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Wise Gals
- The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
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Great first listens
Publisher's summary
From the New York Times best-selling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls comes the never-before-told story of a small cadre of influential female spies in the precarious early days of the CIA—women who helped create the template for cutting-edge espionage (and blazed new paths for equality in the workplace) in the treacherous post-WWII era.
In the wake of World War II, four agents were critical in helping build a new organization that we now know as the CIA. Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudmeier, called the “wise gals” by their male colleagues because of their sharp sense of humor and even quicker intelligence, were not the stereotypical femme fatale of spy novels. They were smart, courageous, and groundbreaking agents at the top of their class, instrumental in both developing innovative tools for intelligence gathering—and insisting (in their own unique ways) that they receive the credit and pay their expertise deserved.
Throughout the Cold War era, each woman had a vital role to play on the international stage. Adelaide rose through the ranks, developing new cryptosystems that advanced how spies communicate with each other. Mary worked overseas in Europe and Asia, building partnerships and allegiances that would last decades. Elizabeth would risk her life in the Middle East in order to gain intelligence on deadly Soviet weaponry. Eloise would wield influence on scientific and technical operations worldwide, ultimately exposing global terrorism threats. Through their friendship and shared sense of purpose, they rose to positions of power and were able to make real change in a traditionally “male, pale, and Yale” organization—but not without some tragic losses and real heartache along the way.
Meticulously researched and beautifully told, Holt uses firsthand interviews with past and present officials and declassified government documents to uncover the stories of these four inspirational women. Wise Gals sheds a light on the untold history of the women whose daring foreign intrigues, domestic persistence, and fighting spirit have been and continue to be instrumental to our country’s security.
Featured Article: Best of the Year—The 12 Best History Listens of 2022
We’ve noticed—and applaud—a trend in our members' preferences for history: Audible listeners want to hear about events of the past with both discipline and nuance. You want authoritative synthesis and reliable facts, but also to hear about people's lived experience, preferably in novelistic detail. And all of us love some juicy reconstruction from time to time. This year, we picked the best performances to fill that tall order.
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Story
The Unexpected Spy is the riveting story of Walder's tenure in the CIA and, later, the FBI. In high-security, steel-walled rooms in Virginia, Walder watched al-Qaeda members with drones as President Bush looked over her shoulder and CIA Director George Tenet brought her donuts. She tracked chemical terrorists and searched the world for Weapons of Mass Destruction. She created a chemical terror chart that someone in the White House altered to convey information she did not have or believe, leading to the Iraq invasion.
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This book is word redacted CIA review
- By Keribee on 02-25-20
By: Tracy Walder, and others
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Prisoners of the Castle
- An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis' Fortress Prison
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In this gripping narrative, Ben Macintyre tackles one of the most famous prison stories in history and makes it utterly his own. During World War II, the German army used the towering Colditz Castle to hold the most defiant Allied prisoners. For four years, these prisoners of the castle tested its walls and its guards with ingenious escape attempts that would become legend. But as Macintyre shows, the story of Colditz was about much more than escape.
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Another chapter of history brought to life by a master
- By Steve on 09-28-22
By: Ben Macintyre
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The Triple Agent
- The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA
- By: Joby Warrick
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In December 2009, a group of the CIA’s top terrorist hunters gathered at a secret base in Khost, Afghanistan, to greet a rising superspy: Humam Khalil al-Balawi, a Jordanian double-agent who infiltrated the upper ranks of al-Qaeda. For months, he had sent shocking revelations from inside the terrorist network and now promised to help the CIA assassinate Osama bin Laden’s top deputy. Instead, as he stepped from his car, he detonated a 30-pound bomb strapped to his chest, instantly killing seven CIA operatives....
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Great modern history story
- By Melissa on 08-11-11
By: Joby Warrick
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A Most Clever Girl
- A Novel of an American Spy
- By: Stephanie Marie Thornton
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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The year 1963: Reeling from the death of her mother and President Kennedy’s assassination, Catherine Gray shows up on Elizabeth Bentley’s doorstep demanding answers to the shocking mystery she just uncovered about her family. What she doesn’t expect is for Bentley to ensnare her in her own story of becoming a controversial World War II spy and Cold War informer.
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Loved it
- By Jasper Van Wyk on 10-20-21
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Madame Fourcade's Secret War
- The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy Network Against Hitler
- By: Lynne Olson
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1941 a 31-year-old Frenchwoman, a young mother born to privilege and known for her beauty and glamour, became the leader of a vast intelligence organization - the only woman to serve as a chef de résistance during the war. Strong-willed, independent, and a lifelong rebel against her country’s conservative, patriarchal society, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was temperamentally made for the job. No other French spy network lasted as long or supplied as much crucial intelligence. Fourcade was captured twice by the Nazis - and both times she managed to escape.
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Marvelous book, inappropriate narrator
- By LJH on 03-07-19
By: Lynne Olson
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Code Name Blue Wren
- The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed
- By: Jim Popkin
- Narrated by: Jim Popkin
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Just days after the 9-11 attacks, a senior Pentagon analyst eased her red Toyota Echo into traffic and headed to work. She never saw the undercover cars tracking her every turn. As she settled into her cubicle on the 6th floor of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, FBI Agents and twitchy DIA officers were hiding in nearby offices. For this was the day that Ana Montes--the US Intelligence Community superstar who had just won a prestigious fellowship at the CIA--was to be arrested and publicly exposed as a secret agent for Cuba.
