Valiant Women in War and Exile: Thirty-Eight True Stories

Rating:
Summary: A collection of thirty-eight true stories
Review: Compiled and written by Sally Haton-Keeva (who spent fives years in research and interviewed sixty people), Valiant Women In War And Exile is a collection of thirty-eight true stories ranging from pre-World War I Europe to Central America in the 1980s. Women in combat, social workers in refugee camps, nuns, nurses, and a great many others share their personal tales and experiences of hardship, survival, strength, in these compelling accounts. Valiant Women In War And Exile is a strongly recommended addition to Women's Studies reading lists and library collections.

Rating:
Summary: Great content but needs better editing and scholarship.
Review: Some of the first hand narratives contained in "Valiant Women" are the stuff of great drama. Most leave you wanting to know more about the narrator, but this book doesn't give it to you. When was each piece written in respects to the incident(s)? Where was it originally included? Was it written, perhaps, exclusively for this volume? Where is the individual attribution, save for a very generalized "bibliography" at the end, which tells us very little. Again, some of these stories are almost overwhelming in their power (e.g. "Elsa Smuskevich", "Peter Forman", to name a few). These witnesses to history deserved far better editorial presentation.