From COWBOYS & INDIANS, April 2005

 

LIBRARY JOURNAL, March 1, 2004

Getting Reno-vated - From 1931 to the early 1960s, Reno, NV, with its six-week residency requirement, reigned as the quickie divorce capital of America. William McGee, born on a Montana ranch, landed a job as wrangler at the renowned Flying M E dude ranch in Washoe Valley in 1947. Much of his job was taking the divorce-seeking ladies out riding the Nevada mountain trails to lift their spirits. (If one of his charges, carried away by the mountain air and her impending freedom, made a pass at the young cowboy, well, he was only human.) The book is filled with candid shots of East Coast women with names like Rockefeller or Roosevelt or du Pont modeling their crisp, new Levis and silver belt buckles. And inserted period press coverage turns up visiting stars like Rita Hayworth going native. The real star of this scrapbook/memoir, however, is the longtime owner of the Flying M E ranch, Emily Pentz Wood, who entertained, even mothered her wealthy clientele of "six weekers" for more than three decades. Though it is put together rather patchily, this casual, heartfelt history of the Nevada divorce ranch era is a fascinating social document spangled with many of the period's socialites and movie stars at their most vulnerable. With a handy Reno divorce glossary, it is recommended for social history collections.—Nathan Ward 

 

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS, June 20, 2004
The Nevada gold rush: D-i-v-o-r-c-e. – In the bad old days, divorce was a long and grueling process: In a few states the wait was five years; in many (including California), the divorce process took a year. When Nevada shortened its waiting period to a six-week residency, the rush was on. Many divorce seekers came and worked for the duration of their stay, some stayed in minimal accommodations, but much of the divorce trade consisted of the wealthy who spent their waiting time reflecting and often partying in the relative comfort of secluded dude ranches... 

 

The McGees have quilted together an account of the Reno area, the dude ranches and the people who ran and stayed in them during the heyday of the Nevada divorce. Names of the rich and famous fall like rain in this often gossipy kiss-and-tell, but the McGees’ book is also a folksy ramble through part of the domesticating of the Wild West…Over 500 photographs chronicle the place and its history. The McGees have pulled from dozen of sources for period pictures that enliven this account. The leading attorneys of the time, the other dude/divorce ranches of the era, the famous local private railroad and the characters both prominent and notorious receive their full due... Nostalgic, indulgent and well researched, this slice of our history will appeal to those who knew or participated in it.—Lin Rolens  

 

THE RECORD-COURIER, Gardnerville, Nevada, September 22, 2004

“Divorce Seekers” authors tell story of Nevada’s past – “It was like an old Hollywood movie coming to life as McGee recounted the stories of what it was like to live and work on the Flying M E. [“The Divorce Seekers”] is a superb representation of some of Nevada’s colorful past and the McGee’s have compiled it all into a beautiful book of historical worth.”—Jonni Hill

 

THE SACRAMENTO BEE, August 5, 2004

McGee covers a lot of ground, from anecdotes about the rich and famous who came to Reno to get un-hitched, to life on a dude ranch and the old-time barroom scene. The 500-plus vintage photos are telling.—Allen Pierleoni 

 

SIERRA SUN, July 9, 2004

Former dude wrangler recalls Nevada’s quickie divorce era – Like the classy Eastern socialites who visited the dusty Nevada ranch where William McGee was a dude wrangler, McGee and his wife, Sandra, are an unlikely pairing. William McGee, a Montana-born wrangler and Navy veteran, and Sandra McGee, a film buff from Southern California, teamed up to write “The Divorce Seekers.” While the wrangler recalled his cowboy days, the So Cal girl did the research—three years’ worth of investigation into the historical facts of Nevada’s quickie divorce era, which ran from the ‘30s to the early ‘60s.—Renée Shadforth 

 

ST. HELENA STAR, June 24, 2004
Dudes and divorcées: a wrangler reminisces – A door-stop weight, lighthearted look at the times with some side excursions into the history of the region. The book's pages are packed with historic photographs, interviews with oldtimers, caricatures sketched by McGee’s first wife, Joan, and snapshots spanning 30 years.—Carolyn Younger

 

