The life of the enlisted woman is poorly understood by virtually all the "authorities". Misogyny and misplaced feminist analysis have left enlisted women the scapegoats of a debate over their participation in the armed forces. Dr. Stiehm has presented the reality of women's enlisted life, although the passage of time has dated the information somewhat. This is a work devoid of the jingoism that taints so much of the discussion of women in the military. It is fundamental to any serious military historian and certainly to the shelf of military women and men.

There is no other publicly available work that presents a focus on the "real world" of enlisted women, a world apart from that of the officer.

This book is phenomenal. As a woman who served in the 82nd Airborne division, this book rings true for me and helps me put my own thoughts about my time served into perspective. There should be a lot more books of this caliber on the market.