So Proudly They Served: America (First Books--World War II) [Library Binding]

Madelyn Klein Anderson (Author)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 64 pages
• Publisher: Franklin Watts (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 053120197X
• ISBN-13: 978-0531201978
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,502,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disastrously written and apparently not edited AT ALL, July 9, 2009

By 

Jon Jackson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: So Proudly They Served: America (First Books--World War II) (Library Binding)

This little bit of "juvenile literature" only deserves the first half of that title. First lines: "It was 1869. The War Between the States was dividing and devastating the United States of America." Um...really? Four YEARS after it ended, a woman signed up for combat? I could understand the odd error, but to get that fact wrong in the first line of the book is a bit much.

It doesn't get much better as you read further, although the weirdness is due more to thickly-crayoned bias rather than glaring historical error. According to Anderson, the sole mission of the United States military was to oppress, slander, harass and otherwise make life difficult for women servicemembers--particularly women of color. It's amazing our forces found time to fight at all, what with all the oppressing they had to do. I guess they got up extra-early to get it all done. Good thing the women--whose ovaries apparently produced extra nobility of character--kept enlisting, so they could rise above it all.

To make the case that the military is overwhelmingly preoccupied with keeping women down, Anderson even cites the factoid that "Star Trek: The Next Generation" characters call commanding officers "Sir", even if the officers in question are female. I'm not sure what a PC work of humanist fantasy has to do with women's roles in the military, but this little rabbit chase doesn't help Anderson's argument.

There is no denying that women have for generations performed a valuable and much-needed function in the armed forces. But this sophomoric, ham-handed smear job is neither necessary nor balanced, and it doesn't serve anyone well. Interestingly, the office of Chuck Schumer is credited with having provided research assistance. That explains a good deal.