Description
Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and to Arlington and learned the meticulous and highly demanding work of breaking Japanese and German codes. Running early computers and poring over reams of encrypted enemy messages, they worked tirelessly in makeshift buildings in Arlington and Washington, DC, from 1942 to 1945.
Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through extensive research and interviews with surviving code girls–including several who worked at Arlington Hall–bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment. Mundy hones in on the lives and labors of several exemplary code-breakers while weaving their stories among the larger events of the war and the daily activities of the codebreakers.
Liza Mundy lives in Arlington and is a staff writer at the Washington Post. She is also the bestselling author of Michelle: A Biography and Everything Conceivable, among other works. She received her BA degree from Princeton University and earned an MA in English literature at the University of Virginia. She has won awards for essays, profiles, and science writing from the Sunday Magazine Editors Association, the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, The Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awards, and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. She was a 2005 Media Fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Publication Details
- Paperback
- Published by Hachette Books, 2018
- 434 pgs with index
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