Women at War: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Conflicts [Hardcover]

James E., Jr. Wise (Author), Scott Baron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2006

Today, women in all U.S. military services are involved in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They serve as pilots and crewmen of assault helicopters, bombers, fighters, and transport planes, and are frequently engaged in firefights with enemy insurgents while guarding convoys, traveling in hostile territory, or performing military police duties. Like their male counterparts, they carry out their missions with determination and great courage. The advent of the insurgency war, which has no rear or front lines, has made the debate regarding women in combat irrelevant. In such a war zone, anyone can be killed or injured at any moment. The stories of these courageous women are told by James E. Wise and Scott Baron, who use a format similar to the one employed with such success in the book "Stars in Blue". The profiles of some forty women and their photographs are included. To record their stories, the authors conducted numerous personal interviews, and in every case Wise and Baron were struck by the women's extraordinary display of dedication to their mission and to the soldiers and sailors with whom they served. Because the service of women in the military has been under reported to date, most of the women included in this book will be unknown to readers and reveal another dimension to the service of women in the desert and the vital role they play in the armed forces. While the book's focus is on today's women in combat, it also reaches back to Vietnam, Korea, and World War II to offer selected stories of inspiring women who served at the "cusp of the spear" as they fought and died for their country.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James E. Wise Jr., a retired U.S. Navy captain and aviator, is the author or coauthor of many books, including U-505: The Final Journey. Scott Baron, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, is coauthor with Wise of International Stars at War.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 234 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (September 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591149398
• ISBN-13: 978-1591149392
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,318,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Women At War, September 24, 2007

By 

George W. Newport (Columbia, South Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Women at War: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Conflicts (Hardcover)

A very interesting book on womens role in our latest war with individual chapters devoted to individual women. I would put this book at recommended reading for most adults. It relates my experiences with the military to the women. It goes into how these women handle the experience of war and to cope with it. It also shows their relationships with fellow male soldiers and how they cope with a war time situation. The book covers how these women dealt the casualties in war.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authors did a wonderful job!, April 7, 2008

By 

Noonie Fortin (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women at War: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Conflicts (Hardcover)

Scott Baron and James E Wise, Jr. have put together a wonderful book profiling some of the women who have served our country. This 2006 Naval Institute Press book is well worth the read. They interviewed and covered women who served during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq from all branches of the military.

Statistics were provided such as during the Gulf War more than forty thousand women were deployed, fifteen killed and two became POWs. Some of these women received medals, some were wounded, some were POWs, some were deceased and yet the authors collected information from family, friends and military records about them.

One woman told the authors how the military treated her after she emerged from a coma. The military wanted her to sign discharge papers even while knowing she had a long road ahead of her filled with surgeries and rehabilitation.

Another woman spoke out about the subject of women in combat. She made sure to point out that women are indeed in combat and on the same roads as the men are. And yet another woman told about what it was like as a female to be boarding ships and looking for people, equipment, etc in a field where it is usually only men on the open seas.

A portion of this book covered the women who served during WW II especially those who were POWs during that war. Since so few people know that so many women were prisoners of the Japanese and one was captured by the Germans I was glad to see these women covered as well.

As a person who appreciates reading and learning more about our brave women who have served our country I truly liked this book. The authors did a wonderful job getting these women to open up and talk about their experiences. Everyone should read this book!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Other views, January 27, 2010

By 

Ruthy McG "Music Lover" (Colfax, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Women at War: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Conflicts (Hardcover)

These courageous women amaze me. If you were interested in this book you should read Women as Weapons of War: Iraq, Sex and the MediaThis book is eye opening. It made me see connections between the treatment of women soldiers in the U.S. military and women suicide bombers in the Middle East. And, the criticisms of the media coverage of the war is very interesting and persuasive.