Pan The Women (International Edition).

A #1 bestseller on The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times!

From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

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Published Feb 8, 2025

471 pages

Average rating: 8.71

12,272 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *The Women* by Kristin Hannah is an emotionally gripping tribute to Vietnam War women veterans, praised for vivid historical detail, well-...

ll
Apr 05, 2026
6/10 stars
I wish these historical fiction books made the plot less about the main character’s various love interests… It’s an overdone trope.
Ginac
Jan 07, 2026
4.5
writing as Patricia Rosemoor
Jan 04, 2026
8/10 stars
Terrible things happening in a time I remember. A heroine who finds herself in a war.
Mrs Mayo
Nov 13, 2025
10/10 stars
Historical fiction for the win! I read this book on a train ride in route to visit a friend. It led me to interact with a man wearing a Vietnam Veteran hat, which added to the sentiment of this book for me.
Book Lover 1971
Sep 29, 2025
10/10 stars
Now I know what a 5 Star book really is! This is the best book I have ever read! I absolutely LOVED this book.

I decided in 2025 I was going to read my first historical fiction. I am a thriller girl and historical fiction scared me! I listened to this one in hopes to make it a little easier. I also had never read anything by Kristin Hannah. I was so invested in Frankie. I hated her parents for the way they treated her. Don't even get me started on Ry, cannot even with him.

That ending. I kept thinking HE was still alive but had started to give up on that and boom. I was already in my feels when her dad said what he said to her and being at the wall....so amazing. I was crying so hard. I am buying this and reading it again! Loved it!!!

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