This is a great book that shares the true story of a girls' basketball team from the 1930s. A good read for fans of basketball and history.

I got bogged down with all the basket ball information as I have minimal knowledge of the topic and little desire to know more, but I did enjoy learning about the women's journeys and was glad to recommend it on BookBrowse.

During the Great Depression, opportunities were few especially if you were a girl in rural Oklahoma. A group of girls who happened to be talented basketball players had the chance to get a free college education, raise the spirits in rural OK, and show the country that women could play sports in a competitive atmosphere. This non-fiction book follows the girls as they win the AAU national championship, even defeating the team whose star player was Babe Didrikson!

I am NOT a basketball fan, so I admit that I read quickly over the game recaps, but the personal stories of these girls and the historical context made this book a wonderful read. I learned so much about life in southern OK and northern TX in the 1930s! The author carefully researched the story. Through her connections with the coach, she was able to interview the surviving players and take a look at their personal scrapbooks and souvenirs. She writes their stories in a manner that rivals a good fiction story. Who knew that there was an organization dedicated to keeping girls/women from participating in competitive sport -- led by President Hoover's wife?! So fun, suspenseful, and filled with personal anecdotes that bring the story alive. A great read for history and basketball fans alike.

I loved this, it was the perfect read while I was flying to Atlanta for my college reunion. I learned a lot about basketball and I just want to see this as a movie!

In the style of "A League of Our Own," this is the story of a basketball team in the hardscrabble days of the Depression and the Dust Bowl that saves young women from poverty and sexist barriers because they have athletic skills. It is also the story of a small a small church sponsored Oklahoma college dedicated to the education and "civilization"of Native Americans; Driven by their coach (the book is written by Coach Babb's grandniece), it inspires in the way of other stories of underdogs who gain prestige and a step out of difficult circumstances with the help of strong-willed people behind them and inner strength and drive.

Dust Bowl Girls falls right in my wheelhouse - sports, non-fiction, women being kick ass (or should I say shooting hoops?) It is engaging, informative (maybe sometime a little more so than necessary) and a great depiction of a place and time in our past.

As soon as I saw Dust Bowl Girls, I knew I had to request it. My reasoning was two-fold, and I suspect that there are many who may have requested it for the same reasons I did:

1. I love basketball and played for years. March Madness is the greatest time of year.

2. A League of Their Own is one of my favorite movies and this seemed to be in a similar vein

I was not disappointed. Once I started reading, I could not stop. I only wish I had read this one a year ago, back when I first got it.

Dust Bowl Girls tells the story of the women's basketball team from Oklahoma Presbyterian College in Durant, Oklahoma in 1931. We learn about Sam Babb, their coach, who traveled back and forth all over Oklahoma to recruit women to play for OPC. The women were given the opportunity to not only play the sport they loved, but do also get a college education - something of high value in the midst of terrible suffering with farmers losing harvests, banks closing down, and families barely making ends met. He offered these young women a chance to change their fate and many took him up on the chance. Before Babb came into their lives, most of the girls were working on their family farms, playing basketball on make-shift dirt courts, helping out their family any way they could. College was certainly out of the question for most, as there was no money to pay for such a luxury - especially in a time where so many farms were struggling as it was and the loss of crops in one season could mean losing everything else as a result. There were several girls though, who despite taking the chance, were simply not up to the challenge once they arrived on campus and practice started. One of the star players made an interesting observation about why she thought this was so.

"In fact, after much thought about the issue of so many girls quitting the team and going home, Lucille had decided the poorer the girl, the harder she worked. All the poorest girls were still there" (38%).

