Book Review: The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone

“For the first eight months of the war, as incredible as it sounds, William and Elizebeth, and their team at Riverbank, did all of the codebreaking for every part of the U.S. government: for the State Department, the War Department (army), the navy, and the Department of Justice.”

Jason Fagone, The Woman Who Smashed Codes

Review:

Elizabeth and William Friedman were renowned codebreakers who got their start in the early 20th Century. Until modern times, it was William who got a lot of the glory for his career, largely thanks to his wife’s persistence to put him in the history books. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s contributions were left as quiet footnotes. In this book, Jason Fagone sheds light on the depth of her work and life story. 

I find codebreaking fascinating, though I don’t think I could ever grasp it enough to do it myself. Methods and tactics are discussed to an extent along with Elizabeth and William’s involvement in the Prohibition Era and ultimately World War II. There’s also some discussion about how they met and how they fell into their careers. 

I admire how much Elizabeth put her family first and how much she cared for William as he struggled with mental health issues with as much discretion as she could given the stigma of the time. It makes me sad to know that she went through life being underappreciated for her contributions to government efforts. I’m glad that her work has been tributed and that she’s getting the recognition she deserves.

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• Gives an interesting range of history from world events to the development of codebreaking.
• It felt like a respectful narration of Elizabeth’s life.

What I didn’t like:

• I struggled to concentrate at times. I feel like some sections went on longer than needed.

Afterthoughts:

This was the April nonfiction group read with The Global Book Nook.

Where to buy the book: