Code girls : the untold story of the American women code breakers of World War II Cover Image

Book

Code girls : the untold story of the American women code breakers of World War II / Liza Mundy.

Mundy, Liza, 1960- (author.).

Summary:

"Recruited from small Southern towns and posh New England colleges, 10,000 American women served the U.S. Army and Navy as code breakers during World War II. While their brothers and husbands took up arms, these women moved to Washington and, under strict vows of secrecy, learned the meticulous work of breaking German and Japanese military codes. Poring over reams of encrypted messages, the women worked tirelessly in makeshift facilities in Washington, D.C.; Arlington, Virginia; and Dayton, Ohio. Their code-breaking triumphs shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. In the process, many got their first taste of the big city, made lifelong friends, and fell in and out of love amid the heartbreak of war. Ordered never to reveal the details of their wartime work, these women were all but written out of history. Now, through her dazzling archival research and interviews with surviving code breakers, Liza Mundy has brought to life this vital story of American courage, service, and science. At the heart of Code Girls is Dot Braden, a feisty Virginia schoolteacher who, in 1943, leapt at the chance to take a mysterious job with the Army at a place called Arlington Hall. With [this book], the children and grandchildren of Dot and those of thousands of other women will finally learn the complete story of their accomplishments."--Dust jacket flap.

Record details

ISBN: 9780316352536
ISBN: 0316352535
ISBN: 0316439894
ISBN: 9780316439893
ISBN: 0316352551
ISBN: 9780316352550
ISBN: 1478922710
ISBN: 9781478922711
ISBN: 1478922702
ISBN: 9781478922704
ISBN: 9780316353731
ISBN: 0316353736
ISBN: 9780316352543
Physical Description: xiv, 416 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Hachette Books, [2017]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-402) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I "In the Event of Total War Women Will Be Needed" -- ch. One Twenty-Eight Acres of Girls -- ch. Two "This Is a Man's Size Job, but I Seem to Be Getting Away with It" -- ch. Three Most Difficult Problem -- ch. Four "So Many Girls in One Place" -- pt. II "Over All This Vast Expanse of Waters Japan Was Supreme" -- ch. Five "It Was Heart-Rending" -- ch. Six "Q for Communications" -- ch. Seven Forlorn Shoe -- ch. Eight "Hell's Half-Acre" -- ch. Nine "It Was Only Human to Complain" -- ch. Ten Pencil-Pushing Mamas Sink the Shipping of Japan -- pt. III Tide Turns -- ch. Eleven Sugar Camp -- ch. Twelve "All My Love, Jim" -- ch. Thirteen "Enemy Landing at the Mouth of the Seine" -- ch. Fourteen Teedy -- ch. Fifteen Surrender Message -- ch. Sixteen Good-Bye to Crow -- Epilogue: The Mitten.