National Bestseller
NPR Best Book of the Year
“Not all superheroes wear capes, and Elizebeth Smith Friedman should be the subject of a future Wonder Woman movie.” —The New York Times
Joining the ranks of Hidden Figures and In the Garden of Beasts, the incredible true story of the greatest codebreaking duo that ever lived, an American woman and her husband who invented the modern science of … codebreaking duo that ever lived, an American woman and her husband who invented the modern science of cryptology together and used it to confront the evils of their time, solving puzzles that unmasked Nazi spies and helped win World War II.
In 1916, at the height of World War I, brilliant Shakespeare expert Elizebeth Smith went to work for an eccentric tycoon on his estate outside Chicago. The tycoon had close ties to the U.S. government, and he soon asked Elizebeth to apply her language skills to an exciting new venture: code-breaking. There she met the man who would become her husband, groundbreaking cryptologist William Friedman. Though she and Friedman are in many ways the “Adam and Eve” of the NSA, Elizebeth’s story, incredibly, has never been told.
In The Woman Who Smashed Codes, Jason Fagone chronicles the life of this extraordinary woman, who played an integral role in our nation’s history for forty years. After World War I, Smith used her talents to catch gangsters and smugglers during Prohibition, then accepted a covert mission to discover and expose Nazi spy rings that were spreading like wildfire across South America, advancing ever closer to the United States. As World War II raged, Elizebeth fought a highly classified battle of wits against Hitler’s Reich, cracking multiple versions of the Enigma machine used by German spies. Meanwhile, inside an Army vault in Washington, William worked furiously to break Purple, the Japanese version of Enigma—and eventually succeeded, at a terrible cost to his personal life.
Fagone unveils America’s code-breaking history through the prism of Smith’s life, bringing into focus the unforgettable events and colorful personalities that would help shape modern intelligence. Blending the lively pace and compelling detail that are the hallmarks of Erik Larson’s bestsellers with the atmosphere and intensity of The Imitation Game, The Woman Who Smashed Codes is page-turning popular history at its finest.
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Great book. Well written about an under reported story that was vitally important to us winning WWII. If this had been a novel many would have said “unrealistic” due to the prominence of Elizebeth Friedman’s skills and leadership, Riverbank etc.
But it is all true. Should be made into a movie!
THE WOMAN WHO SMASHED CODES: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies by Jason Fagone is a historical fiction novel which brings to light the major contributions of the amazing female half of a married couple who both invented many aspects of the modern science of cryptology.
Elizebeth Smith wanted a job in literature. She is hired by an eccentric millionaire who brings the best minds of 1916 together on a large farm outside of Chicago and tells them to be the best they can be. Elizebeth becomes disillusioned with the project she was hired to work on, but she is intrigued with the young man, William Freidman she meets who is helping with the project.
The two get married and begin working together on breaking coded messages that are brought to them from various government and law enforcement agencies. They soon build a reputation and are instrumental in building the strategic texts for codebreaking that they and others use throughout WWI, Prohibition and WWII while William is in the Army and Elizebeth works for the Coast Guard.
While history hails William’s accomplishments of being a groundbreaker and innovator in cryptology and at breaking the Japanese version of Enigma, there is little praise given to Elizebeth’s own contributions from breaking Prohibition gangsters’ codes to breaking the Enigma code German spies all over South America where using.
This book brings Elizebeth’s accomplishments and contributions to light. Mr. Fagone brings Elizebeth to life from her professional publications and personal writings. I was truly amazed by how her and her husband’s brains worked to decode so many secret code systems without using mathematics or having the use of the just being invented computer. The only problem I had with the book was the inclusion of some codes that were used and/or broken by the duo because while I know some would work to solve the puzzles, it just interrupted the flow of the story for me. Otherwise, Elizebeth’s personality comes alive in this story and her story just leads you to wonder how many other brilliant women have been overlooked by history.
I recommend this historical fiction of a brilliant mind and woman!
I hadn’t heard of Elizebeth Smith Friedman. She’s a great role model for girls and young women who want to make a difference at a national level. I knew Germany’s Enigma cypher machine had been cracked during WWII. I just didn’t know who did it. Now I do.
I’m normally a fiction reader, but some non-fiction titles pull me in, and this book is one of those. Who wouldn’t be interested in the true story of a brilliant woman code-breaker, especially when until now, the credit due to her has never quite been given?
This is a tale begging to be told, and the author had to spend years to research what really happened. First he had to explore almost-lost boxes of Elizebeth Smith Friedman’s material donated to a foundation in Virginia. Then he had to fill in the WWII years from other sources, and so much more. Well worth it, however, as we learn of this woman, an incredible unsung hero, who did what she did probably knowing all along that the powerful men around her would take all the glory.
