Publisher's Weekly Review
Former newspaper columnist Welch (The Things That Matter Most) presents a detailed biography of a World War II army nurse for whom death and fame came nearly simultaneously. Frances Slanger was a shy, bookish woman who worked tirelessly to care for wounded soldiers. In June 1944, she was one of the first nurses to wade ashore on Normandy beach. One night, she wrote a letter in praise of her American G.I. charges, which was published in the military newspaper, The Stars and Stripes. Hundreds of soldiers wrote to thank her for the letter, not knowing that she had been killed by enemy fire within hours of posting it. Welch carefully traces the major events of Slanger?s life: from her childhood in World War I Poland, where she suffered because she was Jewish, to her coming of age in Boston, where she decided, against her parents? wishes, to become a nurse so she could serve her adopted country and help stop the spread of Nazism in Europe. Thanks to her famous letter, Slanger received many posthumous honors, including having a warship named for her, but Welch?s biography is the first extended account of her life. The book is at its best when describing the conditions of the army field hospital where Slanger worked. It is less assured when recounting Slanger?s experiences before she entered the army, and the author?s conceit of switching back and forth between the two time periods is needlessly confusing. Nonetheless, Slanger?s life offers a stirring story of intense personal devotion and, despite its somewhat pedestrian prose, this book should be appreciated by WWII buffs, as well as those interested in women?s history. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Booklist Review
This is an account of the first American army nurse to die on the Normandy front. A few days before she was killed, she had written a letter to the Stars and Stripes, a tribute to the soldiers she had helped to live--and die. It began, They are brought in bloody, dirty, with the earth, mud, and grime, and most of them so tired. Somebody's brother, somebody's father, and somebody's son. The day after it was printed, she died when the Germans shelled the Forty-Fifth Field Hospital Unit. She never knew that she had stirred the hearts of thousands of soldiers and their families. Welch searched for the woman who had written that letter, helped by one of the few surviving nurses of the unit. In writing her story, he has also given us a picture of the Jewish neighborhoods of Boston in the 1920s and 1930s, nursing school and hospital work in the 1930s, and the training and responsibilities of army nurses at the front. This is not only a heartwarming story for all ages, but it is also especially recommended for young people. --Frieda Murray Copyright 2004 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Columnist Welch (The Things That Matter Most) was inspired to write this account of Frances Slanger, the first nurse killed in France after D-Day, when one of his columns sparked the reminiscences of his readers, one of whom was a personal friend of Slanger. Welch re-creates Slanger's life, from childhood in war-torn Poland and emigration via Ellis Island to her nursing career and decision to join the army in World War II. Slanger wrote a much-quoted letter to Stars and Stripes after the D-Day landings praising the GIs' courage; its publication coincided with her death and prompted a strong response in readers at home and in the service. On a historical and personal level, the story is fascinating, but the book is deeply flawed by Welch's overwrought prose and constant flashback framing of the chapters a heavyhanded approach the heartfelt tributes to Slanger and the World War II generation cannot overcome. Recommended only for collections of World War II studies. Elizabeth Morris, formerly with Otsego Dist. P.L., MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
