“Codebreaking is about noticing and manipulating patterns. Humans do this without thinking. We’re wired to see patterns. Codebreakers train themselves to see more deeply.“–Jason Fagone, The Woman Who Smashed Codes
Elizabeth Smith Friedman, a code breaking genius, caught smugglers and gangsters during Prohibition, discovered and exposed Nazi spy rings throughout South America, cracked multiple versions of the famous German Enigma machines, and is the mother of today’s NSA, yet hardly anyone has ever heard of her.
A gifted expert on Shakespeare, Elizabeth went to work for an eccentric tycoon in 1916, living and working at his estate outside of Chicago. Her boss had ties to the government and he recruited her to try her hand at code-breaking. It was there that she met her future husband, the brilliant cryptologist William Friedman. She and William both worked for the government but in different branches. Because of their secrecy agreements, they were unable to talk to each other about the work they were doing–sometimes even working on the same projects.
Jason Fagone brings the early intelligence world to life through Elizabeth’s experiences. It is a riveting story. William Friedman is well remembered by history, but Elizabeth’s contributions have largely been obscured–oftentimes intentionally. Fagone’s research shines light on Elizabeth’s work and brings it out of the shadows of her husband and J. Edgar Hoover to restore Elizabeth to her rightful place in American history.
Content Advisory: Sexism