Moore has an eye for a telling detail and a nose for a good character ... Meticulously researched, written with élan and wit, Moore’s account comes at just the right time ... No Man’s Land reminds us that people can rise to an occasion, that the biggest advances — for medicine, for humanity — can come during the toughest times, as a result of the toughest times. It reminds us that great courage and great ingenuity are possible even when the world feels very dark.
Based on diaries, correspondence and newspaper accounts, it’s an absorbing and powerful narrative of how two determined women used the crisis of war to create an opportunity to accomplish goals that they couldn’t achieve in peacetime ... Ms. Moore has an eye for detail that brings her story to life ... What did these two women, who had faced so much hostility and sexism in the course of their careers, think of men? No Man’s Land doesn’t fully answer that question beyond noting that their exposure to the valor and suffering of the young soldiers they treated helped them see men’s best side. It also relates how they advised a young doctor in their employ not to marry but instead to focus exclusively on her work.
In addition to being a remarkable history of the achievements of Drs. Murray and Anderson, this is a moving and harrowing history of World War I ... Moore’s skill as a writer delivers the story of these women and the history of the war with exceptional power, laying out a compelling combination of casualty statistics and individual human stories ... This is history worth knowing and a book worth reading; it is a story of the triumph of the human spirit.
... a marvelous book ... Moore researched her subject thoroughly, scouring old newspapers, letters, diaries and oral histories to pluck details to build a compelling narrative.
This well-researched, well-written story makes a strong case for how British suffering during the Great War would have been even worse if not for the heroic female physicians who previously were allowed to operate only on women and children ... Moore provides fresh insights by viewing WWI via hospitals, not battlefields, and by focusing on female physicians, not male soldiers.
... a crisp, novelistic portrait ... Drawing on diaries, letters, and newspaper accounts, Moore narrates with verve and precision, highlighting the pressures and obstacles these women and their staff faced. Readers interested in medical, military, and women’s histories will savor this sterling account.
Drawing on rich archival material, including letters and memoirs, London-based journalist Moore crafts a compelling history of the challenges faced by women doctors in the early years of the last century ... An absorbing history of courage and carnage.
