What do you think?
Rate this book
The Secret Codebreakers: The Untold Story of Black Women Cryptologists and the War Against Stalin’s Bomb
Hidden Figures meets The Imitation Game in this never-before-told true story of the segregated Black code breakers who helped America win the Cold War, set amid the civil rights movement.
This is the shocking true story of the Black American codebreaking unit whose top-secret work led directly to the end of the Cold War.
Facing the global threat of a rising Communist world power in the aftermath of World War II, the US employed hundreds of Black Americans to speed read Russian communications and gather essential information on the US's most dangerous nuclear rival.
The result was the creation of a segregated civilian codebreaking unit known as the Traffic Processing Division - The Plantation. Despite wage discrimination, gruelling hours and harsh conditions, the Plantation's 100 college-educated Black women made invaluable breakthroughs in United States' Soviet intelligence, even as the backlash against civil rights eroded their democratic freedoms at home.
Sarah Valentine tells their remarkable story in full for the first time. Paying long overdue tribute to these little-known Black cryptologists' critical contributions to national security during the civil rights era and the Cold War.
'With relentless research and electric storytelling, Sarah Valentine restores the erased Black cryptologists who powered U.S. codebreaking from WWII through the Korean War. Urgent, revelatory, and impossible to ignore, Decoding the Devil unveils both the uncomfortable truths and the inspiring histories that form the foundation of our intelligence community' - Nathalia Holt, New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls and Wise Gals
'A thought-provoking exploration of the lives and work of the largely forgotten, undervalued, and little-acknowledged Black (and mostly female) cryptologists who contributed to this nation's intelligence success during World War II and the early Cold War. These contributions were made despite physically uncomfortable and segregated workspaces and assignments far below their education and capabilities. Sarah Valentine tells a fascinating tale, deftly weaving the cryptologic work into the social and political constraints of the times' - Betsy Rohaly Smoot, author of Parker The Father of American Military Cryptology
'This book shows us the seams and man-making of a patriotic narrative usually sold to us as divine. Like Zora Neal Hurston loves us, Sarah Valentine loves us enough to tell the truth about our humanity inside of purposefully inhumane American institutions' - Steven Dunn, author of Water & Power
This is the shocking true story of the Black American codebreaking unit whose top-secret work led directly to the end of the Cold War.
Facing the global threat of a rising Communist world power in the aftermath of World War II, the US employed hundreds of Black Americans to speed read Russian communications and gather essential information on the US's most dangerous nuclear rival.
The result was the creation of a segregated civilian codebreaking unit known as the Traffic Processing Division - The Plantation. Despite wage discrimination, gruelling hours and harsh conditions, the Plantation's 100 college-educated Black women made invaluable breakthroughs in United States' Soviet intelligence, even as the backlash against civil rights eroded their democratic freedoms at home.
Sarah Valentine tells their remarkable story in full for the first time. Paying long overdue tribute to these little-known Black cryptologists' critical contributions to national security during the civil rights era and the Cold War.
'With relentless research and electric storytelling, Sarah Valentine restores the erased Black cryptologists who powered U.S. codebreaking from WWII through the Korean War. Urgent, revelatory, and impossible to ignore, Decoding the Devil unveils both the uncomfortable truths and the inspiring histories that form the foundation of our intelligence community' - Nathalia Holt, New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls and Wise Gals
'A thought-provoking exploration of the lives and work of the largely forgotten, undervalued, and little-acknowledged Black (and mostly female) cryptologists who contributed to this nation's intelligence success during World War II and the early Cold War. These contributions were made despite physically uncomfortable and segregated workspaces and assignments far below their education and capabilities. Sarah Valentine tells a fascinating tale, deftly weaving the cryptologic work into the social and political constraints of the times' - Betsy Rohaly Smoot, author of Parker The Father of American Military Cryptology
'This book shows us the seams and man-making of a patriotic narrative usually sold to us as divine. Like Zora Neal Hurston loves us, Sarah Valentine loves us enough to tell the truth about our humanity inside of purposefully inhumane American institutions' - Steven Dunn, author of Water & Power
Audible Audio
Published June 4, 2026
About the author
Sarah Valentine
35 books80 followersSarah Valentine, PhD, is a widely published author and translator whose awards include an NEH Public Scholar grant and a Lannan Foundation fellowship. Valentine has taught literature and creative writing at Princeton, UCLA, UC Riverside, and Northwestern University.
