Switchboard Soldiers
Books | Fiction / Historical / 20th Century / World War I
4.1
Jennifer Chiaverini
From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini, a bold, revelatory novel about one of the great untold stories of World War I—the women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, who broke down gender barriers in the military and battled a pandemic as they helped lead the Allies to victory. “An eye-opening and detailed novel about remarkable female soldiers. . . Chiaverini weaves the intersecting threads of these brave women’s lives together, highlighting their deep sense of pride and duty.”—Kirkus Reviews In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe. He immediately found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. Pershing needed telephone operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and be utterly discreet, since the calls often conveyed classified information.At the time, nearly all well-trained American telephone operators were women—but women were not permitted to enlist, or even to vote in most states. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them.More than 7,600 women responded, including Grace Banker of New Jersey, a switchboard instructor with AT&T and an alumna of Barnard College; Marie Miossec, a Frenchwoman and aspiring opera singer; and Valerie DeSmedt, a twenty-year-old Pacific Telephone operator from Los Angeles, determined to strike a blow for her native Belgium.They were among the first women sworn into the U.S. Army under the Articles of War. The male soldiers they had replaced had needed one minute to connect each call. The switchboard soldiers could do it in ten seconds.Deployed throughout France, including near the front lines, the operators endured hardships and risked death or injury from gunfire, bombardments, and the Spanish Flu. Not all of them would survive. The women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps served with honor and played an essential role in achieving the Allied victory. Their story has never been the focus of a novel…until now.
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More Details:
Author
Jennifer Chiaverini
Pages
464
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2022-07-19
ISBN
0063080710 9780063080713
Community ReviewsSee all
"Learning about these first US female soldiers personally requested by General Pershing is a story that needs to be told. But the narrative gets bogged down in overly descriptive passages and the repetition of information that the reader already knows like reminding us over and over the strict rules of not repeating anything heard on phone exchanges. I ended up skipping through some of the descriptive passages, something I rarely do, in order to finish the book. "
DaRo reads
"Excellent historical novel. I love this author's detailed and authentic storytelling. Following the lives of three women who were part of the pioneering of women in the military was so interesting, especially learning that one of the characters was a real-life woman. The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was because of the length of the book. It could have been told a little more concisely without so many insignificant side characters. (It was hard to know who I was supposed to pay attention to and follow versus who would only be in the one chapter.) But thoroughly enjoyed and will be recommending!"
E F
Elizabeth Fordham