LAS VEGAS SUN, May 10, 2004
Dude, divorce is made easy -The photos show East meeting West in a way most people don't envision, but in a manner that documents a chapter in how the modern migration West actually happened.—Susan Snyder 

 

NEVADA APPEAL, April 4, 2004
Book captures Nevada’s dude ranch history - McGee's book is full of history, and, even better, short tales about his time at the ranch giving us a glimpse, from a wrangler's point of view, into Nevada's world of divorce, divorcees, and romance. The book is filled with Nevada—its memorable characters who might otherwise have been forgotten.—Kelli Du Fresne 

 

NEVADA TRAVEL NETWORK TRIP REPORT, March 2004
A monumental and fascinating memoir of the Nevada divorce ranch era. Bill's recall is phenomenal, and the people he brings to life with his warm and detailed prose are icons of another age. The hundreds of photographs assembled by Bill's wife and co-author Sandra make this a highly desirable addition to your Nevada bookshelf.—David W. Toll 

 

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, March 23, 2004

Former wrangler rounds up stories from dude ranch – When Bill McGee and his wife, Sandra, started writing the book, it turned into a three-year research project, a sort of scavenger hunt for people and pictures. “The Divorce Seekers” became the story of an era as well as of a man.—Susan Skorupa 

 

NEVADA MAGAZINE, March/April 2004
Bill McGee spins funny and fact-filled tales of his days as a young wrangler at the Flying M E, a Washoe Valley ranch for prospective divorcées, in the late 1940s. The reader meets Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, New York heiresses, and other ranch visitors at their most relaxed. The excellent photos, like the words, capture the rustic glamour of that bygone era.

Reviews for THE SOLOMONS CAMPAIGNS…

From SEA CLASSICS Magazine, April 2002

William L. McGee is no novice when it comes to writing. He’s written nine books; two of them best-sellers. Nor is he an armchair historian. He lived much of what he writes about as a volunteer enlisted man who joined up in ’42 simply because he wanted to get in the fight. And this he did in spades. His first action occurred the day he arrived in the South Pacific when his ship was attacked by a flight of Japanese bombers. From that day on, McGee was up to his armpits in the Pacific War!

A prolific writer and astute historian, McGee’s latest effort is part of a series dedicated to the Navy’s amphibious forces of WWII. First published late in 1999, Volume I, The Amphibians Are Coming! was an immediate sell-out and has now been reprinted. Volume II, The Solomons Campaigns, carries a 2002 indicia and is now available.

What we have here is a very readable biographical history of revolutionary WWII landing craft…and their crews.

Volume I focuses on the landing craft themselves: their evolution, baptism of fire, training and deployment as the tip of the sword in every amphibious Pacific invasion. McGee offers immense detail on these unique flat-bottomed vessels—the LCTs, LCIs, LSTs and LSMs that formed the sea-going ridge which took us to Tokyo. He also examines the background of amphibious warfare, how it was employed in North Africa, and profiles other interesting vessels like the "Green Dragon" high-speed destroyer transports which presaged many of the landing craft. All in all, this volume is an amazing job of research and skillful presentation….a must read for anyone interested in the perils of amphibious warfare.

This same penchant for authentic detail is evident in McGee's latest companion volume entitled "The Solomons Campaigns: 1942-1943." Certainly one of the longest of the hard-fought battles, the six month campaign to secure these islands fills Volume Two with enough dynamic action, derring-do, brutal horror and conflict to keep one on the edge of his chair for days on end. Astute use of photos and maps helps clarify many engagements, making these offerings a must read for anyone interested in the perils of amphibious warfare.
—Reviewed by Rod E. Redman & Myrle Chivers

“Enough gripping drama, heroism, and heartbreak in McGee's almost encyclopedic ‘The Solomons Campaigns’ to supply Hollywood with material for a century.”—Marine Corps League

“The result is a masterpiece!”  —Leatherneck, Magazine of the Marines

MARINE CORPS LEAGUE, Summer 2002

Blow by Blow Through the Solomons - One real-life incident during World War II was the inspiration for the box office success, “Saving Private Ryan”….However, there is enough gripping drama, heroism, and heartbreak in McGee's almost encyclopedic “The Solomons Campaigns” to supply Hollywood with material for a century....

It is difficult to select what to excerpt from his narrative, because his spare but effective style is as precise and economical as a Mickey Spillane novel....

