“[R]ecommended reading for a range of collections, from women’s history and music to World War II and American history. …[A] powerful saga that is packed with historical links and rare glimpses of a guitar maker and a war, and a group of women whose jobs changed lives.” Midwest Book Review/California Bookwatch

“John Thomas’ personal quest to find the lost Kalamazoo gals is endearingly told in Kalamazoo Gals: A story of Extraordinary Women & Gibson’s ‘Banner’ Guitars of WWII. This is not just one story but many; finally giving these women their voice, to talk about the guitars they made for a manufacturer that denied they ever existed.” Feminist Times

“[A]n enchanting story of brittle and eccentric company founder Orville Gibson, these very special guitars and the testimonies of the surviving Kalamazoo Gals.” Mojo Magazine

“[A] warm and engaging book that reconstructs the lost story of how [the Kalamazoo Gals] built some of the greatest flat-top acoustic guitars ever manufactured – and then, after the war, stepped quietly back into domestic home life. … Thomas has written a book that communicates on many different levels; as a work of social history, this has a far broader appeal than just guitar lovers.” Songlines Magazine

The incomparable Lauren Sheehan playing one of the Banner Gibsons featured in the book.

 

 

 

 

 

Swedish newspaper

 

Michigan History Magazine