Now available in paperbackWinner of the 2007 American Authors Association Golden Quill AwardWinner of the 2007 Military Writers Society of America Founder's AwardIn Iraq; the front lines are everywhere - and everywhere in Iraq; no matter what their job descriptions say; women in the U.S. military are fighting--more than 155;000 of them. A critical and commercial success in hardcover; Band of Sisters presents a dozen groundbreaking and often heart-wrenching stories of American women in combat in Iraq; such as the U.S.'s first female pilot to be shot down and survive; the military's first black female pilot in combat; a young turret gunner defending convoys; and a nurse struggling to save lives; including her own.
#2367257 in Books 2015-11-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .88 x 6.00l; .0 #File Name: 0811716651416 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Simply MagnificentBy Grant WaaraThis book started out as a geneology project. Warren Wilkinson discovered that his maternal great great grandfather Martin Farrell was a veteran of the 57th. Wilkinson did more digging. He discovered that a history of the 57th had been published by John Anderson; a former captain of the 57th. After several readings; Wilkinson was irked. He ended up discovering that Anderson's history was a highly sanitized version. No doubt Anderson was trying to spare veterans and their families of the less than savory aspects of the war. Freed from such restraint; Wilkinson embarked on a four year journey to find the real history of the 57th. The result was this work and it is a magnificent effort from beginning to end. Having done his research in chronological order; he ended up with over 1500 manuscript pages which also included a complete regimental roster of all who served with the 57th. Many Civil War books are deeply researched; but sometimes their authors lack skill with a pen. Not so with Wilkinson; his account of the 57th's first action in the Wilderness on May 6th is some of the most vivid battle writing you will ever encounter. As if that wasn't enough; his account of the Crater and the 57th's role in that fiasco is even better. In short; Wilkinson makes the war come alive. I was reminded of Bruce Catton's Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece; "A Stillness at Appomattox;" many times while reading. If anything; this book could be called the regimental version of the same story. With any luck; hopefully a university press will reprint this Civil War classic. Without doubt; this is one of the best regimental histories ever written. Whitman's absurd statement that "the real war will never get into the books;" is proved wrong by Wilkinson's magnificent book.
