I'm very glad the author wrote this book. Definitely a story that needed to be told. I do feel that it did stall at around 2/3 of the way through, however.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

** I was provided an electronic ARC by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I madly LOVE, LOVE, LOVED this book. There's such a wonderful current right now about bringing marginalize, minority voices throughout history more to the forefront and that is exactly what this book does: giving us this up close and personal view of the lives of female pilots in WWII. I have to admit before I saw the teaser for this book to request for arc I didn't know *ANY* women were pilots in WWII at all, which made me reach for this so fast, and I was not disappointed at all.

There are so many crazy, wild things that were so vastly different in the need to get more and more pilot after Pearl Harbor, that changed entirely what was consider "pilot training" before you were throw out into the sky fight/defend for America, that looks nothing like what it is required to get your license now. I love how many women this ended up being about, and touching on, so it felt like a patchwork of deep detail and it's made me want to do even more research into these women and those like them.

The Women with Silver Wings uncovers the history of women who flew aircraft for the military during WW II. Landdeck makes a strong case for highlighting this history, which has gotten little attention by historians. These women's contributions have been overlooked, and a book like this is long overdue. Landdeck tells the story of these women through personal anecdotes that humanize them and makes for an entertaining read. One element that shines through is how much they were underestimated, especially by a military establishment that let them train male pilots but would not let them anywhere near the battlefield itself.

I grew up in a family of veterans and World War II buffs. I remember learning about the WASP ladies and how incredible they were. What I didn't know, and what no one talks about, is the fight these women undertook for decades to be recognized for the blood, sweat, and tears that they shed in service of our country. This book, is their story.

The Women with Silver Wings begins with the achievements of women in aviation history. It moves into the spark of the idea to help the war effort. What if female pilots ferried planes to our bases as they came off the production line, freeing up the male pilots to fight overseas? And the beginning of the WASP program was born.

What I was surprised to learned through this book was that these women were never considered part of the military during the war. They never received the benefits the male pilots were granted. The ladies of WASP fought for several decades, most of them were in their 50's and 60's when they were finally recognized as having served in the military during WW2. But that part isn't taught in school.

These women were absolutely tough and gutsy and fearless. The book says it best, "The WASPs' collective achievement had been remarkable. By December 1944, 1,102 women were wearing silver wings. They had flown more than seventy-seven different types of planes and covered over 60 million miles. They had served as test pilots, flown personal, and trained ground gunners to find planes as they strafed them. With the exception of combat flying, the women were doing every single type of assignment their male counterparts performed. Thirty-eight of them had given their lives"

I think Landdeck did a great job thoroughly researching every detail and pulling it together in a timeline that is easy to understand. One of my favorite parts of this book sums up what these women did and gives us a glimpse into their accomplishments as women and as warriors for our country.

"The prevailing wisdom was that the women were no longer needed because the men would be coming home soon. But what no one seemed to remember was that the WASP had been vital to ending the war in the first place. They had released 1,102 men to fly in combat. They had trained men on the ground and in the air to find and fire at planes. They had taught men how to fly trainers and how not to be afraid to fly temperamental bombers. They had test-flown planes after repairs. They had proven, without a doubt, that women could be counted on as pilots, whatever the job, whatever the emergency. They had all played a part in winning the war."

I would recommend this to every WW2 history enthusiast. It would also make a great book for school history projects and book reports for the middle grades and up. Happy reading! 📚

*ARC received from Netgalley

Landdeck presents a start to finish history of the WASPs, from the beginnings of the women crucial to its formation until the last of the featured women passed. The start of the narrative, which told of the women who participated in the pre-war air races reminded me of Keith O’Brien’s Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History. Stories of the war years that were true in this work had been reimagined in fiction in Sherry Smith’s Flygirl and Natalie Salazar’s The Flight Girls. Shown throughout are the struggles the women faced their male counterparts did not, ranging from attempts to restrict flights to not being considered official military to having to fight for veteran status decades later. Also strongly depicted was just how close the women were tied together, not just during the training and war years, but also after. As a whole, this is the first broad history of the WASPs in decades and it addresses topics previous books I’ve read had not as they focused on just the war years with only hints of what came before and after.

4/5 stars - I learned so much from this book and, considering the topic, it didn't read like a textbook. This had an almost fiction feel to it with how it was written. If you love history, aviation, and some badass women, then you need to read this! I've already bought a copy for my best friend, as she is a commercial pilot and will soon fly the C-130 planes for the military.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review

I don't usually cry during nonfiction books. (Or any book, for that matter.) So when the last chapters of this book got to me, that meant something.

The Women with Silver Wings follows the inception, enactment, and disbandment of the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) of WWII. But unlike some nonfiction about WWII that I've read, this book didn't just list names and places. These women felt painfully human. I cheered for their victories and mourned their losses.

In addition to being amazingly researched, you can tell the care that Landdeck put into this book. While I seethed at times, especially in regards to the sexism and roadblocks the WASPs faced along the way, I enjoyed the book. (I do have to say it is sad how white the story is - though that is unfortunately the fault of the time period and the military and not of the author.)

These forgotten heroes deserve their day. I hope that with this book, that day has come.

I absolutely loved this book! Often times when you read a non-fiction book with multiple characters it can be difficult to remember who is who, but this book made it easy and you feel like you know these women by the end of the book. You can tell this book was a labor of love for the author based on the detail and care of the writing. I found myself smiling and doing a little cheer when the women would have successes and saddened by the difficulties they faced, of which there were many. I haven't ready anything else on the WASP's, but I did really enjoy Fly Girls by Keith O'Brien, so any fans of that book would surely enjoy that one as well and vice versa.

