The subject matter is interesting — the execution of the book falls flat, though. It needs a re-edit, for structure and errors.

I am not sure who the audience for this book is – it’s not for somebody who already knows about the history of Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting, but it’s not for a complete novice either … I think the author tried to show how the movement had evolved over time. She starts by saying that she had dreams of sitting in archives trawling through resources and stories, but was unable to do this due to the COVID lockdowns. Unfortunately this has resulted in a book that is essentially snippets of information from other books with a few added interviews.

None of the passages of history are in enough detail to warrant their inclusion here rather than in the other excellent resources that already exist and delve deeply into topics (eg if you want information about how Princesses Elizabeth – the future Queen Elizabeth II – and her sister Margaret were involved in Guiding, read “Royal Guides”; if you want to know about what Guides did during the war, read “How the Girl Guides won the War”). The interviews have not been particularly well edited and don’t always flow well with the topic being discussed.

The overall editing is very poor with factual errors, and far too many things that should have been picked up in editing. It’s poor grammar to have sentences starting with But, however there are entire words incorrect that actually make sentences nonsense such as “But others at the conference argued that boys mature faster than boys” (pg118)

As a Girl Guide leader with a strong interest in history, this book should have been a “must-add” to my bookshelf, but unfortunately it fell very flat for me. To be honest it feels more like a student’s essay, bringing together a summary of information from various sources rather than being a serious history resource in itself.

I’m afraid that I cannot recommend it as there really is nothing new in terms of the history & the interviews don’t add enough value to warrant the price tag!

An interesting read especially for those involved with Girlguiding UK and Girlscouts USA.
The start of the GirlGuide movement is already well documented, but essentialin order to bring this book together and serve as a good reminder,
It takes the movement through the last 100 years plus at each stage and documents how the movement changed with what was happening to girls and women in Britain and USA at the time and how the movement tried t change to remain relevant or not as some of the anecdotes seem to suggest.
Lovey details from newspapers and how they reported historically as well as how it as all put together for Buckingham Palace Guides,
A concise read to remind me personally how the movement must continue to change to be relevant to today's girls..

A non fiction book for those who are interested in the history of Girlguing UK. With thanks to #NetGalley and Pen and Sword #AHistoryofGirlguidesandGirlScouts

As a former girl guide and leader I was fascinated by the social history aspect of this book - it was very interesting and well researched with lots of first hand accounts of events. However it was poorly edited with a lot of repetition which made it difficult to read for long at a time.

Interesting and full of history and facts. Learned a few new things I didn't already know. A great reference guide for leaders.

As a leader in training of a Rainbows unit I found this book very informative about the history of the organisation of guiding. A very interesting read.

This was a fantastic book. I loved every minute of this book that I had to read it all in one sitting. Although I was never in the guides or brownies I wish I was. But I did send my daughter there. So I just had to read this book when I found it. And I wasn't disappointed. It explains the whole history so well and was amazingly wrote that it was a fascinating story. I learnt so much from reading it and reading the values made me so happy and proud of the job they still do for our girls. It was amazing reading about the evolution of the group as I experienced my daughter going through the new badging system to modernise it some more. I couldn't believe how much they did during the second World War. Its so true what they say that girls who go through the ranks come out as well rounded young ladies. Especially having respect for those around them. They definitely learnt wonderful values as it shows through in the book. This book flowed easily and was a wonderful heartwarming read. I really can't recommend this book enough. If you have ever been or want your girls to become brownies or girl scouts you will love read this book. Especially seen as though it contains first hand accounts of those that have been throughout the years.

Only the highest of praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing us this fascinating history book that contains everything you could ever want to know about girl scouts. 

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/a-history-of-girl-guides-and-girl-scouts-by-julie-cook-pen-sword-5-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

I have been a Scout Leader for years and this book was a good way to learn more about a movement who is fundamental in what I am.
It's well researched, well written and there's plenty of interesting stories and details.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine