I plan to share my monthly reads via this blog, starting this month. My hope is to share my nonfiction choice the last week of the month (and my fiction choice sometime during each month). I love to read, but I have not been as committed of late. I miss sharing about books with my students, so I hope you will share your thoughts on a book I mention or share about what you are reading.
Having kept a hand written book log/journal for years, I just started keeping it on Google drive for quicker reference and for making my notes for upcoming months. I am using the same format here.
Book Title: Code Girls : The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II
Author: Liza Mundy
Publication Date: October 2017
Publisher: Hachette Books
Recommended by: No one
My Interest in the Book is:
I enjoy reading historical nonfiction (and fiction). This book is of special interest because of the American women code breakers.
Ideas Expressed/Message/Plot:
During World War II, the U.S. Army needed more code breakers, so 10,000+ young women were recruited to help fulfill that need. This is their story. A beautifully mastered account of these genius women and their incredible commitment to the secrecy of their efforts as they served their country as well as after their service ended. By deciphering German and Japanese military codes, they profoundly impacted the outcome of World War II.
Favorite Characters/Quotes/Lines:
Dot Braden stands out the most to me. Maybe because the author first introduces her early in the book. Mostly, though, because of Dot’s sense of adventure and bravery in accepting a job for which she had no idea the responsibility. As noted on page 9-10, “…Without knowing what she was applying for — the recruiters provided no concrete job description — Dot Braden filled out an application for a job with the War Department. Just a few weeks later, Dot found herself on a train rattling out of…Virginia’s Southside region, headed 180 miles north to Washington, D.C. with excitement in the pit of her stomach, very little money in her pocketbook, and not the faintest idea what she had been hired to do.”
Some other notable quotes:
Pg. 250 “Behind the success of the U.S. Navy were the code breakers. ‘The success of undersea warfare is to a certain extent due to the success with which Japanese code messages were translated,’ noted a naval report.”
Pg. 309: “D-Day was a great achievement. They knew that. But somehow it did not seem cause for celebration, or not exactly, or not yet. Going to church was the only way they could think of to honor the tragedy and loss, which they sensed though they did not yet know the full extent: the Allied soldiers bobby facedown in the water, drowned under their packs; the Rangers shot down as they dug handholds with their knives to scramble up the cliffs; the bodies on the beaches; the pilots who crashed in the fog and the smoke; the parachutists who drowned in marshes. It was the only way they could think of to honor the men who had made the sacrifice… Ann would remember the Normandy invasion as one of the great moments of the war, and she would remember her wartime code-breaking service as the great moment of her life.”
Pg. 376-377 “August 14 – Japan surrenders. Code breakers in Washington, D.C. anxiously await the formal messages. The first person to read the surrender message is a female code breaker at Arlington Hall who is an expert in the lower-level diplomatic cipher system used to transmit it. She knows the war is over even before U.S. president Harry Truman does. The news spreads through Arlington Hall.”
When I finished this book, I felt:
Moved by their experience. I actually teared up because of the tremendous, initially unrecognized, contribution to the war effort that these ladies gave in service to their country. Sad they had to wait so long to be fully recognized due to the highly secretive nature of their work.
Notes/Comments:
Throughout this book, Mundy brings to light the sacrifices these ladies made to keep secret their work as code breakers. Even many of their families did not know the involvement and remarkable work the ladies did to save American lives and to help end the war. The author also connects the reader to the women by sharing details about the lives of the women outside of their work.
I appreciate how Mundy follows up with what happened to some of the women after they left the service. Some left and went back to mainstream society, got married, and had children. Some stayed on for awhile while others served their entire career. Many of them were able to finally reveal to their families and friends their remarkable contribution. The author also includes a section of photos so that faces can be put with names. I am impressed by how she conveys, in a sensible, easy-to-follow account, their lives and service.
Liza, Mundy. Code girls : the untold story of the American women code breakers who helped win World War II. New York: Hachette Books, 2017. Print.
Your thoughts?
Have you read this book? If so, please comment and give your feedback. Do you have any recommendations of books similar to this one? What did you read this month?