The author, Lydia Reeder, is the perfect person to write such a book, as she is the great niece of head coach Sam Babb. Her writing style is smooth and engaging, and if you are one who enjoys their non-fiction to read like fiction, you may enjoy this. It is rare for me to get caught up in such non-fiction usually, because I am very much a "just the facts" person who does not like a lot of supposition. There were times for me when this was off-putting, especially when she was describing a daily run by one of the players. There is simply no way the thoughts and details could have been recorded anywhere or in such detail. There will be times of dramatic flair added, but not in a way that distracts from the actual story, or embellishes any of the accomplishments of this talented teams. And Reeder not only had access to stories passed down in her family, but scrapbooks, newspapers, interviews with the players, etc to rely on to paint a very vivid portrait of life for these young women. In fact some of those 'extras' that can make a book so special found their way into the pages - tons of team photos, newspaper articles about the season, and even a photo of a ticket stub from one of the games. Those kinds of artifacts are wonderful additions and enhance the text. At the end the author also provides extensive notes explaining how she came by the information and how it all worked to bring this story to life.

In addition to the story of the 1931 team and their undefeated season, we are given information about the history of women's basketball in general, as well as certain aspects of Oklahoma's history - not least of which is the terrible legacy of the treatment of Native Americans there. The players, who several themselves had Native American ancestry in the not-so-distant past, were given the task of teaching younger Indian students table manners during meals.

While the story of this team and the many women who played for many different teams was enchanting, that was not the case for the entire country - including First Lady Lou Henry Hoover. I myself played basketball for many years, am still a fierce competitor in nearly every aspect of my life (truly, I can make almost anything into a competition). Hearing stories from my grandma about how in the 50s when she was in middle school and high school, the girls could only play half-court basketball because they weren't strong enough to play full-court baffled and angered me. Then to see that and more in this book, while I logically knew there were many who thought was an acceptable and appropriate way to think of women and sports, made me even angrier. Basketball was not considered an acceptable sport for young women to play. They were not physically, emotionally, mentally tough enough to do so. Malarkey, I say. They were instead encouraged to play tennis or golf - yawn. Instead of having competitive varsity teams, many schools basically had what amounted to play dates with other schools, which concluded with sharing milk and cookies. I mean, seriously? Give me a break. It was okay for young women to learn some athletic sills, but never to get too good at any single sport. I know of course that those attitudes today do not exist on the large scale they did then, but the backwardness of it all really grated on my nerves. Authorities at the time were so afraid that too much physical activity would eventually cause the young women to "turn into men". No joke, when it was discovered that more active women did not have regular menstrual cycles, there was a fear that the uterus would wither away altogether. The "Women's Division" was a massively annoying group of women, including the aforementioned Hoover, who were incredibly anti-feminist women who set the rules and if the AAU wanted to continued having female athletes, they had to compromise sometimes. This gaggle of women were so sure that the young ladies would not be able to stand the pressure of competition and the ones that did not would somehow become tomboys who lost their ability to be "ladylike".

All in all, this was such a wonderful read, even when I was shaking my fist at those who tried to limit or prohibit altogether women from playing basketball. I am forever grateful to these pioneering women who forged this path, allowing generations after them to come to know and love this game so dearly. Fantastic read, highly recommended.

Three stars: A well researched book that shares the thrilling account of a college women’s basketball team who never gave up.

Sam Babb is a determined man. He never lets his missing leg hold him back, and he is doesn’t let it slow him down as he sets out to recruit the best female basketball players in rural Oklahoma to attend Oklahoma Presbyterian College, playing basketball for him. This is the inspiring story of Coach Babb and his rag tag bunch of girls who didn’t let the narrow minded attitudes of some of the prevailing women in their time, who campaigned to eliminate women’s sports, stop them. This team, learned to work together, beating some fierce opponents on their way to glory.

