Program Description
Event Details
Join us for the Pacific Beach Library's monthly book discussion! Our group meets in a hybrid format, so you can choose whether you'd prefer to join us in-person in the PB Library's Community Room or virtually (please send an email to cwainwright@sandiego.gov for this year's Zoom login info). March's selection is Switchboard Soldiers: A Novel of the Heroic Women Who Served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps During World War I by Jennifer Chiaverini.
Description: Arriving in France during World War I, General John Pershing found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. Pershing needed operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and be utterly discreet. Well-trained American telephone operators were women—who were not permitted to enlist; but the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them. The switchboard soldiers worked as bombs fell around them under the threat of a deadly new disease: the Spanish Flu. Not all would survive.
If you'd like to check out a print copy of the book, they are available 1 month before each discussion at the Pacific Beach Library's Circulation Desk. Please call 858-581-9934 x0 before coming to pick it up so that staff may confirm availability.
Book Discussion Calendar
- March 14: Switchboard Soldiers: A Novel of the Heroic Women Who Served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps During World War I by Jennifer Chiaverini
- April 11: A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell
- May 9: Mecca by Susan Straight
- June 13: Searching for Home: An Immigrant's Journey from Ukraine to the USA by Judythe Roberts
- July 11: Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
- August 8: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- September 12: Trust by Hernan Diaz
- October 10: Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations by William McRaven
- November 14: One Book, One San Diego selection (to be announced)
- December 12: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- January 9, 2025: Select titles to discuss in 2025
- February 13, 2025: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride