It’s a sweltering hot afternoon sometime in the summer of 1942 as fans whir and papers shuffle across desks, the room jam-packed with some of the brightest minds in Washington. Everyone in this room, women or men, Army or Navy, is a codebreaker. Code Girls, by Liza Mundy, was published in 2017 and explores the intensely secretive and confusing world of codebreaking in the US before and during WWII, and women’s roles in this world. Beginning even before WWI, Mundy explains the foundations of women codebreakers, spotlighting historical figures and weaving their experiences together, conveying the impact of these women who were often overlooked. How did thousands of women become so involved in this aspect of the war effort, from filing codes to exploiting trade routes and breaking into enemy communication? The novel constantly travels through timelines, back and forth across the three parts and among different stories, slowly building the bustling world that was Washington DC during WWII.
The “main character” of this book is Dot Braden, a former schoolteacher who became a codebreaker for the Army, living in Arlington Farms and working in Arlington Hall with thousands of other women. Her story connects many of the other ones, building up the timeline in reference to her life. When Dot was teaching in Virginia, William Friedman was reaching out to women’s colleges. When Dot first went to work, so were the women who’d become Navy officers. When Dot wrote letters across the sea, the women in Dayton were building parts for the computers that broke the enigma codes. Her story provides a common context, helping to place each event and other story into a greater timeline. The book covers a vast amount of information, touching on numerous codebreaking initiatives, programs, and successes in cryptography during the war. The topic, women who broke codes for WWII, is much more complicated and requires a much wider scope in order to understand how chaotic the system truly was, and Mundy balances that with Dot’s familiar face. However, at times the book becomes bogged down in the simultaneous events inside and outside of Washington.
I enjoyed this book, as I love history and also math, and have always been fascinated by communication during this time especially. Can you imagine trying to organize a war effort in multiple areas of the world involving millions of people and liabilities while keeping information close to the chest? I came to understand how much work the women did for little recognition, taking shifts around the clock and working their brains around code for months, watching ships get sunk and men die. I realized how amazing it was that the women were given this opportunity, utilizing their minds and perseverance, when they were unable to serve in other ways. The true grit of the women in these stories shines through the complicated timelines and multifaceted code breaking efforts. I love history because it revolves around people, and I think this book portrays the human experience and overall impact in wartime code breaking well.
So, I would recommend this book to an interested audience with time on their hands, in order to keep the timeline straight and make the connections between different events. A reader with a good memory would especially love this book, as it does a commendable job weaving everything together, but it can get confusing if you forget things that have happened previously. It’s long, and I probably wouldn’t have been able to finish it if I didn’t have time in class, but I left feeling so much more knowledgeable on an interesting topic and was inspired to learn more. I liked connecting with the characters, reflecting on my struggles if I were to take up this job, and wondering if I might be a good candidate to be a codebreaker. Other readers will find the human stories at the center the most engaging and what makes the book a worthwhile read.
The women who spent their days and nights in stuffy office buildings, inputting letters, rewiring machines, and performing calculations at top speed, deserve more recognition. And I think this book does a good job of that.
The “main character” of this book is Dot Braden, a former schoolteacher who became a codebreaker for the Army, living in Arlington Farms and working in Arlington Hall with thousands of other women. Her story connects many of the other ones, building up the timeline in reference to her life. When Dot was teaching in Virginia, William Friedman was reaching out to women’s colleges. When Dot first went to work, so were the women who’d become Navy officers. When Dot wrote letters across the sea, the women in Dayton were building parts for the computers that broke the enigma codes. Her story provides a common context, helping to place each event and other story into a greater timeline. The book covers a vast amount of information, touching on numerous codebreaking initiatives, programs, and successes in cryptography during the war. The topic, women who broke codes for WWII, is much more complicated and requires a much wider scope in order to understand how chaotic the system truly was, and Mundy balances that with Dot’s familiar face. However, at times the book becomes bogged down in the simultaneous events inside and outside of Washington.
I enjoyed this book, as I love history and also math, and have always been fascinated by communication during this time especially. Can you imagine trying to organize a war effort in multiple areas of the world involving millions of people and liabilities while keeping information close to the chest? I came to understand how much work the women did for little recognition, taking shifts around the clock and working their brains around code for months, watching ships get sunk and men die. I realized how amazing it was that the women were given this opportunity, utilizing their minds and perseverance, when they were unable to serve in other ways. The true grit of the women in these stories shines through the complicated timelines and multifaceted code breaking efforts. I love history because it revolves around people, and I think this book portrays the human experience and overall impact in wartime code breaking well.
So, I would recommend this book to an interested audience with time on their hands, in order to keep the timeline straight and make the connections between different events. A reader with a good memory would especially love this book, as it does a commendable job weaving everything together, but it can get confusing if you forget things that have happened previously. It’s long, and I probably wouldn’t have been able to finish it if I didn’t have time in class, but I left feeling so much more knowledgeable on an interesting topic and was inspired to learn more. I liked connecting with the characters, reflecting on my struggles if I were to take up this job, and wondering if I might be a good candidate to be a codebreaker. Other readers will find the human stories at the center the most engaging and what makes the book a worthwhile read.
The women who spent their days and nights in stuffy office buildings, inputting letters, rewiring machines, and performing calculations at top speed, deserve more recognition. And I think this book does a good job of that.