In my perusal of the 900s, I came across The Woman All Spies Fear by Amy Butler Greenfield. She tells the story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a code breaker who worked for various U.S. government and military branches during, between, and after both World Wars. I had read a children's picture book about her and was interested in getting to know her more. (Just as an aside, her parents spelled her name with the extra "e" where and "a" would usually be.)
The book was excellent and I enjoyed it very much! I didn't realize that it's officially a young adult book, and I don't really care who it was written for; I just care that the story is good. I enjoyed reading about Elizebeth's life and work, and that of her husband, William (also a code breaker). Elizebeth cracked codes during both World Wars, including being part of cracking the Enigma code in the U.S. She also helped decode messages from rum runners during Prohibition, smugglers, and spies. She also helped various people and institutions develop codes; as a master cryptologist, she knew how to make sure codes were virtually unbreakable.
Interspersed in the book are short sections (2-3 pages each) teaching about various types of codes and ciphers. I found those bits equally interesting and had fun thinking about types of codes I could create, despite having no real need for codes!
Overall, it was a very good, very well-written book. It discussed Elizabeth's challenges as a cryptologist, some of which were because she was a female in the early 20th Century doing "men's work", but also of her triumphs and joys. It also told of her family: her husband, William, and his own work and mental challenges, and their two children, Barbara and John.
I would recommend it for anyone interested in that particular period of history or codes and codebreaking.
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