Mari K. Eder

Where to start? This was a book club read, but I just couldn’t finish it even though I hate to break our agreement to read each and every book. There are so many ways this could have been a better book. But what were the reasons it wasn’t worth finishing?

The writing style was clunky and more like a boring history book than a page -turning description of brave women who served during World War II. Their inspirational stories should have been heart-thumping and kept me on the edge of my seat. Instead the essays soon became repetitive and formulaic.

In fact, the profiles seemed more like research summaries with notes intended as preparation for writing a real book, one each featuring the 15 women. Each could have been the jumping off point for a story based on every individual woman. There are several books’ worth of stories here. I have even read a historical fiction novel about Mary Taylor, one of the women profiled in this book. If you want to read an exciting and realistic account of Mary’s story, read "When We Were Young & Brave" by Hazel Gaynor.

The profiles here promised to be “untold stories of WWII’s female heroes.” Many of these women are well-known and, like Mary Taylor, have already had books written about them. I would bet those books are better than this one.

I was also offended by the term “Girls” in the title. These are stories of women who often had to fight against prejudice, discrimination, and sexism, so the last thing they need is to be called “girls” by a female author, no less! The title was from a quote by actress Alex Borstein, recounting the story of her grandmother who stepped out of line when about to be shot during WWII. And Alex concludes by saying: “So step out of line, ladies. Step out of line!” Did you notice it was “ladies” not “girls”?

Sadly this book had a lot of potential, and maybe in the hands of a better writer, it would have been a better read. But I can’t recommend it.… (altro)

The Girls Who Fought Crime explores the history of women in the New York City police department largely through the life of one female officer, Mae Foley. This account presents Mae as a larger-than-life character who bent the world to her will. It seems that there were few people, men or women, who could say “no” to Mae when she had her mind set on something.

Mae’s voice and the voices of other women who served alongside her add value to 20th century women’s history. I can’t wholeheartedly recommend this work due to the liberties the author seems to have taken in the telling of Mae’s story. She adds colorful details that no one could possibly know unless Mae had kept a detailed diary or wrote about the conversation in a letter. For instance, the author quotes a conversation that Mae had with her husband John:

”Hmm.” John was reading the newspaper. “Says here there’s a Liberty Loan parade coming up on October 25. They have a real German U-boat in the parade. Now that ought to be a sight to see. You want to go, Mae? Take the girls?”

“John Henry Foley, are you listening to me? I’m talking about runaways.”

John tried again. “Okay, if you don’t want to go to the parade, the city is going to park the U-boat in Central Park. Right there in the Sheep Meadow. You can tour it if you buy war bonds. What do you think?” John looked up, made eye contact. It was a mistake.

“Right there in the Sheep Meadow? John, there are young girls out there right now, far from home and getting into trouble.” Mae stomped her foot for emphasis. As a parent, she knew how to talk to the excitable young girls who thought their trip to New York was all a big adventure. In the back of her mind in every encounter was the thought of her own two girls at home. “What would you do if Florence tried something like this?”

John got the message. He folded the newspaper and looked up.

What source does the author have for this conversation? How does she know that John read this article in the newspaper and that he had a conversation with Mae about it? How does she know that Mae “stomped her foot for emphasis?” How does she know when John looked up at Mae, and when he folded the newspaper? There are no sources referenced for this conversation, so I can only conclude that the author embellished the narrative. This type of technique is used in creative nonfiction, which is the genre that best fits this work. Perhaps creative nonfiction is the best the author could do given the dearth of records documenting the early years of the NYPD. This book gives readers a glimpse of what life might have been like for a woman police officer in the NYPD in the first half of the 20th century. However, it will frustrate readers who want to go beyond feelings to facts.… (altro)

The title of this book misleads a bit because it really is the story of one woman in context. The loss of many NYPD records which lie at the bottom of a river somewhat hampered the story. The museum closure in 2019 also hampered the search for information. The author did piece together the story of Mae Foley, one of the early women to serve and protect on the NYPD. While we know a little of what she encountered, I know there are many more stories that were not uncovered through available sources which would have given more insight into her work. We see as much of the real life of the woman as we do her police life--her concern for her children, her love of travel, her love of Broadway and film, etc. We learn of one undercover operation in which she engaged during the war years that she very much disliked, but I'm sure this is one that she talked about with her family after the war. She retired at age 57, having served for 27 years. One other theme in the book is the inequity between men and women in the NYPD, particularly in pay, but also in the opportunities offered to them. Even in 2020, women only comprise 20% of the force. I would have liked to know more of Mae's work because I feel we heard very few details of "fighting crime" and more about NYPD politics.… (altro)