Dancing With Colonels: A Young Woman's Adventures in Wartime Turkey

This is exactly the kind of history I love - a particular period of time (In this case WWII) seen through the eyes of an "ordinary" person. Although, perhaps it is not fair to call Havreberg ordinary. How many women, especially in those days were so independent, and had such adventures?! The book is a collection of letters from Havreberg to her family - first from DC where she served as a secretary in the office of Senator Norbeck, and then from Turkey where she worked for the War Department. ( )

Dancing With Colonels, is a biography of a piece of Marjorie Havreberg’s life. Specifically the time she spent in Turkey during and after WWII. The entire book is letters Marjorie wrote home. It was a very interesting read, and I have to say I didn’t know Turkey was neutral during the war. The book made me curious to read more about Turkey. Also I want to go to the restaurant she’s always talking about, Karpic’s, I wonder if it’s still there. I wish we could’ve read some of Marjorie’s letters from her family. I would’ve liked to have known what they thought of all her travels. Seeing the world must have been easier at that time, than it is now. Marjorie mentioned a few times how she wouldn’t be one of those people who thought traveling was such an amazing accomplishment. She had quite an adventurous life and I envy her. ( )

I found this book intriguing, and full of interesting history of which I was not aware. My parents both graduated from University of South Dakota in the late 30s, so I appreciated the perspective of another South Dakotan. Not as much actual war history as I would have liked, but the personal stories Marjorie tells, via letters home, show us a glimpse of what it was like to be an insider in a war-weary country. The pictures provided a reliable backdrop. This is going to be vital history as we go more and more computer oriented. Was glad to read it, although it is not a book I will keep on my shelf. ( )

I really enjoyed this book (admittedly I really like epistolary type books. I found this one kind of sweet in nature. Told from the viewpoint of someone in the thick of war but it wasn't so much about the war but what life is like surrounding it. It has more a cultural feel to it in that sense. I can see how this book wouldn't be for everyone but I found it whimsical.

This book was not what I was expecting at all. I was looking for a more in depth look at the war and details on the life during the war in Europe. It was a first hand look however not as in depth as I wanted. ( )

Dancing With Colonels is a memoir of Marjorie Havreberg, a South Dakota women who with her husband travels to Washington D.C.. After her marriage breaks up, she applies to work at the American War Department in a secretarial position. Eventually she secures an overseas position and travels to Ankara, Turkey.

Told mostly through her own letters written home, we actually learn very little of the political situation or the war that was being fought world-wide. Turkey was a neutral country, but there were plenty of agents from both sides working there, and I am sure there were some very tense and difficult situations going on at that time. Being closed mouthed was probably a necessity of her job, but we mostly learn about the parties she attends, the dates she has, and the food and sitting arrangements of the social events. Interesting, but not exactly what I had hoped to read about.

These small, locally printed books are an important source for research and I can see this book having a place on the shelf of anyone who is keen to own a snapshot of the 1940’s as seen through the eyes of this interesting woman. ( )

A very enjoyable book. No big happenings, but it fills in many gaps on life in WWII for normal people. Life was not easy, but Marjorie had an open, happy outlook on life that made things go smoother for her. She was popular with the boys but still liked by the girls. Life in Turkey was interesting and her comments make me want to go there.
This kind of book will not be possible in 50 years unless someone finds a new way to mine the web. It will not be readable unless people learn how to write again, in more than tweets. ( )

