For All Their Lives [Hardcover]

Fern Michaels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1992

A tale of love amid war, of love against all odds, as a beautiful half-French, half-American nurse and the idealistic officer she loves struggle to survive in the chaos of Vietnam . . .

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Michaels provides an ample serving of schmaltz in this romantic potboiler--a Literary Guild/Doubleday Book Club selection in cloth--linking a half-French, half-American army nurse and a wealthy idealist who volunteers for Vietnam.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Booklist

The day after Ruby Blue graduated from high school, she turned her back on her abusive father and moved out on her own--into the spring of her life. In the summer of her life, she married a man she didn't love and bore him two children. When autumn came, Ruby separated from her husband and started a business to help keep her son in college. In winter, she faced the remaining portions of her life and her mortality on her own terms. Ruby Blue is a strong woman whose decisions throughout her life temper a steel backbone that allows her to bend and give without breaking. In unforgettable style, Ruby matures and comes to terms with her own flaws while desperately searching for someone who will love her as she is. Melanie Duncan --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 678 pages
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816153612
• ISBN-13: 978-0816153619
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,198,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Fern Michaels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Fool Me Once, Sweet Revenge, The Nosy Neighbor, Pretty Woman, and dozens of other novels and novellas. There are over seventy million copies of her books in print. Fern Michaels has built and funded several large day-care centers in her hometown, and is a passionate animal lover who has outfitted police dogs across the country with special bulletproof vests. She shares her home in South Carolina with her four dogs and a resident ghost named Mary Margaret.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book Fern Michaels has written., April 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: For All Their Lives: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book very much. I saw growth in characters, acceptance of situations as they happened and an overall well written story about those who fought an unpopular war and what happened to them after they returned home. The pain of loosing unknown soldiers along with those they knew was well done. Keep up the good work Fern. I am glad to see the sexual scenes take a back stage to the real drama of the story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening historical fiction, October 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: For All Their Lives: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

A unique blend of a romance with the historical Vietnam Era. This story was repeated all over the country many times, so I'm for sure some it was painful to read. I enjoyed it very much. I've read most of her books, but this older one I had missed. It also aptly described cold emotionless parents, unhappy childhood, and how adults can overcome their environment. The work done by nurses and doctors on the battlefield must have been under such primitive conditions it's a wonder anyone survived.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars One writer or two?, January 10, 2009

By 

Reader Carolyn "AvidReader63" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For All Their Lives: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Did Fern Michaels get bored with the story and pay someone else to finish the book for her? The style of writing changed towards the end of the story. The plot and characters started out with real depth and meaning and held my attention; however, after Casey ended up with Alan it was as though the writer was 'standing back' and watching, and not really into the main characters anymore.

I was extremely disappointed with this novel.