French photographer, used her skills as a licensed skydiver as an "in" with elite American forces. Frances FitzGerald, an American intellectual from well placed, high society family with ties to the government, arrived in Vietnam to write freelance stories and other publications.

All of these women paid their dues and suffered from resistance at the hands of their male counterparts. Their reporting, both visual and in print, changed the way that war correspondence was handled. The most amazing part of the story was the fact that Kate Webb, Catherine Leroy, and Frankie FitzGerald had mainly been overlooked and forgotten. Author Elizabeth Becker did a good job of highlighting the accomplishments of these women, as well as their struggles.

You Don't Belong Here is definitely a book that I would recommend to other readers, especially young women who are searching to find their own place in the world. Kate Webb, Catherine Leroy, and Frankie FitzGerald are inspirations and important figures in the history of modern reporting.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher, PublicAffairs. The decision to review this nonfiction history book was entirely my own.

[Bill Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

exceptional read!

I really enjoyed this book. It gives the account of three novice news women who are the first to report on the war from the front lines of the war zone. They were not close friends and they only met occasionally. Their story is incredible. They not only had the war to deal with but the opinion of other news "professionals" Who were less than helpful and encouraging for the most part. A very interesting historical and personal read!

[Judie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a college student during the war, the sound of the helicopters on the news was a nightly occurrence and still makes me feel loss. Although I was not actively involved in anti war protests it was a daily part of my life. Our campus was spread with tear gas by the Sheriffs department to quell a small protest.
The Vietnam era is a dark time where we knew our country was doing wrong; now Elizabeth Becker has confirmed why. Bravo to those brave women who got the real stories out. And to read more about the plight of the Vietnamese, read “The Mountains Sing” by Nguyen Phan Que Mai, a novel about the families who lived through those difficult times.