From Buyer Maryann Watkins
I admire women who buck the system, women who do what society tells them they can’t – or shouldn’t. And, as a high school teacher, I tell my female students they CAN do whatever they want. I also know, however, as a historian, that women in this country have always taken a back seat … and that the struggle for true equality continues to this day.
“Porcelain On Steel” is rich with inspirational stories of women who decided (for different reasons) to “invade” the all-male bastion of West Point. Their successes during those years at West Point and after thrilled me. But the treatment they received while at school (and sometimes during their Army commitment) angered me beyond belief. I knew of it, but reading it and attaching it to real women gave it a new dimension. And to think … the powers-that-be allowed that treatment to continue. They even encouraged it! I hope that the cadets who treated their fellow students this way feel some sort of shame.
Having said all that, I enjoyed the book and I hope to use it to inspire my female students whether they want a career as a military officer, doctor, lawyer, architect, U.S. Senator.
I found “Porcelain On Steel” to be a bit cumbersome at times … way too much detail about military units, etc. and I skimmed those parts. The REAL story is about the women and not which unit is attached to which command.
All in all … my hats off to these women and all women who dare to be who they are!
