The Woman All Spies Fear

Book cover of The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life

Book description

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.

A YALSA EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION FINALIST • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Elizebeth Smith Friedman had a…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Woman All Spies Fear as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Rayna Flye

Author

A book about the long-overlooked female cryptanalyst Elizebeth Friedman that also includes fun code-breaking activities to try out? Yes, please!

I’m not the least bit ashamed to direct people to this middle-grade book. I love that Butler Greenfield makes the world of code-breaking exciting and engaging, and I love that she puts a spotlight on a wildly talented woman who too often was seen as a helpmate to her cryptographer husband instead of as an equal (and maybe even more talented) partner.

I love that even though this is history long past, Butler Greenfield keeps me on the edge of…

From Rayna's list on female codebreakers, agents, and spies.