Reden an den Feind Book

The their title was slapped on without the authors' consent! Getting past this, Gellhorn and Cowles have written a thoroughly enjoyable, humorous play starring versions of themselves as female war correspondents covering WWII. I would call it a battle of the sexes but the guys don't stand a chance. The girls lead, the guys are fun, loveable followers The girls are smarter, braver and work harder to get the better stories. The guys sit around and mostly say stupid shit, like that the girls are getting access due to their sex appeal (maybe a bit, but they also work their butts off). I greatly admire Gellhorn and Cowles war reporting. This play is proof of their all-around genius. It was well received in London but, sadly, the US audience and critics didn't get it. It was too ambiguous (the girls like men and have sex lives but they also want careers without interference, imagine that?) and they weren't ready to laugh about war. The play holds up well over time.

A fellow male journalist mansplains to the Gellhorn character why she's receiving the cold shoulder from the British military guy in charge of the press when she arrives on the scene: "You've got to be more tolerant, Annabelle. The poor guy's been away from England for three years, fighting to protect womankind from the horrors of war. And then womankind walks in on him. He may as well have spared himself the trouble…." Annabelle replies: "If there's anything I really loathe, it's a woman protector."

The play and the British reviews also amusingly refer to Brits vs Yanks ways and habits, which I love. One reviewer "it is difficult to believe that none of the American characters chews gum."

Personal note on hackneyed stereotypes: If I read one more thing about what slobs we Americans are when we travel, I'm gonna burst. I live in heavily touristed San Francisco. Most visitors here, including the Euros (yes, the French, too), dress horribly. We are pigs who don't care about food quality? I was recently approached by an Italian couple asking me to point them to McDonald's. I was like, In San Francisco? Are you kidding? I tried to send them to a neighborhood with independent, charming cafes but they decided to head for Ghirardelli Square, tourist central, ISO fast food! Not an isolated occurrence. Apparently, we are not alone in our depravity.