An Unladylike Profession, Chris Dubbs
An Unladylike Profession, Chris Dubbs
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

An Unladylike Profession
American Women War Correspondents in World War I

Author: Chris Dubbs, Judy Woodruff

Narrator: Bernadette Dunne

Unabridged: 10 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/01/2020

Synopsis

When World War I began, war reporting was a thoroughly masculine bastion of journalism. But that did not stop dozens of women reporters from stepping into the breach, defying gender norms and official restrictions to establish roles for themselves—and to write new kinds of narratives about women and war.Chris Dubbs tells the fascinating stories of Edith Wharton, Nellie Bly, and more than thirty other American women who worked as war reporters. As Dubbs shows, stories by these journalists brought in women from the periphery of war and made them active participants—fully engaged and equally heroic, if bearing different burdens and making different sacrifices. Women journalists traveled from belligerent capitals to the front lines to report on the conflict. But their experiences also brought them into contact with social transformations, political unrest, labor conditions, campaigns for women’s rights, and the rise of revolutionary socialism.An eye-opening look at women’s war reporting, An Unladylike Profession is a portrait of a sisterhood from the guns of August to the corridors of Versailles.

About Chris Dubbs

Chris Dubbs is a military historian living in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and has worked as a newspaper journalist, editor, and publisher. He is the author of numerous books, including American Journalists in the Great War: Rewriting the Rules of Reporting (Nebraska, 2017) and America’s U-Boats: Terror Trophies of World War I (Nebraska, 2014).

About Bernadette Dunne

Bernadette Dunne is the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Audie Award. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and the Studio Theater in Washington, DC, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and off Broadway.

Reviews

Goodreads review by D. B. Guin on May 12, 2020

This as an interesting look at World War I through the eyes of the female war correspondents that covered it. Most of them I had never heard of (with the minor exception of Nellie Bly, who only featured briefly) but I ended the book feeling the desperate urge to strike off, somehow, into the unknown......more

Goodreads review by Clare on September 01, 2020

This is a rounded, readable and riveting book, following many female and some male journalists through the course of WW1 and its immediate aftermath. While most of the women are American, we also meet some British ladies; one who was closer to the scene when the war broke out and headed straight for......more

Goodreads review by Narsku on January 23, 2022

More a series of anecdotes than a coherent narrative, but an interesting piece of WWI history/storytelling nonetheless.......more

Goodreads review by Michelle on January 06, 2021

An Unladylike Profession offers a fascinating look into the ever growing field of books on women and war. Chris Dubbs tackles the difficulties and hardships of women trying to cover the First World War and the Russian Revolution, a most unladylike profession. Not wanted by the packs of male reporter......more

Goodreads review by Kathy KS on August 09, 2020

I learned a lot of new things reading this work; not just about women war correspondents, but history of the world in the period from about 1914-1919. My undergrad degree was in History/Political Science, but the 20th century as history wasn't taught much during the 70s. Yes, I remember the Archduke......more

Quotes

“An Unladylike Profession jumps into the trenches with the women reporters of World War I—groundbreaking journalists who explained the war to readers in the US, and who shared stories from the war’s brutal aftermath.” Foreword Reviews

“Dubbs delivers a rousing narrative of adventurous women, passionate about their careers, who broke free from oppressive gender norms to accomplish their goals.” Booklist

“Readers will be inspired by the nearly unimaginable obstacles these journalists overcame to perform their jobs with flair. A welcome history suitable for World War I aficionados and budding journalists.” Kirkus Reviews (starred reviews)

“Dubbs tells his story with an unerring eye for unforgettable anecdotes and dramatic situations, nicely balanced by careful attention to historical background. He is a master at distilling complex historical information into readable and intelligent works for an audience of academics and non-academics alike.” Steven Trout, author of On the Battlefield of Memory

“This superbly written book brings to life the achievements and personalities of almost three dozen women who challenged conventions and sometimes risked their lives to report on the First World War. Each woman’s story is unique, and all of them are compelling.” Edward G. Lengel, author of Never in Finer Company

“With this, his third book about World War I reporters, Dubbs has become the authority in this field. From the perspective of both the history of World War I and the history of journalism, this book offers much new information and many new insights.” Ron van Dopperen, coauthor of American Cinematographers in the Great War, 1914–1918

“With a host of wonderful stories, Dubbs shakes the dust of history off these women, restoring them to their rightful place in the history of World War I journalism. Delightful and illuminating.” John-Daniel Kelley, coeditor of The AEF in Print

Awards

  • AudioFile Earphones Award
Add to Cart
Add to Wish List