Her latest book, DECODING THE DEVIL: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin's Bomb (HarperCollins June 2026), reveals a top-secret team of Black codebreakers that provided critical intelligence to stop the US from starting a nuclear war.
In her memoir, WHEN I WAS WHITE (St. Martin's 2019), she recounts growing up in Pittsburgh as a mixed-race Black girl in a white family who kept her identity a closely held secret. She lives in Pittsburgh.
Her latest book, DECODING THE DEVIL: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin's Bomb (HarperCollins June 2026), reveals a top-secret team of Black codebreakers that provided critical intelligence to stop the US from starting a nuclear war.
In her memoir, WHEN I WAS WHITE (St. Martin's 2019), she recounts growing up in Pittsburgh as a mixed-race Black girl in a white family who kept her identity a closely held secret. She lives in Pittsburgh.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 22, 2026
The Secret Codebreakers: The Untold Story of Black Women Cryptologists and the War Against Stalin’s Bomb is a powerful and deeply important work that brings long-overdue attention to a group of extraordinary individuals whose contributions to American intelligence history have remained largely unrecognized. Sarah Valentine presents a compelling narrative that blends historical research, personal testimony, and institutional critique to illuminate a hidden chapter of the Cold War.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is its focus on the Traffic Processing Division known as “The Plantation” a segregated unit of highly educated Black women whose analytical and linguistic skills played a critical role in deciphering Soviet communications. The contrast between their essential national security contributions and the systemic discrimination they endured at work and in society creates a narrative that is both powerful and deeply sobering.
The book excels in connecting individual experiences to broader geopolitical developments. By situating the work of these cryptologists within the context of the early Cold War, nuclear tensions, and civil rights struggles, it highlights how intelligence history and social history are inseparably linked. This dual focus makes the story not only informative but also emotionally resonant.
What makes this work particularly impactful is its emphasis on recognition and historical correction. It challenges long-standing narratives about intelligence successes by revealing the overlooked labor and expertise of Black women whose work was essential to national security outcomes. This reframing adds significant depth to our understanding of Cold War intelligence operations.
The storytelling is both engaging and meticulously researched, balancing technical detail with human experience. Readers gain insight into the pressures of codebreaking work, the realities of segregation, and the resilience of women who operated under extraordinary circumstances.
One of the most striking aspects of this book is its focus on the Traffic Processing Division known as “The Plantation” a segregated unit of highly educated Black women whose analytical and linguistic skills played a critical role in deciphering Soviet communications. The contrast between their essential national security contributions and the systemic discrimination they endured at work and in society creates a narrative that is both powerful and deeply sobering.
The book excels in connecting individual experiences to broader geopolitical developments. By situating the work of these cryptologists within the context of the early Cold War, nuclear tensions, and civil rights struggles, it highlights how intelligence history and social history are inseparably linked. This dual focus makes the story not only informative but also emotionally resonant.
What makes this work particularly impactful is its emphasis on recognition and historical correction. It challenges long-standing narratives about intelligence successes by revealing the overlooked labor and expertise of Black women whose work was essential to national security outcomes. This reframing adds significant depth to our understanding of Cold War intelligence operations.
The storytelling is both engaging and meticulously researched, balancing technical detail with human experience. Readers gain insight into the pressures of codebreaking work, the realities of segregation, and the resilience of women who operated under extraordinary circumstances.
Displaying 1 of 1 review