Member Reviews

This is Molly Merryman’s first book. Clipped Wings was first published in 2008. A revised edition was released in 2020. It is the 78th book I completed reading in 2023.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this book as G.

This book is about the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) of WWII. The book discusses the 1000+ pilots who served in the WASPs between September 1942 and December 1944. The women who joined the WASPs had been led to believe that they would eventually be made part of the US Army Air Force.

The WASPs were treated poorly by the government. They received low pay and had to provide for their own room, board, and uniforms. Their service record was exceptional. Political pressure forced the disbandment of the WASPs rather than their incorporation into the Air Force.

I spent 6 hours reading this 277-page WWII history. I was disappointed in this book. I expected to read about the individuals in the WASPs and some of their missions. While there was some of that, the majority of the book dealt with the politics of the time and the struggle for recognition in the years following the war. It is more a book about women’s issues than WWII history. I do like the chosen cover art. I give this book a rating of 2 out of 5.

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This book covers such an important part of women's history - and one that's often overlooked. Merryman clearly did a lot of research, and really brings history to life in this book. The women covered were truly amazing, and absolutely deserve recognition for all they did and the barriers they broke. It's sad to think how little has changed, but nice to know that their story is finally being told. Highly recommend for anyone interested in history!

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An intriguing history of women pilots in WW2. I enjoyed this very much.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

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God, I wanted to enjoy this. I've loved learning about women in WWII since I was a kid and this wasn't awful, it just...wasn't too much of my personal taste? It was too straight forward, only the facts for me. Which, isn't a bad thing! It's just not my personal taste. I did like the updated cover and the added information, but overall it was just hard to focus for me.

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