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Women Code Breakers: The Best Kept Secret of WWII: True Stories of Female Code Breakers Whose Top-Secret Work Helped Win World War II
Who were the silent women whose top-secret work helped shorten World War II? Meet the female code breakers.
Embedded within military intelligence and communications, wartime cryptography was a man’s world. But women did much more for secret intelligence during World War II than resupply coffee and shuffle papers.
Even beyond nursing and manufacturing, women working top-secret jobs played an integral role in supporting the Allied effort. They helped shorten the length of the war, saving countless lives in the process.
Bringing to light the quiet heroism of female code breakers is an opportunity to showcase the exceptional women who saved lives and changed the tide of the greatest war in human history.
The life of a female codebreaker was not a simple one. Even as they applied themselves to complicated counterintelligence work and labored daily alongside their male colleagues, they fought an uphill battle on many different fronts inside and outside the office.
Despite the constant need to “prove” themselves and justify their life choices to men and women alike, these brilliant women never thought of themselves as heroes, but rather as citizens performing their duty, in common with the pragmatic attitudes that many people held during the war.
As such, their stories and accomplishments have remained firmly under the radar—often missing from official documentation, history books, public lore, and therefore general public awareness.
The British feat of breaking the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park has been celebrated in popular culture in various books and movies, but the stories of many women who worked to break codes in the complex world of cryptography remain relatively untold.
Many of the men who served in the war have been made heroes through the documentation of and telling and retelling of their daring exploits. Not so the unsung women heroes of WWII.
Inside Women Code The Best Kept Secret of WWII you’ll learn the true stories of female code breakers whose top-secret work helped win World War II.
By knowing the names of the heroic women codebreakers of WWII, we are finally allowing their lives and accomplishments to shine. If you are looking for a unique perspective of wartime history then Women Code Breakers: The Best Kept Secret of WWII is a great place to start!
Embedded within military intelligence and communications, wartime cryptography was a man’s world. But women did much more for secret intelligence during World War II than resupply coffee and shuffle papers.
Even beyond nursing and manufacturing, women working top-secret jobs played an integral role in supporting the Allied effort. They helped shorten the length of the war, saving countless lives in the process.
Bringing to light the quiet heroism of female code breakers is an opportunity to showcase the exceptional women who saved lives and changed the tide of the greatest war in human history.
The life of a female codebreaker was not a simple one. Even as they applied themselves to complicated counterintelligence work and labored daily alongside their male colleagues, they fought an uphill battle on many different fronts inside and outside the office.
Despite the constant need to “prove” themselves and justify their life choices to men and women alike, these brilliant women never thought of themselves as heroes, but rather as citizens performing their duty, in common with the pragmatic attitudes that many people held during the war.
As such, their stories and accomplishments have remained firmly under the radar—often missing from official documentation, history books, public lore, and therefore general public awareness.
The British feat of breaking the German Enigma code at Bletchley Park has been celebrated in popular culture in various books and movies, but the stories of many women who worked to break codes in the complex world of cryptography remain relatively untold.
Many of the men who served in the war have been made heroes through the documentation of and telling and retelling of their daring exploits. Not so the unsung women heroes of WWII.
Inside Women Code The Best Kept Secret of WWII you’ll learn the true stories of female code breakers whose top-secret work helped win World War II.
By knowing the names of the heroic women codebreakers of WWII, we are finally allowing their lives and accomplishments to shine. If you are looking for a unique perspective of wartime history then Women Code Breakers: The Best Kept Secret of WWII is a great place to start!
- GenresHistoryNonfictionWar
165 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 12, 2022
137 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Elise Baker
12 books5 followersElise Baker’s academic background (BA Hons, PGDip) and a career of searching for hidden truths in dusty libraries and archives led her to discover an area of history that has languished in obscurity for far too long; brave women heroes whose achievements have long been overshadowed by their male counterparts, silenced and rendered invisible.
Her mother’s family spent years wandering around Europe as refugees during the Second World War and its aftermath. Growing up hearing their stories gave her a lifelong fascination with this historical era.
She has a special interest in feminism, women’s history, and World War II. Elise is passionate about excavating the past to unearth the hidden histories of women whose incredible stories have been buried and bringing them out into the light of public awareness.
Her mother’s family spent years wandering around Europe as refugees during the Second World War and its aftermath. Growing up hearing their stories gave her a lifelong fascination with this historical era.
She has a special interest in feminism, women’s history, and World War II. Elise is passionate about excavating the past to unearth the hidden histories of women whose incredible stories have been buried and bringing them out into the light of public awareness.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 25, 2024
Only a 2 star read. The author seemed to be more interested in discussing women’s inequality rather than the amazing talents present in the few code breakers she mentioned. A disappointing read.
