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GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love Paperback – September 2, 2014

by Duncan Barrett (Author), Nuala Calvi (Author)

362 customer reviews

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For readers enchanted by the bestsellers The Astronaut Wives Club, The Girls of Atomic City, and Summer at Tiffany’s, an absorbing tale of romance and resilience—the true story of four British women who crossed the Atlantic for love, coming to America at the end of World War II to make a new life with the American servicemen they married.

The “friendly invasion” of Britain by over a million American G.I.s bewitched a generation of young women deprived of male company during the Second World War. With their exotic accents, smart uniforms, and aura of Hollywood glamour, the G.I.s easily conquered their hearts, leaving British boys fighting abroad green with envy. But for girls like Sylvia, Margaret, Gwendolyn, and even the skeptical Rae, American soldiers offered something even more tantalizing than chocolate, chewing gum, and nylon stockings: an escape route from Blitz-ravaged Britain, an opportunity for a new life in affluent, modern America.

Through the stories of these four women, G.I. Brides illuminates the experiences of war brides who found themselves in a foreign culture thousands of miles away from family and friends, with men they hardly knew. Some struggled with the isolation of life in rural America, or found their soldier less than heroic in civilian life. But most persevered, determined to turn their wartime romance into a lifelong love affair, and prove to those back home that a Hollywood ending of their own was possible.

G.I. Brides includes an eight-pages insert that features 45-black-and-white photos.

GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love

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Product Details

Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Original edition (September 2, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062328050
ISBN-13: 978-0062328052
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (362 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #107 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Immigrants
- #520 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Europe > Great Britain
- #883 in Books > History > World > Women in History

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Customer Reviews

362

4.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		51%
4 star		32%
3 star		11%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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Top Customer Reviews

Fascinating and true to life

By Jo Ann Graham VINE VOICE on June 1, 2014

Format: Paperback Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )

This is a can't put it down tale of four women from England who married four American GIs during and after World War 2. The women do not know each other. The book explains their coming to America and how they adapt to the completely new life and culture in a strange country. Some of the women knew little or nothing about their new husbands and married in the heat of war. They all met with some disappointment and some happy surprises in the life they expected to have as a new bride in America. Begun as a project to look into the background of a relative of one of the authors, the book grew into an enthralling tale of real life in all its joys and sorrows.

After reading the book in just two days (I couldn't put it down, it is fascinating) I passed it to my mother who is 90 years old and was born and raised in England. In her late teens and early 20s, she lived through the war in London and surrounding areas. She verified that the book is very accurate to real life in terms of the areas and conditions described. She also couldn't put the book down and loved reading about people who seem to come to life in your hands. Although she was not a war bride herself my mother was and remained friends with many woman who were war brides and truly enjoyed reading the stories of the four women in this book.

The authors are wonderful in the manner in which they spin this narrative. You really get to know the players and to care about their lives. You cannot help but respect the courage of women who left the only world they knew and ventured to a new land to join their new love and search for a new life. This is a fascinating and very enjoyable book.

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Tells The Stories Of Only Four Of The 60 War Brides Interviewed . . . .

By SundayAtDusk VINE VOICE on June 5, 2014

Format: Paperback Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )

GI Brides: The War-time Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love could have been and should have been much more than what it was; which was a novel type nonfiction book about four WWII war brides. In their acknowledgements, the authors stated they interviewed over 60 brides. Thus, why did their book concentrate on only four? Moreover, in the description on the back of the ARC, it is stated that most war brides "persevered, determined to turn their wartime romance into a lifelong love affair". But in the book itself, two of the four women divorced their GI husbands, because one husband was an alcoholic, the other a cheater. A third bride continued living with her gambling addicted husband, but they lived "separate lives" throughout most of their marriage. The fourth bride had a happy marriage, but contacted polio after coming to the United States!

In other words, the book obviously does not offer a balanced view of the British war brides who married American WWII soldiers. It also chopped up the stories of the four women, so the first chapter was on Sylvia, the second on Rae, the third on Margaret, the fourth on Gwendolyn, the fifth on Sylvia, the sixth on Rae, etc. Did the authors think doing that would make the stories seem longer, or more complex, or more suspenseful than they actually were? The stories are neither complex nor suspenseful. This book is a quick read. Reading all the chapters on one woman at a time makes it an even quicker read, and eliminates any confusion as to who is who and who did what. All of this is not to say the book is uninteresting or a waste of reading time. It is simply to say that the reader should not expect it to be more than what it is--a collection of short stories, written in a fictional way, about four British WWII war brides.

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A true depiction of a group of brave young women

By Book Addict VINE VOICE on July 20, 2014

Format: Paperback Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )

As the daughter of a war bride, I know first hand that the stories depicted in this book are real, even if unbelievable at times.

As my mother explained to me, when you are living through a war, emotions are heightened, every young man in a uniform looks great, and you develop an attitude of "live for today for tomorrow we may die." GI Brides definitely depicts that high energy attitude in following these four young English women.

Barrett and Calvi have done a credible job of portraying the era - one of rations, danger, high excitement - with the realities of leaving home and abandoning all of your family and everything about life you have taken for granted. Many young war brides were surprised and overwhelmed by America when they arrived. The streets were not paved of gold and this wasn't Hollywood.

I found the stories of the four main characters to be engaging if somewhat depressing. Only one of the four marriages worked out in the end. The brash young men in uniform didn't turn out exactly as they originally.appeared. I wonder what was the real percentage of war marriages that worked out? And I wonder if the stories were selected (since this is based on true events) were the most interesting or representative of this group of young women? That being said, it is still an engaging read and I highly recommend it.

However, I must say that the actual writing was less engaging, even boring at times. Very da da da DA. da da da DA. Not really great, maybe a 3.5 stars. And some inconsistencies (in this pre-published edition), such as one character is said to live on Beacon Hill in Boston, then later brings his bride to Baltimore. And, please, if you are discussing being in America, use American terminology.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

wonderful, romantic

These were some brave young women! What extraordinary lives they lived, wonderful, romantic, painful, scary, hard, blessed were they.

Published 17 days ago by celestesays

Four Stars

Good read

Published 29 days ago by Amazon Customer

... they would have wrote about a bride with a better American...

I wish they would have wrote about a bride with a better American experience.

Published 1 month ago by Edward A Tusa

I enjoyed the book

I enjoyed the book, after reading it I learned the stories were based on true stories, which made it even more enjoyable to me.

Published 1 month ago by Gene Stiles

Five Stars

loved it

Published 1 month ago by Susan Quinn

Sort of OK read

OK book.....actually a bit tiresome after a while

Published 1 month ago by C. Gould

Four Stars

Very interesting. gave you something to think about that you usually wouldn't

Published 2 months ago by Darlene

Makes a person realize how hard life and Love were then

Interesting tales of true life. Makes a person realize how hard life and Love were then. But similar to our modern world.

Published 2 months ago by Donna R. Siegfried

Interesting read

Interesting read. I didn't know much about how many brides and relationships developed overseas during the war. Read more

Published 2 months ago by A. McGowan

Great stories of Four War Brides

I really enjoyed the book, although I felt the format was difficult to follow. For me, it would have been easier to read about each woman completely and then on to the next one. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Judy Link

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