Customer Reviews

And If I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War II

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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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I have wanted to write this review since I finished "And If I Perish", but, quite frankly, I did not know how to start. As a lifelong reader, a woman of a "certain age" and an English teacher, I must have read thousands of books over the years. This one is, quite simply, the best book I have ever read. One of the jacket cover comments uses the word, masterpiece, that barely describes it.
The authors have done a magnificent job of weaving a seamless saga from the early days of WW II in North Africa, up through Italy and France and into Berlin. While I have read many books that chronicle the experiences of several people it was always difficult to keep them straight without a great deal of re-reading. Not so with these nurses, they are all recalled with no effort at all. While this is in no doubt due to Monahan & Neidel-Greenlee's formidable talents as authors, it is also because of these incredible nurses themselves. They were all of the things their daughters demonstrated about. They were brave, dedicated, self-reliant, tough, funny, compassionate, smart and inspiring. I am in awe of every one of them. They stand among the greats of the Greatest generation.
Monahan and Niedel-Greenlee have done us all a great service by telling this story. Thank you both.

This is an extremely well written and interesting book, covering a part of America's World War II history which has been sadly neglected. Almost half of the 59,000 female nurses who volunteered for the US Armed Forces during WWII served overseas. During the course of the conflict approximately 1600 of these nurses were decorated for their actions, receiving Distinguished Service Medals, Silver and Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts, among other awards. More than 70 of these nurses were captured and 217 died of injuries and illness, 16 as the result of enemy action. The authors spent over a decade tracking down surviving nurses and their friends and families in order to compile this well documented, personal and most entertaining book. Several of the key figures are followed from their recruitment before and during the early stages of the war throughout the entire North African and European campaigns. The rich detail and often tragic first-person accounts of landing with the Allies, particularly in North Africa, and the hard learned lessons of American unpreparedness for war are told with stark straight forwardness by those who participated. The authors have professionally woven in the larger strategic backdrop, along with significant tactical explanations, in a manner that tells the reader how the nurses and their various hospitals fit into the bigger scheme of the war. The nurses come alive through their narration, putting a very human face on horrific living and working conditions as their units keep close to the combatants. The portion of the book dealing with the nurses' struggles on the Anzio beachhead brings into sharp focus their absolute dedication to their profession under the most extreme of circumstances. This book is exceptionally well researched, with numbers and types of casualties treated in the various theaters of war routinely given, clearly putting emphasis to the great magnitude of what was being accomplished. A number of excellent photographs throughout the text show quite graphically the dangers of front line nursing and hospitals, the faces of the primary narrators and the environments in which they labored. This book will be a wonderful companion to the other great histories of WWII and is highly recommended.

If history had been taught like this when I was in school, I might have become an historian instead of a nurse. AND IF I PERISH makes it very clear that history is alive with wonderful stories and heroes yet unsung. I thank Monahan and Neidel-Greenlee for writing a book that is meticulous in the facts it presents, and thoroughly enjoyable as a good read----a combination not often found in books dealing with historical subjects. I hope these two authors will grace us with many more books in the future. As for AND IF I PERISH, it should be designated a national treasure and read by every American. It belongs in every library and on the bookshelves of every home. Once I began reading, I could not put it down. Wonderful, Wonderful!

My mother was a nurse in the 95th Evacuation Hospital, one of the units featured in this book. Though she was not interviewed, she's the nurse on the left in the photo of two nurses and a doctor in the OR. They're wearing scrubs and she's got a mask on, but it's her! I thought I knew all of her stories inside and out, but reading this book I realized how humble she was in the telling. When I read about the hospital ship being bombed and the constant shelling at Anzio, the fact that she survived amazed me. I cried when I read about the 95th's tour of duty at Dachau Concentration Camp because I couldn't -- and still can't imagine -- what it must have been like. In recent years, the focus on WWII nurses' experiences has sharpened. My mother has been interviewed for newspaper articles and the archives in D.C. I don't think women have been given nearly enough credit for service in our nations' wars, but it's about time. This book could have been called Band of Sisters. To this day, my mother is uncomfortable with the label "hero," but she's mine. To "Smitty," "VJ," "Slem," and "Wells," I salute you.

My Mom was in the Army Nurse Corps in the EAME Theatre and received 4 Bronze Service Stars and 5 O/S Service bars during her military service. I was always interested to know what experiences she had, however she was reluctant to speak of those memories. After reading this book, I can understand why. "And If I Perish" is a great read to help one understand the dedication of the women of World War II and what they had to endure.

A thoroughly compelling work about the unsung and often forgotten heroines of WW II. This is truly a great book and will be remembered for its accurate and moving accounts of those who courageously and unselfishly served!

This book looks at the European theater of World War II from the prospective
of Army nurses and the hospitals that followed not far behind and sometimes
along with the fighting soldiers. I do not know exactly why but I learned so
much about World War II that I did not know before. Perhaps it is because I
identified with the hospital and medical environment. I spent my whole
career working in hospital maintenance and operations. I came to admire nurses
in the Veterans Administration Medical Centers for their knowledge and resorcefulness
and common sense. After reading this book, my admiration for the nursing profession
has increased even more. The book follows the lives of several nurses and also gives
a very enlightning overview of the whole war. The book is based on
completely footnoted research. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in history
or the medical and nursing profession. This book provides recognition for the vital
and very dangerous part nurses contributed to our winning World War II.

For way too long has this story been untold. What a great book!!! What a great Christmas/Hanukkah present to give to family and friends. If I had my way, every American would read AND IF I PERISH, as soon as possible. It makes clear in a very readible way that Americans owe their freedom not just to the men who fought in WWII, but to the thousands of women, who served on the frontlines in order to help bring our fathers, brothers, sons, nephews, and friends home safely. One scene that was particularly touching to me was when a young US Army nurse in Anzio, Italy is ordered to prepare the body of a sister Army nurse for burial following her death after German artillery shells fell on the hospital tents on the beach head. As she washes and dresses the body, the young Lieutenant talks to her friend and tells her how sorry she is, that they have to meet again like this. This scene is even more poignant in that it takes place in a large tent used as the hospital morgue and the young Lieutenant is literally surrounded by death. Army nurses are not usually the heros of books, but after reading AND IF I PERISH, I think they should be.

I loved this book. It is a powerful history of the dedicated women who risked their lives, experienced the emotional toll inflicted on participants in a war zone and whose efforts saved countless numbers of wounded soldiers. Many of them lost their lives or suffered the trauma of losing colleagues as well as the patients under their care. It is told from their perspective and in their own words, in many cases. It's time their contribution was recognized and assigned its proper place in the history and heroic stories of WWII.

I was expecting this book to be a dull read and having to force myself to turn the pages. However, after reading just the prologue, I was completely drawn into the storyline. Very well written! The authors have captured the essence of the lives, experiences and true character of these angels of mercy. These "ordinary" women and their stories will stay with you long after the last page is turned. An overall stunning tribute to these forgotten veterans of the Greatest Generation.