The Women with Silver Wings is a well written and true history of the female Airforce service pilots (WASPs/WAFS) serving during WW2. Released 21st April 2020 by Crown Publishing, it's 448 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a meticulously researched and annotated history of the WASPs which includes photographs and documents. As a work of nonfiction, I found it readable and worthwhile. The author is adept at bringing the stories of the women to life and I found these tantalizing glimpses of their lives before and after their service to the war effort absolutely riveting. I hadn't heard much about what their service entailed or how it took until 1977 for most of them to be recognized and awarded the status their service deserved.

In addition to the meticulous research and writing, the book is comprehensively annotated with reference notes and documents for further reading. Many of the notes have links to web resources for more information. This would make a superlative selection for relevant classroom study in history or allied subjects including gender studies and women's history.

I found the in memoriam list of the names of the 38 women who lost their lives in service very touching. It was a nice addition to the book.

Five stars. Well worth a look.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Well written account focusing on a few of the women who were at the forefront of of women pilots in America before and during WWII. If you are interested in finding out how military politics played in women pilots, you won't want to miss this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed herein are my own.

I thought I had read a lot about pioneering women, but of the women in the book about the World War II WASPS, Jacqueline Cochran is the only name with which I was familiar. I learned a lot and this non-fiction book kept me entertained to the very end.

World War began with a bomb. When Pearl Harbor was hit by Japanese bombs from above, it forced the United States to join both the German and the Japanese fronts. It also inspired American men, and women, to do their patriotic duty by serving in the military. Over a thousand female pilots joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. These Women with Silver Wings helped ferry planes around the country, test new planes, and train new military pilots freeing up more male pilots to fight the enemy. This is their story.

The author has a Ph.D. in history and a lifelong interest in flight. It shows in this well-researched story of the trials and tribulations of being a female pilot in a male-chauvinist world. In the 1940s, women were expected to put marriage and family above all else. Yet these brave women wanted to help the war effort with skills they already possessed.

But the stories included in the Women with Silver Wings are much more personal than a dry history textbook. It reads more like historical fiction with romance, adventure and conflict all present on its pages. If you enjoy memoirs or historical fiction, I believe you will enjoy this inspiring tale. 4 stars!

Thanks to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am not an avid non-fiction reader, but I found this new release absolutely fascinating. The Woman's Auxiliary Ferry Squadron or WAFS was developed during World War 2 to find women who were already certified pilots who could ferry airplanes (any that were used in the war) from either a base to a repair station or from the United States to Britain. This was still the early years of aviation and these ladies from all different life situations (housewives to university graduates) were independent, strong, and gutsy. They relieved men who could be then sent to the front lines. Their stories are riveting, and their life afterwards interesting. They were never given military status but considered civilian employees. It was not until 1977 when many were in their 80's and 90's when they finally received military status and given benefits that should have belonged to them from the beginning.

I highly recommend this book to any of those interested in World War 2 women's service, and the pictures that are at the beginning of each chapter highlight the women.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.

The WASP don’t get near enough attention for the role they played in WWII but The Women with Silver Wings does everything it can to rectify that oversight. Landdeck’s expertises on and love for these women comes through on each page. This will absolutely become part of my supplementary texts in my US History courses.

"The Women With Silver Wings" is a wonderful historical account of women service pilots during WWII. This is a book that will teach you about women and their role during WWII. I think any history buffs and those interested in the contributions of women through time will devour this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Every so often a book comes my way that is incredibly inspiring and will live long in my heart. This story about the daring and brave women airfare service pilots (WASP) is one of them. I admire the author’s meticulous research regarding these passionate and trailblazing aviators who flew during WWII and was riveted by the womens’ accomplishments, hurdles and setbacks. I loved the letters, photos and diaries which provide tremendous insight into personal histories. Their discrimination and having to fight so hard for veteran recognition, however, made me angry!

This debut by Author/Historian Landdeck (a licensed pilot) reports in her author notes that she knew most of the WASP women named in the book. A fascinating must-read.

WOW, a great story. Thanks much for the galley. Will post to online venues closer to publication and post link below..

Mining extensive interviews and archival research, Katherine Sharp Landdeck's The Women with Silver Wings is a moving tribute to the female aviators who served their country in the air during World War II. In cinematic detail, she tells the story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, an elite group of flyers that ferried warplanes to where they were needed most. The story is her life's work, she writes, and her passion for the subject is apparent in this, a very loving tribute to the women who served as civilians and finally got honored for being war veterans. It's a book that will appeal to fans of Hidden Figures, World War II history buffs, and lovers of women's history.

This was a very well written non fiction book. It was packed with history but it was not dry and boring as many non fiction books are. I believe this will be a book for a wide variety of readers...aviation buffs, people who are interested in women in aviation, WWII fans and also people who enjoy history of the United States. It was s very good book!’

For readers who love aviation history and feminist WW2 nonfiction, you will champion The Women with Silver Wings, coming to shelves this April 2020.

Learn about the women who ferried planes and trained during the war, never quite receiving the same honors as the men around them. I was stoked to see the Seven Sisters mentioned and found this obscured part of women's history fascinating.

Uncover the full review on The Uncorked Librarian here: https://theuncorkedlibrarian.com/april-2020-book-releases/

This book follows the fight for women to pilot planes during WWII, and the lives of the women themselves. The book also set up the rivalry between Nancy Love and Jacqueline Cochran, the two women who were the face of women pilots during the time. Throughout, the camaraderie between the women was featured, showing them at their best in difficult circumstances. After the women were discharged, the book seemed to bog down, I felt that it could have been wrapped up sooner. Overall, well worth reading.