Documents the contributions of more than ten thousand American women who served as codebreakers during World War II, detailing how their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and enabled their subsequent careers.

Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them.

Documents the contributions of more than ten thousand American women who served as codebreakers during World War II, detailing how their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and enabled their subsequent careers.

"A nonfiction chronicle of the courageous efforts of remarkable young women recruited by the US government to crack German and Japanese military codes during World War II."--Provided by publisher.

Thousands of women served as codebreakers in World War II, but a vow of secrecy nearly erased them from history. Through interviews with the surviving Code Girls, Liza Mundy brings their courageous stories to life.

"Recruited from small Southern towns and posh New England colleges, 10,000 American women served the U.S. Army and Navy as code breakers during World War II. While their brothers and husbands took up arms, these women moved to Washington and, under strict vows of secrecy, learned the meticulous work of breaking German and Japanese military codes. Poring over reams of encrypted messages, the women worked tirelessly in makeshift facilities in Washington, D.C.; Arlington, Virginia; and Dayton, Ohio. Their codebreaking triumphs shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. In the process, many got their first taste of the big city, made lifelong friends, and fell in and out of love amid the heartbreak of war. Ordered never to reveal the details of their wartime work, these women were all but written out of history. Now, through her dazzling archival research and interviews with surviving code breakers, Liza Mundy has brought to life this vital story of American courage, service, and science. At the heart of Code Girls is Dot Braden, a feisty Virginia schoolteacher who, in 1943, leapt at the chance to take a mysterious job with the Army at a place called Arlington Hall"--From container cover.