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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Informative
Very interesting life of a code breaker marred by the pervasive sexism of the time. The author occasionally interjects rhapsodies of praise for the husband and wife duo that seem out of place. I had never heard of either protagonist before.
Great nonfiction that tracks an amazing woman through her personal and professional life
What we don’t realize about true heroes.
What a great slice of history!
I am outraged that we (American students) were not taught about this female role model in our history classes or patially in my case current affairs. Now that the patriotisom of this family is out in th light of day, I believe that we should all take a minute from our lives to remember and thank both William Friedmann and his wonderful wife Elizebeth Friedmann and their family for the sacrifices they made to keep our country safe. We will forever be in your debt!
To me, it was awkward and I couldn’t get into it. The storyline just didn’t grab me. Maybe if I could have read a few chapters I would have found it more interesting but right now, its too boring and too hard to get into.
I really enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about history that I wasn’t aware of and especially what smart intelligent women had to put up with.
Incredible, yet true, story that should be made into a movie! Astonishing. A must read.
This is a very well researched and well written story about a fascinating woman who helped change the course of history during World War II. I very much enjoyed reading it. I liked the use of Elizebeth’s and William’s own words from letters. So many times I’ve read fanciful accounts of other historical figures that blurred the lines between history and fiction, but in this case I feel like I have a true picture of the Friedmans, and wish that I had known them. Well done! I hope it’s made into a movie, like the story of Alan Turing.
This is an incredible story and the fact %hat it is true blows me away.
A captivating story of incredible love, intrigue and action. You can’t put this book down!
It woke me up to how important women’s talents have been in this country’s history and how under-acclaimed are their accomplishments and contributions.
Very interesting story about the life of Elizabeth Smith and her husband.
This book was a wonderful read. I highly recommend it. It was interesting and informative.
This is about the woman who decrypted the enigma machine in World War II. Fascinating!
This is one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read. Elizebeth and William led fascinating lives and the book moved along at a good pace. I learned a lot about the FBI and code-breaking. I watched the Beautiful Mind movie and this book is contemporary to that movie.
This was a very interesting read about a couple who was instrumental in decoding of enemy messages in WW1 and beyond. Pioneers in the field! Fascinating look into this realm of espionage.
Loved the story of breaking codes by a woman hero in World War 2. Reminded me of Hidden Figures.
Was a bit dry at times but great to learn about the history of code breaking. It is tragic that the woman did not get appropriate credit.