AN UNLADYLIKE PROFESSION

In American Journalists in the Great War (2017), Dubbs barely mentioned the women reporters of World War I. This follow-up book is an impressive corrective.

The author explores the careers of nearly 40 courageous women who covered the war for newspapers, news syndicates, magazines, and other publications. Most of the principals will be unfamiliar to general readers, but their bylines were widespread from 1915 through 1919. Two of the most well-known names are the journalists who also found success as novelists: Edith Wharton, who worked for Scribner’s Magazine and the Saturday Evening Post; and Mary Roberts Rinehart, “America’s most popular mystery novelist when she traveled to Europe in 1915 to be a war correspondent.” Other recognizable names—at least to readers versed in the history of journalism—include Nellie Bly and Louise Bryant. In addition to the rich anecdotes and samplings of their reporting provided by Dubbs, period photographs enhance the engaging portrayal of wartime drama. Another strength of the book is the author's decision to focus not just on Western European countries, but also on the battlegrounds of Turkey, Armenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Russia. Of the newspapers and magazines hiring women to report about the war, the Saturday Evening Post was perhaps the most prominent and aggressive (and women-friendly), and Dubbs covers it appropriately. “While the Post’s coverage included the military, political, and economic components of war,” he writes, “its women correspondents showed…the impact on the home, family, and individual lives.” In her foreword, PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff admirably ties the reporting of women journalists currently covering global conflicts to the work of those during WWI: “Today’s intrepid female reporters stand on the shoulders of women who pioneered the role.” 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.