Customer Reviews

The Duration and Six Months: Letters of a World War II Army Nurse

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this book as a gift for my husband (also a retired Army Nurse). I found myself at home one day, picked it up and read non-stop for over eight hours, finishing the book the follwoing morning. Not being an avid WWII reader myself, I was amazed I found it quite interesting to have a look first hand at the life of an Army Nurse, the sacrifices made by her for her country, her sense of selflessness, friendships made and lost, dedication to colleagues and family despite the many obtstacles faced with basic daily living, the Army way. This is truly a fascinating read. You feel as though Lt. Coressel is a personal friend -- the kind everyone wants and hopes to be!

The letters presented in this book offer a unique look at the day to day life of an Army nurse during WWII. Jerry's sense of adventure, dedication to her profession and her country,and the love for her family are expressed in detailed, heartfelt letters.
I highly recommend this special book. It is a loving tribute to the women who devoted a large part of their lives to the war effort.

This book is a great concept and very interesting but at times, very confusing. There were no explanations for different people mentioned in the book (even after reading the book from cover to cover I still am confused about a couple of names mentioned). Also, there is a lot of "lingo" used that if you were never in the Army or closely related you would have no idea. A lot of abbreviations were used with no explanations (I have no idea what a O.D. uniform is). Like I said at the beginning -- this concept was great, the letters were great, the book was put together without any history about the nurse, her family, friends, and no explanation on lingo or abbreviations. I am done reading this book and cannot really connect with the people or things because I have no idea what they are talking about. Frustrating!!

This collection is presented as raw archival material with no narration. As such, it speaks for itself. It might be a bit tedious if it is the first thing read about military nursing during WW II, but for a reader with a modest familiarity with the subject it is quite eloquent. As most collections of wartime letters, there appears to have been some selectivity by the writer to protect the folks at home. This book rates right up there with Sally Hitchcock Pullman's "Letters Home" as the best of this genre.