Not only is the story riveting, the author has written the account of her life and accomplishments in a way that is just as exciting as well-written, action-packed, and emotionally charged fiction. Included is a powerful love story, too.
Even if you normally don’t read non-fiction, try this book.
Elizabeth Smith Friedman’s story reads like a fiction thriller, but it’s a true story of her life. Either with her husband, William Friedman, or alone, she decoded thousands of enemy messages during WWII, thereby saving thousands of lives. And solved the codes without knowing the key! Hers was an unselfish life, giving of her time and talent when the world needed her most. She deserves to be remembered and honored.
Excellent well documented history of how the codes were broken; as well as, how the Germans planned on getting into America through South America, Through this book, credit is given to those who truly deserve it and especially the woman most responsible. It is fairly technical in places and some readers may skip through some pages. There is also a substantial amount of detail. It is not a book that is a “summer read”, but well worth the time.
The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone is a remarkable true story about
Elizebeth Smith Friedman, an American cryptanalyst extraordinaire.
In 1916 Elizebeth Smith and William Friedman met in Geneva, Illinois at Riverbank Laboratories, a highly advanced campus that pioneered modern cryptography. Soon after they married, Elizebeth and William left Riverbank in response to government offers to break codes pertaining to national security.
As Elizebeth and William branched out into the world of codebreakers, or cryptanalysts, they found that together they could solve secret messages. To them it was fun; to the country they became a vital link toward America’s security. At first they worked together. Using graph paper and pencil, they invented new techniques that transformed the science of secret writing, known as cryptology. Then, for many years they worked separately. From 1920-1930 Elizebeth worked for the American Coast Guard deciphering codes sent by bootleggers and drug smugglers. During WWII, she worked for the Treasury Department deciphering radio codes, especially from Nazi agents working in South America. William became a US Army cryptographer who ran the research division of the Army’s Signal Intelligence Service. Naturally, their work involved knowing the various languages of the countries sending the messages—Spanish, German, French, Japanese.
The world has recognized William’s work in the decades following World War II. He wrote textbooks that trained generations of codebreakers. Those who knew them both often said that Elizebeth was the more brilliant one of the pair. What held her back from public recognition was, pure and simple, gender. For instance: When massive arrests were made as the result of her codebreaking efforts of smugglers, articles and reports expressed amazement that a woman could achieve such accomplishments.
The Woman Who Smashed Codes is a well-written, detailed account of scientific and mathematical achievement. But, more than that, it’s a fascinating story that spans two World Wars, and describes in exciting detail roles the Friedmans played during those many years. The book is rich in the different facets of cryptography, with many examples of codes and code breaking, the difference between codes and ciphers, etc. People who love puzzles will be fascinated by the many examples of codes and ciphers used and how they were “broken.” The book gives a fresh view of both World Wars and the various intelligence services that it took to combat them. Although Elizebeth lived in the shadow of her accomplished husband, she served her country admirably through her own impressive capabilities and expertise.
This is a really good story about a woman and her husband who are the most important and the most brilliant American cryptographers of the 20th century. They were spectacularly successful in WWI and WWII breaking almost all the cyphers they encountered. Elizebeth Friedman broke three different Enigma machines! Her husband designed the American version of the Engima and it was not cracked during WWI. Neither Friedman was formally trained as a mathematician. Apart from being stunning brilliant, and working for a crank who was looking for imaginary secret codes in Shakespeare, I don’t remember Elizebeth having any particular training to prepare her for a life of breaking secret codes. In addition to having a great story to tell about unsung heroes of the “Silent War”, Jason Fagone is an excellent story teller. He brings the Friedmans alive. 4.5 rating. Definitely recommended.
This book opened a chapter previously unknown to me about American codebreaking in the US. I have read extensively about the British efforts during the war, many of which touched on the American efforts, but I don’t recall Elizebeth Friedman’s name ever appearing in any of those. It ranks right up there with “Between Silk and Cyanide” by Leo Marks as a seminal work on the super-secret world of codebreaking before and during World War II.
Need more real to life books like it
Great read about code cracking and the important role of women
Really loved this book!
fantastic
A little ponderous; would have liked to see more examples of her code-breaking but overall informative.
Interesting true account.
A glimpse into a hidden world
Although i could not really make an emotional attachment to anyone in this book, i enjoyed learning of the career of the life and ostacles overcome by the heroine
Glad a dedicated person is finally being recognized.
If you are like most people you have probably never heard their names nor are you aware of their contributions. It is quite eye opening and informative.
Skillful research and writing by gifted author, telling story of America’s cooperation with Great Britain In building, sharing and decoding enemy messaging during WWII.
A story of a brilliant, but unassuming, couple’s meeting and building their coding skills together.
The best of what America has to offer. Until this story, Bletchley Park was the center of coding brilliance during WWII