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It drags
- By Jules on 02-18-23
By: Jim Popkin
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Code Name: Lise
- The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy
- By: Larry Loftis
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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1942: World War II is in full swing. Odette Sansom decides to follow in her war hero father’s footsteps by becoming an SOE agent to aid Britain and her beloved homeland, France. Five failed attempts and a plane crash later, she finally lands in occupied France to begin her mission. It is here that she meets her commanding officer, Captain Peter Churchill. As they successfully complete mission after mission, Peter and Odette fall in love. All the while, they are being hunted by the cunning German secret police sergeant, Hugo Bleicher, who finally succeeds in capturing them.
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SKIP THE PROLOGUE!
- By Erica J. Conway on 09-17-19
By: Larry Loftis
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Debs at War
- How Wartime Changed Their Lives, 1939-1945
- By: Anne de Courcy
- Narrated by: Rachel Atkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Pre-war debutantes were members of the most protected, not to say isolated, stratum of 20th-century society: the young (17-20) unmarried daughters of the British upper classes. For most of them, the war changed all that for ever. It meant independence and the shock of the new, and daily exposure to customs and attitudes that must have seemed completely alien to them. For many, the almost military regime of an upper-class childhood meant they were well suited for the no-nonsense approach needed in wartime.
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The Secret History of Rich Girls at War
- By Charlie Morton on 08-03-24
By: Anne de Courcy
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Defiant Brides
- The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married
- By: Nancy Rubin Stuart
- Narrated by: Ann M. Richardson
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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When Peggy Shippen, the celebrated blonde belle of Philadelphia, married American military hero Benedict Arnold in 1779, she anticipated a life of fame and fortune, but financial debts and political intrigues prompted her to conspire with her treasonous husband against George Washington and the American Revolution. In spite of her commendable efforts to rehabilitate her husband’s name, Peggy Shippen continues to be remembered as a traitor bride.
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Too much military info
- By Campergirl on 10-19-22
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In True Face
- A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked
- By: Jonna Mendez
- Narrated by: Barbara Benjamin-Creel
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Jonna Hiestand Mendez began her CIA career as a “contract wife” performing secretarial duties for the CIA as a convenience to her husband, a young officer stationed in Europe. She needed his permission to open a bank account or shut off the gas to their apartment. Yet Mendez had a talent for espionage, too, and she soon took on bigger and more significant roles at the Agency. She parlayed her interest in photography into an operational role overseas, an unlikely area for a woman in the CIA.
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Breaking the Glass Ceiling in the CIA
- By Maggie May on 03-11-24
By: Jonna Mendez
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The Codebreakers of Bletchley Park
- The Secret Intelligence Station That Helped Defeat the Nazis
- By: Dermot Turing
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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At Bletchley Park, some of Britain's most talented mathematicians, linguists, and intellectuals were assembled to break Nazi codes. It was kept secret for nearly 30 years, but we have now come to realize the crucial role that these codebreakers played in the Allied victory in World War II. Written by Dermot Turing - the nephew of famous codebreaker Alan Turing - this account provides unique insight into the behind-the-scenes action at Bletchley Park. This book brings to life the stories of the men and women who toiled day and night to crack the seemingly unbreakable enigma code.
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The immersion in Bletchley Park through human stories and scientific precision
- By Amazon Customer on 03-12-24
By: Dermot Turing
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In the Shadow of the Empress
- The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 23 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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The vibrant, sprawling saga of Empress Maria Theresa - one of the most renowned women rulers in history - and three of her extraordinary daughters, including Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen of France.
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Awful narration!
- By Suanne Laqueur on 09-27-21
By: Nancy Goldstone
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The Woman All Spies Fear
- Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life
- By: Amy Butler Greenfield
- Narrated by: Samantha Desz
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
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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.
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Enjoyed it!
- By Erica D on 03-04-24
What listeners say about Wise Gals
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- BethA
- 04-06-24
Interesting
I enjoyed this very much. It was a well researched glimpse into a relatively unknown part of CIA history. I can appreciate that the detail might not be interesting for some listeners, but the detail is what appealed to me. The narration also worked for me.
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- Andrea Guzman
- 12-15-22
Intriguing untold history
I enjoyed learning about the women of the CIA, their plight, and learning some background on historical events. Excellent book, but in audio could be hard to follow if you are storing the subject. Audio format is great for a casual listen, but people who need the book for research may be helped by a text version.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Traci Drake
- 05-13-23
Captivating!
I listened to this while commuting and would stay in the car to complete the chapter.
Great story!
Great listen!
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1 person found this helpful
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- MS
- 01-06-24
These women were true heros! and now people know. Thank you
This book was very engaging. I feel deep gratitude for them. They were and are heros. I also feel a bit more insecure and suspicios of the news.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lisa McCarthy
- 02-18-23
Fascinating and inspiring
Highly recommend this “hidden figures” of the CIA. I am inspired by the 4 women detailed - their courage and grit!
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2 people found this helpful
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- P. C. Jorgensen
- 10-23-23
Excellent and thank inspiring
Great look at several trailblazing women in intelligence. Fascinating stories “behind the headlines” that make for compelling listening.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Maria Mustacchio
- 07-10-23
Eye opening
I wish all young girls/women would read this book. Women have played critical roles in the making of our democracy since it’s inception it’s time people know this. Thank you for writing this.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 05-08-23
Very good book!
It was nice to hear the stories of these smart and brave women. My mo
Was if this generation and worked in a factory putting together bonnets to go overseas.
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1 person found this helpful
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- martha nelson
- 07-15-24
women have had to fight for their rights
interesting chronological historical perspective of the time leading up to the CIA and women's involvement.
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- Jenn
- 12-15-22
Incredible
A phenomenal story of the selfless work of incredible individuals. Like others said hard to keep storylines straight at the beginning but even having a broad understanding of what’s going on keeps the “reader” intrigued. May give it a second listen to nail down the specific details,
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2 people found this helpful