January 4, 2025
Great book!
March 27, 2023
Women Code Breakers - What could have been an interesting read about one of the greatest wars and the contributions of a special group of women but is not. Their jobs as code breakers were their speciality. These were not the only women serving and making a difference during this time. I have read about these ladies and their work back in the 60s.
Unfortunately, the author did not format the book properly to make reading about these interesting ladies easy. Instead of giving the ladies their own sections, giving more whitespace, everything is paragraph after paragraph without breaks. At least, spacing between the paragraphs would have relieve the strain on the eyes.
The parts about the inequalities that have existed for millennials came off as lecturing instead of the author's attempt to show the differences between the sexes in a factual way. I am an older woman, an Army veteran and worked in a once masculine field, electronics, and having lived and experienced the changing times, I tend to laugh at the younger women and their ideas of sexual harassment and inequalities.
Learn History, it is filled with information, life and knowledge. Women have always found their ways to succeed. There are real authors who know their history and do not use their books as vehicles to rant about things of which they do not possess an indepth knowledge. 2*
Princess Countess Socialite Spy - Back in the 60s my love affair with history began and I read about many women, from all walks of life, that were spies throughout history. Unfortunately, I was turned off by the obvious emotional and untrue first sentence of this book:
"History has always been told by men and about men."
Then in the same long paragraph, this statement reinforced my lack of desire to read more of this book:
"Many of us are familiar with the well-publicized stories of people such as Audie Murphy (who falsified his records)"
To make this statement about the most decorated WWII Army veteran and not back it up with facts is unacceptable. There is a process to recommend a soldier, the soldier does not apply for medals. While working for the VA, I met a soldier that had one less medal than Murphy, a survivor of the Indianapolis, and a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, along with many other decorated "heroes" just serving our Country, doing their duty; guess they falsified their service, too? Not one of these WWII, Korean or Vietnam veterans swaggered around and bragged about their service.
There have been plenty of women in History. Catherine the Great, Lady Paxton, Molly Pitcher, the milkmaid that never caught smallpox; yes, not all had names but many did. In today's society of Me, Me, Me social media where nothing is private, including State secrets, it hard for the younger generations to understand that secrets were important and kept for the security of countries and the participants. Not everyone needed or desired to have their actions known. Many women made accomplishments that could have and did bring all sorts of problems and troubles to them.
Ms. Baker's books about the women of WWII she writes about were classified and not public records. It had nothing to do with gender, but security. After reading two and attempting to read two more, I find Ms. Baker's mission is more to impart her emotions and rants instead of historical facts. I prefer authors that state the facts, the good, the bad and the ugly, and then allow me to make my decisions instead of telling me what I should think. Knowledge is power but stupidity goes on social media. 1*
Women Rescuers of WWII - My first book by this author. Six women from different births, different countries, and different work skills took upon themselves to help the Jews and others escape to freedom from Nazi persecution, without any thought of fame or gain for themselves.
A quick read, these glimpses of history show what a person can accomplish with determination and morals and ethics. Unfortunately, the author uses this book as a vehicle for her rants and beliefs, instead of presenting historical facts. A bit of lecturing and with her definitions, Ms. Baker gives the impression her readers are uneducated, or is the word, dumb? 2*
Nightingales, Bluebirds and Angel's of Mercy - I could not continue reading this book. I find Ms. Baker has a tendency to rant and lecture without too much focus on actual facts. I read a out these ladies, along with others, since I started my love affair with History in the 60s. Many ti.es the autobiographies of the actual subjects. 2*
Unfortunately, the author did not format the book properly to make reading about these interesting ladies easy. Instead of giving the ladies their own sections, giving more whitespace, everything is paragraph after paragraph without breaks. At least, spacing between the paragraphs would have relieve the strain on the eyes.
The parts about the inequalities that have existed for millennials came off as lecturing instead of the author's attempt to show the differences between the sexes in a factual way. I am an older woman, an Army veteran and worked in a once masculine field, electronics, and having lived and experienced the changing times, I tend to laugh at the younger women and their ideas of sexual harassment and inequalities.
Learn History, it is filled with information, life and knowledge. Women have always found their ways to succeed. There are real authors who know their history and do not use their books as vehicles to rant about things of which they do not possess an indepth knowledge. 2*
Princess Countess Socialite Spy - Back in the 60s my love affair with history began and I read about many women, from all walks of life, that were spies throughout history. Unfortunately, I was turned off by the obvious emotional and untrue first sentence of this book:
"History has always been told by men and about men."
