The Woman All Spies Fear

Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life

By: Amy Butler Greenfield

Narrated by: Samantha Desz

An inspiring true story, perfect for fans of Hidden Figures, about an American woman who pioneered codebreaking in WWI and WWII but was only recently recognized for her extraordinary contributions.

Elizebeth Smith Friedman had a rare talent for spotting patterns and solving puzzles. These skills led her to become one of the top cryptanalysts in America during both World War I and World War II.

She originally came to code breaking through her love for Shakespeare when she was hired by an eccentric millionaire to prove that Shakespeare's plays had secret messages in them. Within a year, she had learned so much about code breaking that she was a star in the making. She went on to play a major role decoding messages during WWI and WWII and also for the Coast Guard's war against smugglers.

Elizebeth and her husband, William, became the top code-breaking team in the US, and she did it all at a time when most women weren't welcome in the workforce.

Amy Butler Greenfield is an award-winning historian and novelist who aims to shed light on this female pioneer of the STEM community.

*Includes a downloadable PDF of key exercises from the book

Critic reviews

“A captivating account of the life and critical contributions of 'one of the most formidable code breakers in the world.'” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Greenfield delivers the tale with enthusiasm and narrative flair, including lots of photos of her photogenic subject.” —The Bulletin, starred review

“Inspiring, informative, and entertaining.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Enjoyed it!

I enjoyed this book. It tells about a female code breaker during wwII who didn’t get the credit she deserved.

Elizabeth Friedman- the real wonderwoman

My only negative comment is that I am not a fan of the narrator. Everything else about this book is fantastic. The author realized that one cannot tell the story of Elizabeth without telling the story of William. The two are so intertwined that it is almost impossible to separate their stories. Yet the author is able to highlight her professional and personal achievements while also showing how she supported William and he, her.

A true story of a brilliant woman’s drive to serve her country while risking her life.

The story was spellbinding! Elizabeth was a Wonder Woman; raising a family, traveling for her many jobs, dealing with life threatening information and filling her mind with many secrets that she couldn’t disclose to anyone. And to add to the occupational stress she did not have the cooperation or support of the FBI or the NSA. Thank goodness she had the love of her life, William her husband. I thought the narrator was excellent.

Wonderful book and narrator, but book is ABRIDGED

This book contains pages of code-related information and examples. called "Code Breaks" that are not included in this book AT ALL. There is no difference in code here as there is from the in-chapter text, so there is no technical reason that these chapters could not be included in the book.

If the producers made a choice not to include this information, that is a choice, but the book should absolutely be listed as an ABRIDGEMENT. Not unabridged.

Pass

Too bad the author spent the vast majority of the book talking about everything except the accomplishments of the woman as the source of this book. I failed to see any example of spies who feared her and why.