Rosie the Riveter Revisited: Women, the War, and Social Change (Meridian) - Softcover

Gluck, Sherna Berger

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452009111 ISBN 13: 9780452009110

Publisher: Plume, 1988

Synopsis

Book by Gluck, Sherna Berger

About this title

Review

When the United States entered World War II, the government put out a call for women to serve their country by going to work in the defense industry, a call that changed the lives of many American women. Rosie The Riveter Revisited comprises oral histories of ten women who worked in defense factories in southern California. Though patriotic duty was a rationalization for some, they all worked for economic reasons. Single, married, and divorced; African-American, Chicana, and caucasian; teenagers to middle-aged women, they incorporate family histories with personal opinions about their work, the war, and the societal attitudes of the time. These warm, spirited women were all affected by their war jobs and, though some were reluctant to acknowledge it, experienced personal transformation. For many it was the first time they worked on an equal basis with someone from a different ethnic background or the first time they were financially independent. For one woman this book was her only chance to talk about this chapter in her life; another wanted to make sure the housewife's story was heard. These jobs provided an opportunity, supported by society, for these women to expand their roles and images of themselves, even though the majority of them had to give up their jobs to men when the war ended. Rosie the Riveter Revisited sheds light on women whose lives and contributions have been barely acknowledged in many history books. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith

From Library Journal

The poster image of the blonde housewife working in a factory to help her soldier husband win World War II is dispelled by the 10 women (out of forty-five interviewed for an oral history project) who tell their stories here. Blacks and Latinas as well as whites, they entered industry, not only out of patriotism, but for economic opportunity. The experience changed their lives. They gained confidence as well as skills; their horizons broadened as they worked with people outside their own ethnic groups. War work was not an exception, but part of the occasionally interrupted continuum of their working lives. Her perceptive conclusion places their experience as part of the process of incremental change occurring from the 1930s through the war years and the much-maligned 1950s. This valuable new perspective is recommended for public and academic libraries. Mary Drake McFeely, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Athens
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Plume
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0452009111
• ISBN 13: 9780452009110
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1