Then in the same long paragraph, this statement reinforced my lack of desire to read more of this book:
"Many of us are familiar with the well-publicized stories of people such as Audie Murphy (who falsified his records)"
To make this statement about the most decorated WWII Army veteran and not back it up with facts is unacceptable. There is a process to recommend a soldier, the soldier does not apply for medals. While working for the VA, I met a soldier that had one less medal than Murphy, a survivor of the Indianapolis, and a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, along with many other decorated "heroes" just serving our Country, doing their duty; guess they falsified their service, too? Not one of these WWII, Korean or Vietnam veterans swaggered around and bragged about their service.
There have been plenty of women in History. Catherine the Great, Lady Paxton, Molly Pitcher, the milkmaid that never caught smallpox; yes, not all had names but many did. In today's society of Me, Me, Me social media where nothing is private, including State secrets, it hard for the younger generations to understand that secrets were important and kept for the security of countries and the participants. Not everyone needed or desired to have their actions known. Many women made accomplishments that could have and did bring all sorts of problems and troubles to them.
Ms. Baker's books about the women of WWII she writes about were classified and not public records. It had nothing to do with gender, but security. After reading two and attempting to read two more, I find Ms. Baker's mission is more to impart her emotions and rants instead of historical facts. I prefer authors that state the facts, the good, the bad and the ugly, and then allow me to make my decisions instead of telling me what I should think. Knowledge is power but stupidity goes on social media. 1*
Women Rescuers of WWII - My first book by this author. Six women from different births, different countries, and different work skills took upon themselves to help the Jews and others escape to freedom from Nazi persecution, without any thought of fame or gain for themselves.
A quick read, these glimpses of history show what a person can accomplish with determination and morals and ethics. Unfortunately, the author uses this book as a vehicle for her rants and beliefs, instead of presenting historical facts. A bit of lecturing and with her definitions, Ms. Baker gives the impression her readers are uneducated, or is the word, dumb? 2*
Nightingales, Bluebirds and Angel's of Mercy - I could not continue reading this book. I find Ms. Baker has a tendency to rant and lecture without too much focus on actual facts. I read a out these ladies, along with others, since I started my love affair with History in the 60s. Many ti.es the autobiographies of the actual subjects. 2*
July 11, 2023
This is a book about a topic that most people are probably not familiar with and that's the role of women code breakers in World War II. Both the Japanese and the Germans used code in their communications and it was vital to try to figure out just what their codes were saying.
Keep in mind this was long before high-powered computers; it was mostly a 'look at it and try to figure out what it means' approach. Only late in the effort was some mechanical aid available.
It notes that over 20,000 women were involved in this in various countries. The book describes cryptology and how Julius Caesar use codes to communicate with his generals.
The book describes how specific women ended up in the code breaking rooms and the good and bad things about their work. It also notes the FBI interfered, wanting only men to get credit for their work.
It even notes that some men referred to the women as 'petticoat soldiers.'
(Some things never seem to change.)
Another interesting example of discrimination was the aboriginal soldiers in Australia. There were around 5000 of them who fought for a country that did not consider them citizens even though there were there long before any white man set foot on that continent.
It's an important part of history that should not be forgotten.
Keep in mind this was long before high-powered computers; it was mostly a 'look at it and try to figure out what it means' approach. Only late in the effort was some mechanical aid available.
It notes that over 20,000 women were involved in this in various countries. The book describes cryptology and how Julius Caesar use codes to communicate with his generals.
The book describes how specific women ended up in the code breaking rooms and the good and bad things about their work. It also notes the FBI interfered, wanting only men to get credit for their work.
It even notes that some men referred to the women as 'petticoat soldiers.'
(Some things never seem to change.)
Another interesting example of discrimination was the aboriginal soldiers in Australia. There were around 5000 of them who fought for a country that did not consider them citizens even though there were there long before any white man set foot on that continent.
It's an important part of history that should not be forgotten.
September 1, 2025
This book tells the stories of several of the women who served as code breakers during World War II. Virtually no one knew about the job these women did every day. If anyone thought of them, they believed they were doing some kind of secretarial work. Even their families had no ide what they were doing. At the end of the war, they were told, the war is over and you can go home. Pretty much no thank you, definitely no severance pay or recognition of their work. For decades, their work was sealed and no one knew of them. Much of their work was attributed to men. Most of the women went back to their homes and previous jobs as housewives. Some went on to teach recruits basic Morse code. Their work was vital to the ability of the Allies to win battles over the Germans and Japanese; but their contributions are just now being opened up to the public. Only a few have been given some recognition. So many more need to be revealed.
