Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #697417 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Customer Reviews

The women of the 1940's and war
I've heard of WWII all my life. Having arrived only a month and a day before Pearl Harbor I was a part of the war and it a part of me. People talked about it. Movies by the score were made about it. The songs I heard my parents playing were those of the 1940's. Yet, for whatever reason THE ORIGINALS made me truely realise what it was like for a whole country to be of one mind. The patriotism, the unselfishness, the adventure and the horror. It was all there seen through the eyes of these women. They were unique in their ability to fly. But they weren't unique in their desire to serve. And I doubt that we shall see the like of their generation again. Read this book and discover, or perhaps remember, an America we can all be proud of and women who showed our country they were the original "right stuff".

Ms. Rickman has written a gem
To begin...I love the sepia cover. Next, I like the disbursment of the photos throughout. No centerfold as in so many biographies, but intermittent treats. The WAFS history is written in both the view of the author and directly from the memory banks of the ladies. Their backgrounds and hometowns were certainly diverse. I got a kick out of Teresa James' colloquialisms (a goose pimple moment!)and the language of the times. This book is a "gotta read" for those interested in flying and a "must read" for those who love a good story, well told. Many thanks for the entertainment.

These women were definitely "originals"!
Journalist Sarah Byrn Rickman has done an excellent job documenting the achievements and triumphs of these courageous women pilots. The Originals is a fitting memorial to these individuals who served their country selflessly, bravely daring to break the boundaries of gender bias for all time.

Cindy Appel