McGee’s history is packed with as much punch as the “daisy cutter” bombs that blasted Taliban caves in Afghanistan. His narrative is copiously supplemented with photographs, tables, stats, command lists, and even official critiques of operations and lessons learned. He drew extensively on a variety of sources to tell the whole tale: records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy, Marine, Army and Army Air Corps archives, Japanese records, veterans’ accounts, memoirs, and other histories of the campaigns. And, as with a good Spillane novel, his tale bears repeated readings.—Edward Cline

 

LIBRARY JOURNAL, March 1, 2002

A World War II navy veteran and prolific author, McGee has written the second of a three-volume set that will form a definitive account of naval, sea, and land operations in the South Pacific, where America’s response to Pearl Harbor began. McGee’s narrative coverage in this second volume is encyclopedic, providing concise details of operations, often on a daily basis. His introductory essay is an informative summary of events from 1931 to 1941 that illustrates how these events led up to World War II. An exhaustive list of sources and notes creates a solid background for a detailed but readable text. In addition to battle history, the book discusses logistics, tactics, and the deployment of forces. Most useful is the author’s analysis of the campaigns ("Lessons Learned in the Solomons"). Numerous interviews and recollections of veterans bring in the war’s human side, and a long list of military abbreviations and designations aids the reader, as do photos, maps, and charts. This work is a thoroughgoing historical record and analysis that historians and scholars will find invaluable. Recommended for academic and large public libraries and for specialized collections.—David M. Alperstein

 

LEATHERNECK, Magazine of the Marines, April 2002

Author William L. McGee's work is intended to accomplish a mighty task: to encompass the entire Solomons campaigns in a single, detailed study. The result is a masterpiece outlining U.S. Navy and Marine Corps operations in the South Pacific from Aug. 7, 1942, through Nov. 25, 1943. As McGee points out, there is no other single work of this detail that covers such a large expanse in time and space…. 

 

McGee is particularly qualified to document the Solomons campaigns. He knows the fear and frustration of torpedo and aerial attack, the monotony of endless watches and the thrill of victory because he was a young enlisted sailor serving in the waters off Guadalcanal, as well as during other engagements throughout the Pacific campaign….The reader who desires to see life through the eyes of the men who actually manned the guns, fought the fires and stood mind-numbing "go on, stay on" watches, will come away with an enlightened appreciation of just how good our sailors and Marines are.

 

The indexes and appendices are the book's crown jewels—detailed and easily accessible as a starting point for further research. McGee has done an absolute superb job here, and future authors will benefit from his efforts. Overall, the book is a great read worthy of any Marine’s time and efforts.—Capt. Scott E. Ukeiley

 

WW II HISTORY, March 2003

This is a broad-ranging and informative study, a masterwork of extensive research, brisk prose, and convincing analysis. Besides being a wonderfully comprehensive overview of operations in the Solomons, from Tulagi and Savo Island to Tassafaronga and Rennell Island, McGee’s volume provides considerable detail about the American and Japanese sea, ground, and air units involved; planning and logistics, leaders and heroes, equipment and weaponry; the costs and lessons learned.

 

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS, April 7, 2002

Filled with graphic photographs, maps and even daily journal entries on the various aspects of Solomons Islands campaigns. Not only does one follow the landing craft warfare, but the ground fighting, the air war and naval battles as well. Mr. McGee shows both sides of the conflict.—Fred Klein

LEATHERNECK, Magazine of the Marines, July 2001

William L. McGee both built and served with amphibians in the early days of the Guadalcanal invasion. He has authored the first of his intended three-volume treatment of the WWII `Gator Navy in the Pacific. The reader is regaled with the tales of the first amphibians and the men who sailed them. Through ships’ logs, war diaries and oral histories, we learn about the experiences of these early "plankowners" of "Earlybird" Flotilla Five. For the most part, they were naval novelists, and we can catch a small glimpse of their enormous tasks, trials and challenges…. 

We look forward to the next two volumes of the series. This first volume is an easy read. It recalls the saga of an oft neglected but highly hazardous aspect of America’s naval war waged in the vast and expansive waters of the Pacific Ocean and will prove a welcome reference library addition.—Robert Loring

MILITARY, June 2001

The author is to be commended for the research and excellent preparation of this book. For me, it tied me closer to the Navy we were a part of.—Francis Hepburn 

 

THE ELSIE ITEM, Newsletter of the USS LCI National Association, Inc., March 2001

If your children or grandchildren have ever asked, "What did you do in the war?" then point them to this book. 

Bill McGee, a prolific author and veteran of naval service in the South Pacific, has written a book that will do any "Amphibian" proud. He has managed by dint of exceptional research and extensive interviews, to perfectly blend the historical development of naval amphibious forces with humorous anecdotal references. You will find yourself chuckling and nodding in the affirmative as you recall your own moments of terror, mind-numbing boredom and outrageous pranks. 

McGee tells his story by following the formations of the Flotilla 5 LCTs, LSTs and LCIs, from the formation of their crews in the states, through their training (or lack thereof), crossing the Pacific, and their arrival and operations in the Solomon Islands group. It is a compelling story of "green" crews, "green" officers, "green" dragons, and "green" camouflage. 

Throughout the book, you will find yourself saying, "Yup, that was us." Read this book and I will guarantee that you will have a renewed respect for the guy you see in the mirror every morning.— Howard Clarkson, USS LCI National Association, Inc. 

SEA HISTORY, NATIONAL MARITIME HISTORICAL SOCIETY, Winter 2000-01

The author’s background as shipyard worker and later participant in Pacific landings in World War II gives authenticity and spice to this account of the conception, growth, and operations of U.S. landing craft in the Pacific theater.

 

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS, December 3, 2000

The first of an ambitious three-book series of amphibious operations in the South Pacific during World War II….The author lets the reader witness the naval adventures.—Fred Klein

 

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW, December 2000

A  deeply engaging biographical history of World War II ship-to-shore landing craft and their crews….A welcome and informative addition to personal, academic, and community library World War II history and reference collections.

NAVAL HISTORY, January/February 1999

Memoirs of World War II duty on board naval combatant vessels of every type crowd the bookshelves, but little has been written about service in the Armed Guard, in which nearly 145,000 men served. William L. McGee, in “Bluejacket Odyssey,” remedies this deficiency to the extent that one volume can….Drawing upon a meticulously maintained diary, McGee’s report is written from the viewpoint of the enlisted man….The greatest merit of “Bluejacket Odyssey” is that it offers a clear picture of the duties and dangers of service in the Armed Guard. As a source of first-hand information on this type of naval experience, the book has value for historians.—Colonel Lane C. Kendall, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Retired)

MILITARY, August 1998

Those who entered service as young enlistees, eager to know what men know, and do those things that men do—or at least what they think men do—will see their reflections in this book. Combat veterans may find themselves drawn into the action by McGee’s honest prose. Accounts by other participants in the action broaden the scene and color it deadly. You might catch yourself resisting the urge to look behind you for a Japanese plane, its determined pilot boring in at your back. 

War called McGee toward the sea to make ships. At 17, he enlisted. The Marine physical ruled him out, so he joined the Navy. The fastest way to the open sea, and the war waged for its control, was through gunnery school and a berth aboard a merchant vessel as a member of the Navy’s Armed Guard….McGee and his shipmates lived through a series of surprises, their world expanded as for puppies escaped from their world in a cardboard box. Innocence gave way to experience to the survivors. After war’s end, McGee was reassigned to a modern warship. He sailed aboard it to a long, memorable post-war Navy experience: the beautiful, but sobering, Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests. 

In four years, McGee grew away from the innocent, young cowboy—who didn’t get away with using ‘heck’ or ‘darn’—into the salty life of a young sailor in a world at war. He tells his story with a candid eye, and without embellishment. It’s McGee’s honesty, clarity, and respect for his subject, that impresses.—David A. Strongin, USA (Retired)  

SEA CLASSICS, December 1997

The story of a generation of Armed Guards….Well written, the book is an honest, factual story—laced with humor.—Merle Chivers 

 

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS, December 7, 1997

The real color is revealed through McGee’s detailed daily journal, interviews with former shipmates, and declassified documents. All is further brought to life via photos and illustrations in an in-depth look at one aspect of wartime adventure.—Fred Klein