The Story

"No Place for a Lady" charts Thea Rosenbaum’s extraordinary life journey: from a little girl escaping the Soviet Army with her mother in Berlin, 1945; to becoming Germany’s first woman stockbroker at Oppenheimer and Co.; to serving as Germany’s only woman war correspondent in Vietnam. Thea then embarked on a remarkable career as a producer for ARD German television in the U.S., where she served as the White House Pool Producer for foreign correspondents from the late 1970s to the late 2000s. In this capacity, she traveled with five presidents and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the end of the Cold War.

Her life, spanning civilian, correspondent, and producer roles, charts the major conflicts and historical events of the latter half of the 20th century. Despite facing a challenging career, Thea continually overcame feelings of inferiority, ugliness, and perceived stupidity. While she aspired to be a journalist from a young age, she initially believed she was too unintelligent to achieve this dream. Yet, she succeeded in every facet of her work for five decades, consistently overcoming the low expectations and prejudices of her contemporaries, as well as her own inner doubts.

Throughout her historic career, Thea gathered chocolate in the streets of Berlin during the Berlin Airlift, witnessed the initial erection of the barbed wire that would become the Berlin Wall, and reported from Khe-Sanh during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. She was the first woman to report from a nuclear submarine, covered the Carter administration during the Camp David Accords, and reported from Cairo when the peace deal was finalized. "No Place for a Lady" also reveals many of Thea’s humorous and poignant interactions with America’s greatest journalists.

This compelling narrative highlights Thea Rosenbaum’s resilience, determination, and ability to overcome adversity, making "No Place for a Lady" an inspiring and captivating read.