In the Men's House [Paperback]

C. Barkalow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1992

One of the first female graduates from West Point shares some of the heat-of-the-moment entries from her journals to chronicle the pioneering achievements of the women who first successfully hurdled West Point's sex barrier. Reprint. K. NYT.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- In 1976, 118 young women entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. From Beast Barricks to command of her own company, Barkalow takes readers through life in the male-orientated military. Her four years at the Academy are described by way of her personal diary. The contempt shown to her by most of her male classmates and instructors makes readers respect her determination to continue. The rules, regulations, and traditions of West Point will fascinate them, especially as the Academy struggled to accommodate its new female cadets. With service academies now routinely admitting women, In the Men's House is a timely guide for any woman considering entering the military, especially by way of the gates of West Point.
- Katherine Fitch, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The author, a member of the first West Point class that admitted women, presents a vivid account of life at the academy and as an army officer. She describes the grueling physical training and merciless hazing practices, obstacles which only increased her determination to succeed. The military establishment is reluctant to accept women, she says, and the West Point routine does not allow a normal social life: support groups and male-female relationships are prevented by the rules against fraternization outside one's rank and the suspicion generated by close relationships with other women. This rigidly controlled environment prevents the thinking and analysis the institution is supposed to encourage in future leaders. Despite these problems, the author is a dedicated army officer who is proud to serve. She hopes to see improvement as more women choose military careers. Recommended for all collections.
- Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Berkley (May 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425132692
• ISBN-13: 978-0425132692
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,626,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting But Flawed Book, November 16, 2004

By 

Johnnie B. (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Men's House: An Inside Account of Life in the Army by One of West Point's First Female Graduates (Hardcover)

I had the pleasure of meeting Carol Barkalow back in the early 90s when she came to Fort Ord to brief my Brigade Commander. She gave me the impression of being a pretty switched on officer who really wanted to do her job and not obsess over this book she wrote. Kudos to her.

I found this story interesting but in the end unsatisfying. It is broken into three sections. The first portion chronicles the author's four years at West Point. The next delves into her experiences as an Air Defense Lieutenant in Germany and the final section looks at Barkalow's time as a commander of a Fort Lee, Virginia based truck company.

By far, the best section is the West Point chapter. Here we see the first female cadets and the institution come to grips with each other. Barkalow is very even handed. We see an old and esteemed institution trying to come to grips with its being forced to admit females into its ranks. All in all one gets the impression that most of the leaderships' actions to accomidate the new cadets was haphazard and sloppy......but normally well intended. And of course we see the backlash from males (mostly cadets) who couldnt come to terms with the change. This section is pure gold.

The next section is good but not near as good as the West Point chapter. Here we see newly commissioned Lieutenant Barkalow as she goes through her first duty assignments in an Air Defense Battalion. Mostly we see the norm; a fresh and inexperienced officer trying to learn the trade. Still, there are a few gender issues to look at. Some of which are kind of funny. A good example of this is Barkalow's Battalion Commander kissing her on the cheek upon her promotion to First Lieutenant.

The final section looks at Barkalow's tour as company commander of the Fort Lee Virginia based 57th Transportation Company. This final chapter is awful, mainly because it is poorly organized. The author will in one paragraph discuss a company field evaluation, jump into a rant about how unfair it is that female soldiers cant get free abortions on post in the very next paragraph then hop into a discussion by one of her commanders on leadership. Just too disjointed for me!

The book also includes a photograph section. While many of the photos are good choices, many are pointless. In particular, there are three pics of a Cadet Barkalow assisting the Delaware National Guard in training. I dont understand why she included these pictures as she does not mention this activity in the book at all! There is also a photo of a Lieutenant Barkalow accepting some sort of unit physical fitness award. Again, no mention of this in the story.

Finally, there is a fairly quiet but relentless advocacy of allowing females to serve in combat all through the book. This bothers me on many levels. First, Barkalow doesnt make the argument well. I would like to see a little more than "well, my friends think it would work!". Add to that, the author is somewhat of a postergirl for not allowing females in combat. As a cadet, she is still falling out of physical training runs in her final year! Add to that a diary exerpt of hers where she states she could not kill another human being unless it was in self defense. And then there is her fraternization with a subordinate in Germany. But the most important problem I have with this is that she was allowed to get away with it. Had she spoke out the other way, she almost certainly would have been cashiered soon after this book was published. Dont believe me? The author mentions and criticizes an article by author, Naval Academy grad and former Marine Jim Webb that called for not allowing females in the Naval academy. Mr. Webb was a civilian at the time he wrote the article so the Marines couldnt do much. However, Mr. Webb was unofficially banished from the academy until he was appointed Secretary of the Navy years later.

In the end, this is an important book for those considering issues surrounding women in military service. But its far from perfect!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Example of a Woman's Experience at West Point, February 5, 2002

By 

"bethanys_books" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Men's House (Paperback)

I read this book in 1990 while a cadet at West Point. I found CPT Carol Barkalow's experience to be somewhat similar to my own. It was a fairly good representation of what a woman would experience at the United States Military Academy, at Airborne Training and in the United States Army upon commissioning as an officer. I would recommend this book to a young woman (high school--15-21 years old) who was considering attending any of the United States Service Academies and I would practically mandate it for a woman who desires to go to the United States Military Academy at West Point. This book may also prove interesting for others who are interested in the military or in general leadership principles. Things have definitely changed at West Point these days but this book still portrays a very realistic view of what a female cadet would currently experience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A bit too sensationalized, March 12, 2010

By 

Morrison J. Fenner "fennerm" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In the Men's House (Hardcover)

I had heard bad things about this book several years ago from friends who were also graduates of West Point, so I read it myself to find out. I remember Barkalow from times in the hand to hand combat pits where she was teaching hand to hand at West Point to when she was stationed across the street in Germany. In my opinion, most of the things that she says that occurred to her at West Point because she is a woman are questionable. I do know that I had much of the same harassment at West Point as a male Cadet and had similar rough times as an Air Defense Lieutenant in Germany. It is a bit too sensationalized to be accurate in my opinion. Read Gail O'Sullivan's book (Tough As Nails) if you want a more accurate portrayal.