What I Liked:
*Dust Bowl Girls is a well researched and fascinating story about one man’s determination and a bunch of girls who refused to let others tell them they couldn’t play basketball. This is an inspiring, true story that shows how far girls can go when they believe in each other. Girl Power.
*It is apparent that the author did an immense amount of research to bring this book to life. She incorporates so many personal details, and stories that shape the characters and the story.
*It was fascinating to me to see how these girls fought against some of the narrow minded attitudes of prominent women in this time who believed that girls should not participate in competitive sports. These girls were determined, smart, dedicated and out to prove they could win. I loved these fierce girls. I was amazed time and time again at their resourcefulness, they could drive buses, change tires, work on cars, farm, play basketball and do anything a man could do, and this was back in the thirties. *It was eye opening and inspiring to learn that the girls in my grandmothers’ generation were so tough and inspiring.
And The Not So Much:
*I wanted to read this book because I was hoping to learn more about the Dust Bowl Era. The title is misleading because the Dust Bowl is never even mentioned. The book occurs in the early part of 1930s culminating in 1933. The story occurs before the devastating events of the Dust Bowl. The Great Depression is in its early stages, it is mentioned and discussed somewhat, but it is only a minor mention. I was hoping to glean more about life during the Dust Bowl Era and Great Depression, sadly there is practically nothing.
*While I appreciated the author’s attention to detail and the amount of research, sometimes too much detail is included which takes away from the story. It also gets confusing as it jumps around from character to character and moves around in time.

The Dust Bowl Girls is an inspiring and informative read that shares the true story of a determined women’s basketball team in the early 1930s. I loved learning more about the lifestyle of the young women in this era, and how fierce and strong they were. I was disappointed that this book does not cover the Dust Bowl Era at all, the title is misleading. Still it is an interesting read, for anyone who wants to know more about what life was like for girls in the Depression Era.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

A solid non-fiction story that more people need to know about.

Similar to The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown and A League of Their Own. Offers a fascinating look at women in sports, gender expectations, and the physical/medical understanding of women's bodies during the Great Depression and the impact of the Great Depression in Oklahoma. Dust Bowl Girls will make an excellent book club selection and a great addition to high school library.

This is A League of Their Own if those ladies had played basketball, not baseball. However, it is more riveting because it happened years before the ladies were playing baseball during WWII. I loved reading these women's stories. The publishing world needs to shed more light on pioneering female athletes... on pioneering females in general! This book is a great addition to any collection.

Thoughts:
This book initially landed in my mailbox unsolicited. It sounded interesting but I was busy and knew I wouldn't get a chance to read it any time soon. But I did know someone who I knew would be interested in this one, so I put it in the hands of my brother-in-law the first chance I got. He coached girls basketball for a number of years, beginning just a year after girls started playing basketball in Nebraska. He has thoroughly enjoyed it, the history, the basketball, and the coaching. But I doubt he learned as much as I did from it. Because, although I knew that girls had been playing basketball in Iowa for years before they started playing in Nebraska, I still had no idea how long girls had been playing basketball in this country. Nor did I ever know why girls in Iowa had played the three-on-three, half court game they long played. I assumed, going in, that the Dust Bowl Girls were similar to the women who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II, a group of women who filled in for men when the need arose.

Wrong.

Women, it turns out, have been playing basketball since James Naismith invented the game. In their own yards, on the local playground, they hiked up their skirts and played like the boys. Almost as soon as women started playing, though, restrictions started being put on the ways they could play. Divided courts, no dribbling (yep, that was a rule for a time), and, in 1908, the AAU said women could not play basketball in public. The Women's Division of the National Amateur Athletic Federation worked to ban extramural games and tournaments as "too competitive" for women. Most competitive teams actually played for companies, not colleges.

In a time in our country when people were struggling just to find the money to feed themselves, college was not even a dream for most people. Into the lives of a group of young women came Sam Babb offering a free education and a chance to play basketball. Dozens of young women answered the call but life as a girls' basketball player wasn't easy (they had to practice at 4 a.m. in a gym that didn't even have the heat turned on until later in the day) and, eventually, Babb's team was winnowed down to the girls who most wanted to play. Girls from small towns and farms all over Oklahoma who were required, in addition to their studies and practice, to help teach the Native American children who also went to school on the same campus. Not only that, but in order to cover their costs, the team had to "barnstorm," playing games to earn money.

Reeder spends a lot of time early on giving readers Babb's own history. It felt like the focus of the book, the girls, had gotten away from Reeder and that she was falling into the nonfiction trap of giving readers all of the information she had uncovered in her research instead of sticking to the story she wanted to tell. Or as if Reeder had a particular interest in Babb. It turns out Babb was Reeder's great-uncle. You can hardly blame a girl for wanting readers to understand her particular gateway into this incredible story.

And it really is an incredible story, full of American history, sports history, women's history. Although Babb's team didn't end up playing for a gold medal in the Olympics, the book reminded me very much of Daniel James Brown's The Boys In The Boat - a group of unlikely athletes and a driven coach persevere against the odds and rise to the top. Only this time, it's a story we can use to show our daughters how women can do anything they want if they want it badly enough.

A great read any time but oh so appropriate for March, Women's History Month. The forgotten heroes are always of interest to me and this book did not disappoint. the struggles of these young women bring reality to a time period I have not studied in detail. Sports stories of any kind always draw readers in and this will be a great addition to school and public libraries.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.

This is a really interesting book. It tells the story of a women's college basketball team in the 1930s and its journey towards a championship. One really gets a feeling for the individual women. It also gives a history of Oklahoma and a lot of background about women's college basketball and women's sports in general in this era. I learned things I did not know. The book could do with a bit more editing which may occur before it is published.

Follow the plucky and talented, OPC Cardinals as they fight to win the AAU Women's basketball championship. Can this scrappy team of religious-school nobodies beat the bigger colleges and industry teams, particularly the Cyclones and all-star athlete Babe Didrikson?

Overall, it was okay. I definitely learned more about women's sports than I ever really wanted to know, and it made me have some general epiphanies about women's sports today. Think about it: why are we more focused on what a female athlete is wearing than how good she is? Where did our views on female athletes come from?

One of the quotes that stood out to me: "According to Hoover, girls should strive to become not stars but first-class all-around players because they were not 'pioneers enough to discover their own possibilities.' In other words, a girl shouldn't work too hard to get good at anything because by her very nature she didn't have, and would never develop, the courage, power and self-knowledge to succeed."

Happily, the courageous women of the early basketball leagues and other sports events were dead set on proving their naysayers wrong.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

What a great story! The perfect pick for book club.

A great book on a woman's basketball team in the 1930s and overcoming the odds. Along the lines of Boys in the Boat

An inspiring story of hard work, perseverance and opportunity during the years of the Great Depression. Young women are given the chance of a lifetime; a free college education in exchange for playing basketball for Oklahoma Presbyterian College. A very inspiring story.

During the Great Depression, many in the nation wanted anything that would give them hope and lift their spirts during that trying time. One of the more unlikely sources of that type of inspiration was a women’s basketball at the tiny school of Oklahoma Presbyterian College. The dreams of their coach, Sam Babb, and their story is captured in this well-written book by Lydia Reeder, the great niece of Coach Babb.

In the book, the reader will learn about the Cardinals’ star player Doll Harris and her teammates as they took their athletic gifts and despite the concerns from the Womens Division (led by the wife of President Herbert Hoover) about the health of female athletes, they practiced, won games and then won the 1932 AAU championship (there was no NCAA basketball tourney for men or women at that time).

There are also passages that describe the Depression-era economy of the time, some history of the area and the college as well as the many references to the scorn of women participating in non-feminine sports. At that time, it was acceptable for women to play sports that would not necessarily make them masculine, such as figure skating and tennis. But basketball was certainly one game that was supposed to be for the men.

One should also keep in mind that at this time the women’s game was a six-on-six sport in which three players for each team were on offense and defense and cannot cross the center court line. These sections that explain this attitude toward female athletes make this book one that anyone interested in women’s sports a must read. It is also recommended for readers who want an inspiring story about a team of determined young women out to show what they can accomplish.

I wish to thank Algonquin Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dust Bowl Girls by Lydia Reeder captures a moment - a season - in history in great detail. The connection I do not find in the book is with the individuals – players or coach – themselves. This one leaves with with an interesting bit of Oklahoma and basketball history I did not know about, but not a memorable narrative of people who will stay with me.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2017/02/dust-bowl-girls.html.

Reviewed for NetGalley