In the Men's House: An Inside Account of Life in the Army by One of West Point's First Female Graduates

by Carol Barkalow

Describes her life at the U.S. Military Academy, her struggles with a male-dominated institution, and the course of her Army career

Genres: Nonfiction

283 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1990

Reviews

[Mo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had heard bad things about this book several years ago from friends who were also graduates of West Point, so I read it myself to find out. I remember Barkalow from times in the hand to hand combat pits where she was teaching hand to hand at West Point to when she was stationed across the street in Germany. In my opinion, most of the things that she says that occurred to her at West Point because she is a woman are questionable. I do know that I had much of the same harassment at West Point as a male Cadet and had similar rough times as an Air Defense Lieutenant in Germany. It is a bit too sensationalized to be accurate in my opinion. Read Gail O'Sullivan's book (Tough As Nails) if you want a more accurate portrayal.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carol Barkalow gives her readers an inside look into what it was like entering West Point when women were first allowed to do so. Naturally there was a lot of push back from male members and people who didn’t know quite how to handle the changes. How do they handle barracks assignment? How do they handle uniforms? Deployment? Getting respect from people unaccustomed to female leadership? Being denied things due to gender?

[Anna Prest]

Happy I finally finished. I love memoirs! I’m glad I got some insight into what the services were like for women in the 80s… a different world for sure! Capt Barkalow helped pave the way for us and for that I’m grateful

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good memoir about Capt. Barkalow's time at West Point, after being the first female admitted to the elite military school