This slim volume, published by the South Dakota Historical Society, is a collection of the letters of Marjorie Havreberg, an SD native whose skill as a secretary enabled her to travel as far as Washington, D.C. and Ankara, Turkey in the course of her career. About a third of Marge's letters are from 1936 and 1937, when she was working in D.C. for a South Dakota senator; the rest are from her time in Turkey, which lasted from 1944 to 1946. Despite the constant backdrop of a world at war, Marge's letters are almost uniformly upbeat and cheerful as she describes the very active social life of D.C. and Ankara.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, Marge's letters -- mostly to her family, with the occasional close friend thrown in -- are delightfully fun to read. She seems to have been a happy, adventurous person who wanted to get as much as she could out of life. Almost all of her letters talk about the various social engagements she attended, which is interesting but gets a little repetitive after a while. I found the subtitle of this book misleading; Marge's life in D.C. comprises at least the first third of the book, and her letters from Turkey barely mention World War II. Since I was hoping for more of a "wartime" perspective -- although I realize that Turkey maintained official neutrality -- I was a bit disappointed. I also thought that the introduction was unnecessary since it basically just repeats the content of Marge's letters. Overall, I was a bit underwhelmed, although I do think this would be a good resource for those interested in World War II-era night life. ( )

This book is excellently described by the subtitle with one minor quibble, Turkey was never actually at war. It was neutral, which gave the Allies and Axis ample opportunities for espionage and the like. Unfortunately, we don’t hear about any of that in this book. The letters are those that the author sent home, first, from her job working for a United States Senator, later as a civilian working for the war department as a secretary for the military attaché in Turkey.

As the substantial introduction points out, she didn’t talk much about her job which is understandable. There is a comment in one of the letters that they passed through a government censor. However, there is little here about the wider war either. The book is interesting in that it describes just what was served at a cocktail party in the 1940s, but beyond that I found myself not caring who was a good dancer or who was funny over dinner. A few of the people mentioned are relatively famous. Luckily, there are end notes that give short biographies for those that I had not heard of. The book concludes with a biographical note on her later life and a remembrance from one of her relatives.

So who is this book aimed at? Honestly, I am not really sure. There is not enough here for someone looking for an in depth look at the diplomatic service in Turkey. The writing in and of itself is decent enough, more geared towards travel writing than anything else. They took a few memorable trips into the mountains, for instance. Possibly if the introduction had not been so thorough, I would be more forgiving towards the text.

Strangely, this is one case where there is too much academic apparatus, at least for me. I felt that I could have simply read the introduction and that would have been enough, making the next 180 pages or so almost superfluous.

Not recommended.

I'm a sucker for memoirs and letters so this was a slam dunk. Great extras like the intro by Judy Litoff and afterword by Havreberg's niece. Also much fun stuff in the appendices. The only complaint is that there are so many major gaps in correspondence and, therefore, information about this fascinating woman and time.

This is a collection of letters written during Havreberg's years working as a stenographer in Washington DC in 1936 and later in Ankara, Turkey from 1944 – 1946.

She had left the small town in South Dakota where she grew up to work for Senator Peter Norbeck in his Washington office. After his death, she began looking at opportunities abroad and chose Turkey, which was neutral during most of the war.

The letters are typical of a young woman in her 20’s, full of social activities, descriptions of friends, and a small town girl’s reaction to the big city. She describes in great detail the wartime partying of ambassadors, governments in exile, and Turkish politicians.

But an interesting aspect of her letters is how they reflect the change in woman’s opportunities brought on by the war. The new government agencies in Washington were crying for staff and paying very good wages. A young girl like Havreberg, who had attended a stenographer’s school and was expected to find work in a local office, now had a much broader horizon. Opportunities for travel and the benefits of the big city, attending concerts and lectures, visiting museums, were available to middle class girls as they had not been before. Havreberg was surprisingly open to new experiences and took advantage of all of these. ( )

This is a short collection of letters by Marjorie Havreberg written to her family as she travelled for work. She was in DC, working for Senator Norbeck from Jan to May 1936. Then she was a secretary for the War Department in Ankara Turkey from 1944 to 1946. She wrote mostly about her social life, with bits & pieces of her job, with very little mention of the war or politics. She went out dancing often, and to supper parties, eating quite well despite the rationing in force at home.
The letters are all from her, there are no answering ones from her family & I think the book suffers a bit for it. I’m sort of left wondering what was the point of the book? It’s a nice collection of letters, but it doesn’t really go anywhere. There is no conflict, no tension. I enjoyed reading it but was left wondering about the other people. It is subtitled "A Young Woman in Wartime" and I guess I expected more about the war. Overall, it was an interesting read ( )

This short book is primarily focused on letters sent by Marjorie (Marge) Havreberg to her family. The first section of letters are those she wrote while working as a secretary for Senator Peter Norbeck in Washington, DC, from January through April 1936. Marge, who grew up in Redfield, SD, had never been to Washington, and wrote about her experiences there.

The book’s title, Dancing with Colonels, refers to Marge’s two years working as a civilian secretary for the War Department in Ankara, Turkey, 1944-1946. Although Turkey was a neutral country, the United States had a military presence there. In her letters home, Marge wrote almost exclusively about her very active social life; she went to numerous parties – many of which included dancing – and often stayed out very late at night (well into the early morning). Marge often wrote in detail about the large expensive meals she ate and drinks she had at official parties. Apparently even though the United States was at war and had rationing at home, the military had a considerable amount of spending money. Marge wrote very little about her work, her political views, or her views about the war. The letters get very repetitious; they include many general comments about her liking her life there, and waiting for more letters from her family. She also repeated some information such as telling her family twice that a particular Polish colonel (Marian Zimnal) used the word “approximately” a lot in his conversation (p. 102 and 107). Moreover, the book contains a one-direction correspondence; Marge mentioned information received from her family, but none of their letters are included. Probably very few if any of their letters still exist. In a letter dated 12 February 1945, Marge mentioned burning all the letters she had received; however, she was in Turkey for over a year longer. Also, Marge thanked her family for packages, but did not say what they contained; an example is a Christmas package she received in 1944 which contained Kotex, cigarettes, and many other unspecified things.

Although the letters could have stood substantial editing for repetition, there are valuable explanatory notes. An interesting part of the book is the introduction in which the editor, Judy Barrett Litoff, gives a brief biographical sketch of Marge’s life through her time in Turkey, using excerpts from Marge’s letters in her text. The epilogue, also written by Ms. Litoff, and the essay “Remembering Aunt Marge” written by her niece, Sally Enstrom, provide additional information about Marge’s life after her service in Turkey. ( )

A fairly short book of Margorie Havreberg's letters to her family during her stint in the foreign service in Ankara, Turkey, during World War II, bolstered by an introduction, epilogue and afterward. All of it was interesting, but not altogether what I'd expected, that is, not much detail about her work or her thoughts about the war. I thought the title was a bit misleading (Wartime Turkey) when Turkey was neutral when the author was there and she was never in any danger regarding events of the war.

About two-thirds of the way through the book, my eyes were starting to gloss over at the thought of even more descriptions of their daily parties. I enjoyed the book mainly for its presentation of life in their particular circumstances at that particular time, a snapshot of sorts. ( )

The books story shines a light on many things, Foreign Service, Turkish life and culture, the times as far as transportation, food, costs, farm and family life in the 40s. I think it's value is historical and is an easy read. Be sure to read the accompanying notes and Preface as well. I enjoyed it and couldn't wait
to see how it ended.

Dancing with Colonels is a collection of letters written by the author when she was a young woman working for a Senator's aid in 1936, and for the War Dept. in Ankara, Turkey, 1944 - 1946 to her family in South Dakota.

The letters are so vibrant that they hum with excitement as she gets her first taste of the wider world - which seemed so much larger then. Ankara seems to have been an endless round of glittering, glamorous parties with people from around the globe, many of whom were international VIPs. She certainly did dance with colonels, and with countless others as well!

A sense of humor and a great sense of fun shine through her letters.

I enjoyed this book so much. It does make me regret that we've lost the art of letter-writing. I include myself in that collective we. It also makes me, in some ways, long for a time when the world was larger and seemed more full of wonder. ( )