Readers recommend books: 'When the Men Were Gone'

"When the Men Were Gone," by Marjorie Herrera Lewis, is fiction based on fact. The year is 1944 and most of the men are gone off to war. The setting is Brownwood, Texas.

We know how much Texans love their football, and when there are no men to coach the high school football team, a member of the faculty reluctantly steps up to coach. The problem is, she's a woman. She faces extreme opposition, although she knows as much as, if not more than, most men. It's a fascinating story, full of tension, and the main character is a woman to admire.

Marilyn Reilly, Minnetonka

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