First, I am interested in disability history but failed to do my due diligence reviewing the publisher before requesting this book. Do not buy anything from them. Ever.

That said, this is a decent book because it is the only one that I know of on the topic. America confronting its atrocious treatment of the disabled once people from the armed forces who were being presented as heroes were disabled is definitely a story. The roll of wheelchair basketball in furthering the cause is also a story. Ultimately, this one doesnt seem to know what it wants to be. At first it focuses on the West Coast. Then it mentions that there's this whole competing notion that developped independently on the East Coast. But not much else gets said there. Then he jumps the pond to cover the development of the Paralympics. Eventually Raegan and Bush Sr are the heroes because the ADA.

I can only assume that the author did not go with a more reputable press because they would have demanded more cohesion to this work. Disabled people and their allies know how much the ADA leaves to be desired, and that it is far from a cure all. The author does make references to the soldiers' "gallows humor," but doesnt explain very much. There is too much telling and too little showing to be a compelling work about the veterans. There is not enough of a narrative to be a history. So it ends up just meh.

Someone please write the book this should.have been?

As a lifelong paraplegic and wheelchair user, I was excited to get to read this book. It features some of the men who were paralyzed while serving in World War II, their physical therapists, and the doctors who believed that these men's lives were worth saving. Then later, those afflicted with Polio, and other disabilities.

In World War I, when a soldier was paralyzed, he was basically just left to die, typically from an infection, which meant these guys SUFFERED, all because it was viewed that living life as a paraplegic wasn't worth it. Even President Garfield was treated this way.

You get a brief overview of each person's life and how they all intersect. You hear about the horrible treatment of the now patients and how they returned to the States, usually with infections and bed sores. How the staff at the hospitals urged them to give wheelchair basketball a try and the boost in morale and the motivation it gave them to keep improving.

I liked how this book went beyond just basketball and talked about public perception of the disabled. The author talks about how there were ugly laws on the books and that random people would just walk up to them and told them things like "if you really believed in God, you could get up out of that chair and walk."

The book also talks about the development of the "Employ the Handicapped," movement as it was originally called, and the opening of the Bulova Watchmaking school that helped many disabled vets get jobs, and about the fight for disabled rights, getting accessible housing, the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Here is the problem I have with the book. It just ended in 1990.

There's nothing about the ongoing fight for equal access to buildings, how a lot of society still views disability in a negative way, and how there's not enough accessible housing. The ADA didn't "fix" disability rights in this country. It did improve it, which the author does at least state. I also am grateful that the author didn't turn the stories of those disabled athletes featured in the book into inspiration porn.

That said, despite the problems, I think that this is a good read for anyone to get a different viewpoint of life during the post World War II years, and I do recommend it.

My thanks to Center Street, author David Davis, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

WHEELS OF COURAGE - David Davis

I received this free to my kindle for the purpose of review. Outstanding and very insightful. The story of three young men who survived WWII but had injuries that changed their lives.

I enjoyed reading about the bravery of the men who despite their difficult circumstances fought to make a better life for other wheelchair users.

As a paraplegic myself I found myself with many of his early feelings of discouragement and depression but his determination to learn and help others was refreshing. Often times, injured people take a different path and also end up quite bitter and angry.

I enjoyed the book greatly and would recommend it for families to help children understand war, courage, helpfulness and challenge them to be the best they can be.

#Goodreads #Wheels of courage #Net Galley

historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture

Beginning with the humanity of each man in the sports, progressing through graphic descriptions of the inhumanity forced upon them by war, to the cultural ignorance and effective ostracism by their fellow Americans, this book goes on to describe their heroic efforts AFTER the war. The paramedical community did the best they could for the time, but it was each man's own determination that brought him through to refuse to be defeated. Together they organized team sports and the early incarnation of the Paralympic Games which includes amputees, accident sufferers, and those whose lives have been changed by diseases like polio, from countries around the world. This is a complex narrative of survival, resilience, and triumph for athletes, history buffs, military veterans, and people with and without disabilities, backed up by factual memories of the early pioneers of the movement. This is definitely a story of real bravery too long forgotten! Read it if you dare.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Center Street, a division of Hachette Book Group via NetGalley. Thank you!