People

Nadezhda Popova was a true heroine of the Soviet Union – a real-life Luke Skywalker who flew biplanes with canvas wings over enemy territory to drop bombs on the advancing German Army.

She was from Donetsk – that embattled part of eastern Ukraine that is mostly Russian-speaking today and was firmly a part of Stalin’s empire. In Russian, her name was “Nadia.” And, by all accounts, she was all woman.

The women of the...

I was sixteen when I arrived with my parents to New York from Eastern Europe, via Italy. All our possessions filled two suitcases—we were not allowed to bring any money or jewelry with us. (Years later, I went for a vacation with my wife to Italy and the airline lost our luggage. I called up my mother and said to her jokingly, “Here I am again, back to having nothing just like when I was 16.”) 

One of my first memories in the USA...