December 6, 2023
Audiobook: This was my first experience with Elise Baker's work, and it was fascinating. This book related information about several women who worked in the field of cryptography. It was obvious the amount of research and study that was put into the writing of this book. I enjoyed the stories of each of the women. My only issue was that the summation tended towards a feministic rant which I felt was unnecessary as the work of these women spoke for them, and everything else seemed superfluous. Val Cole's narration was good, and her performance kept my attention. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.
January 5, 2024
I received a complimentary Audio copy of this book from the author through Story Origin. My first of this series. The narrator, Val Cole, did an excellent job. Her voice is distinct and a pleasure to listen to. 5 stars plus for her.
Women codebreakers of WWII. They have very interesting stories. My husband wanted more technical information. But I thought there was just enough to learn about what they went through. I enjoyed all the personal feelings and happenings. Strong, smart, caring and capable women. Excellent read/listen.
Women codebreakers of WWII. They have very interesting stories. My husband wanted more technical information. But I thought there was just enough to learn about what they went through. I enjoyed all the personal feelings and happenings. Strong, smart, caring and capable women. Excellent read/listen.
June 29, 2023
I found this book to be very interesting. Attitudes about the capabilities of women was exceedingly different during this time period than current day. Reading about how vital these women were to the war effort is inspiring. It's sad that the majority of these women were not given the proper accolades during their lifetimes, but it's admirable that history is finally bringing their accomplishments to light.
June 29, 2025
I truly enjoyed receiving and reading this book. World War II history buffs will find it fascinating, especially since it sheds light on one of the war’s most secretive branches—codebreaking. We learn about the remarkable women, such as Elizebeth Friedman, Mavis Batey, Joan Clarke, Genevieve Feinstein, and others, who made crucial contributions to defeating fascism. This book highlights their stories, giving them the recognition they deserve.
October 10, 2023
A fascinating aspect of history, I loved the fact that Australian female code breakers were mentioned too. I loved the insight into Cryptology, however, the formatting of this book was a major let down and made it harder to understand and read, I hope the formatting isn't like this in Baker's other books.
February 20, 2023
The achievements of women code breakers during WWIII were never recognised, due to the top secret classified nature of the work. It is great that these highly intelligent individuals can now finally be named and their stories brought to public awareness.
December 16, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this audio about WW2 women codebreakers! The women involved were true heroes and certainly had incredible minds to be able to beat the enigma machines! Listening to their stories was fascinating and I admire their dedication and tenacity as well as their accomplishments and what it meant to our country! The narration was excellent and really helped the history come alive!!
March 12, 2024
This book is great for anyone looking for a dip into the women code breakers of WW2. The author has done a great job introducing several women and gives quite a few resources you can followup with if you're looking for more details.
October 19, 2025
Very interesting and a reasonable history of the women and what they were before, during and after the WWII period of time. There were probably lots of others we never saw and also lots of others who never thought they would be selected or pass the tests laid out by the "men".
October 9, 2022
Loved it
A potted history as regards women code breakers. Each and every one has a fascinating story to tell. An easy flowing and knowledgeable book
A potted history as regards women code breakers. Each and every one has a fascinating story to tell. An easy flowing and knowledgeable book
May 30, 2024
Fascinating factual read that I struggled to put down.
November 22, 2024
Interesting, but written in a very boring and repetitive manner. The perpetual harping of female inequality is also tedious.
January 27, 2026
Such a great series. Learned a lot and great profiles and detailing of the different women and the context of their lives and work
October 14, 2022
Every daughter should read this
History is written by the victors but the truth is there for those who wish to find it. This book is part of a great series of Brave Women Who Changed the Course of WWII, which is a fantastic idea. Great to see specifically in this book, the emphasis on science and technology, long before the STEM acronym existed.
History is written by the victors but the truth is there for those who wish to find it. This book is part of a great series of Brave Women Who Changed the Course of WWII, which is a fantastic idea. Great to see specifically in this book, the emphasis on science and technology, long before the STEM acronym existed.
February 18, 2025
I liked this BUT it was not-a-lot of info, with a lot of padding to make a book. Silly because the info was unique, interesting and much wanted by people still looking back to World War II and the individual contributions.
I guess someone suggested to publish and get the interest so it's premature. There are 20,000 other female stories and maybe 60,000 other SOE stories. They will all be lost in the next 25 years unless recorded. Oh well.
I guess someone suggested to publish and get the interest so it's premature. There are 20,000 other female stories and maybe 60,000 other SOE stories. They will all be lost in the next 25 years unless recorded. Oh well.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews