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, wonderful read! Amazing woman no one has heard of!
I had a difficult time putting this book down once I started it. Amazing to think I had never heard of this woman who made such an impact on our world. The book was very easy to read—well written
Hurrah for Elizebeth Friedman who broke just as many codes as her husband and thanks to this author for her story. My only real complaint is too much detail. It seemed that the author fell in love with these people and their fascinating lives, giving us unnecessary tidbits which made the story longer than it needed to be. But, after the first chapter or two, the story takes over.
Wicked good listen (I do audiobooks almost exclusively) … such a great narrator … listened to it in two days … what a great story – it’s nice to be surprised by excellent non-fiction storytelling
This book exposes the code breakers world and their impact on the world at large. I loved this factual account of the beginning of cryptoanalysis and how important this couple were on fighting evildoers’ ecforts.
good read for a WWII history buff
This book had no end of surprises from beginning to end. It starts with a girl right out of college in the 30s looking for an interesting job at a time when any job is hard to get. She goes to a new research library in Chicago and is soon scooped up by a rich tycoon and taken to his estate to work on a mysterious project. While there she meets a man involved in the study of the genetics of plants. He has a minor role in her project of trying to prove that Bacon was the actual author of Shakespheare. They both grew to hate both the project and the estate. Unfortunately they were under contract and could not easily escape. Eventually a code was brought for them to solve which led to their escape.
He is the famous William F. Friedman credited with breaking the Japanese purple code. She is almost forgotten in history, but may have been at least as important to the war effort as her husband. In the beginning they worked together, but later they worked in different areas and couldn’t even talk about their work over dinner at home. It has some nice digs at pompous bureaucrats, particularly J. Edgar Hoover. It’s a very good read
Even more fascinating because real life, new to us because highly confidential at the time (WW II home front).
What an insight into the history of code-breaking!!! Really enjoyed it.
For anyone who enjoys a story about a woman who has gone unrecognized in history for the amazing accomplishments she achieved during both the first and second world wars this is a wonderful read.
Boring
I found this book to be engrossing and very informative. I’d no idea that a woman was so instrumental in bringing down the Nazi and Japanese war machines through the use of her codebreaking skills. The story of her devotion to freedom and preserving democracy was an inspiration.
Too technical. Did not hold my interest.
knew nothing of this history until I ready this book.
This is such an eye-opening true story that has echoes into our current spy & law enforcement organizations.
It is a wonderful story of the brains and intuition of a brilliant woman. It is a good example of the loss that society suffers because of sexism and other predjudice that sidelines so many brilliant talented people. The loss is all of ours.
A perfectly timed book for our time. Not the woman behind the man but beside or ahead of the “Man”. An inspiring reminder for all code breakers.
It got a bit too detailed for me a few times, and I wish I had a brain that could understand the explanations on how the codes worked–but fascinating insight into the woman and others in her times. Also new info (to me) about stuff going on in WWII that isn’t usually covered. Might make a good movie (if the write a script that stays out of the bedroom).
One of the best books I have ever read.I could not put it down. Easy read and very informative
A fascinating story about how one woman made such a contribution to the winning of World War 2, yet has been virtually ignored by historians. An interesting read, especially about the Coastguard and how the FBI under Hoover took credit for Coastguard codebreaking.
This book was wonderful and included characters that did things no one would have thought that they could do.