World War II History Written by Women

While some parts of military history seem to be overrun by male writers, excellent books by women also chronicle this period.  I read three books chronicling WW2 history during the past year and they were all enlightening.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

3. Unbroken: A World War II Book of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption [2010] by Laura Hillenbrand [Available on Kindle and in other formats on Amazon and elsewhere].

Epic. How many times can that word be appropriately used to describe a book? A true story?  A life? this book is not only a fascinating multifaceted view into parts of Pacific WWII history, but also into the human condition, and into Louie's own journey through victory, despair, loss, hope, and redemption.

This book will make you feel all the emotions. ALL THE EMOTIONS. Anger. Happiness. Hate. Love. Hilarity. Despondence. This book is about evil, love, torture, redemption, death, and life...

More importantly, this book is about history, a period in human history so full of awfulness and daring and amazement, that it is almost impossible to fathom for those (like me) born long afterward.  However, gaining some small understanding of these major events is important to our understanding not only of modern history, but of the human condition in all its beauty and ugliness.

Every person should read this book. Yes, every person. Go. Read it. Now. You'll be glad you did, while also horrified by much of the events it describes. Read every word, including the footnotes, which contain some of the most horrifying and also some of the most beautiful details.

The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Hahn Beer

2. The Nazi Officer's Wife [2012] by Edit Hahn Beer [Available on Kindle and other formats on Amazon and elsewhere].

Edith tells a moving, horrible, touching, incredible story - her own. At times amazing and at times terrifying, her survival story of World War II, first in Austria and then Germany is well worth reading. I am afraid to say much more, lest I spoil the story for future readers. This, however, is not the stereotypical Jewish story of surviving the death camps miraculously. As is obvious from the book's title, it is a totally different sort of holocaust survival story but no less compelling and certainly more complex than a reader might think from just reading the title. Read it and ponder the good that can be found in bad people and the bad that can be found in good people, and all the shades between.

Helga: Growing Up in Hitler's Germany by Karen Truesdell Riehl

2. Helga: Growing Up in Hitler's Germany [2014] by Karen Truesdell Riehl [Available on Kindle for $0.99 and elsewhere].

This book contains a disturbing but enlightening narrative of a young girl growing up in Hitler's Germany and being taught to be a Hitler devotee. It's chilling but worth reading, if only to know what to avoid in our own time.

Go Forth and Read

So, go forth and read some women's history books, or books by women historians, or just books by women, period!