History I didn’t learn in school is a favorite nonfiction reading topic of mine. In “Wise Gals,” Nathalia Holt tells a fascinating story of extraordinary women who were instrumental in the development of what is now the CIA and the crucial intelligence work they did all over the world. Ms. Holt is also the author of “Rise of the Rocket Girls” and “The Queens of Animation.”

In 1953 agents Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudemeier were members of a committee working to improve retention rates for female agents: male co-workers derisively called it the Petticoat Panel. The four women were instrumental in developing intelligence systems during World War II and wanted to continue to serve and encourage female agents to stay with the agency. What they found was that female agents left the service not for marriage and motherhood (which was the conventional wisdom) but because they were doing the same work as male agents, but were making less money and were not receiving promotions at the same rate as the men. This serves to introduce readers to what jobs these women and others did for the CIA.

This book relates the extraordinary work of women in service of their country from Cold War locations, to the Cuban Missile Crisis, and anti-terrorism efforts all over the world. Hawkins, Hutchison, Page, and Sudemeier did hard, secretive jobs in communications, science and technological operations, and with human assets all over a dangerous world.

A great read. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy for review.

I absolutely love learning more about women that aren't talked about in history. These are names people should know. My only critique is that I wish it had been organized a little more with better transitions. I thought it was well researched.

Wise Gals is another interesting story about women working behind the scenes in an important historical event by Nathalia Holt. While Holt has previously covered the women involved in the space program (Rise of the Rocket Girls) and Disney (Queens of Animation), this one focuses on the women involved in the formation of the CIA. Most of the story follows five women who work for the OSS (eventually morphing into the CIA).

I did feel like the writing felt a little scattered at times, moving swiftly from character to character. It might have been a little easier to follow it it had been meticulously organized, though it is a minor quibble.

These women began, in many instances, as housewives before landing jobs as high-level secretaries (which actually provided great cover) for military figures. After proving their talents for long periods of time, they were finally granted an opportunity to become bonafide spies. Women were paid considerably less than their male counterparts. For a long time, the U.S. intelligence operations was a bumbling mess (even documents how the British were skeptical of the Americans), a bit of an "all boys club." Women entered the workforce during World War II and thereafter at an unprecedented rate, which had seismic changes at multiple levels.

This book touches on the bigger changes, as well as on an individual level with each main character. The level of detail is what makes this book great. I particularly rooted for Jane Burrell, someone who discovered that being a spy was greater than anything she'd previously done--sadly including her own marriage. These women made great sacrifices with Burrell's life being particularly sad and alcoholism and loneliness being a common theme, as the cost of being a spy was significant. I liked the small details, such as how the Nazi spies feared the Soviets the most because the Soviet reputation was particularly fierce.

Such a great book!!!! I'm a huge history fan and this was a great read! I highly recommend this to anyone who like THE WOMAN WHO SMASHED CODES or any Bill OReilly history book. I really really enjoyed this book and have already recommended it to several people

Ever wonder who was the foundation for the spies that we think of today? Well, surprisingly, it's NOT a bunch of men! The foundation for what we think of as the modern spy were women! As men were overwhelmingly off to fight on the front lines, women were left behind and they found unique ways to contribute to the war. One way was to volunteer to help out and their unique skills were called upon to break codes and find that nugget of information that might save lives. This was an awesome book and tells about a piece of history that has been forgotten until now.

Wise Gals brings light to the stories of the forgotten women who helped form the Central Intelligence Agency. We go through major events in history through the lens of the female spies who collected the intelligence that was used to make decisions . As they fought to be recognized and treated equally for their roles in the CIA, these women experience victories and defeats that shaped politics, with world-stage ramifications that echo into the present day.

Wise Gals was a really well written nonfiction story, and the level of detail present showed it was clearly well researched. I like how both the successes and failures of these women were shown, as it lends a more accurate perspective to what happened. Their struggles to receive equal pay and recognition were important to read, and it was also interesting to see how espionage shaped major world events like the Cold War. The personalities of each of these women shone through, and it was important to see what they were willing to sacrifice for their careers.

I highly recommend this novel to nonfiction readers! Thank you so much to Putnam Books and Net Galley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Compelling and thorough look at some extraordinary women who helped shaped the CIA. I will definitely be recommending this. I was not able to pitch a review, but will give it social media shout outs next week. Thanks for the early read.

This is a powerful story about a group of women who normally no one would have ever heard of but who were so important to the founding of the CIA. The author collected a lot of data and she really describes the women and their various personalities well. This books is full of interesting information and I really enjoyed reading about a topic that I previously knew little about.

Wise Gals is a very informative book about the start of the CIA. Along with interesting information about codenames, covert operations, and spy gear we also learn how difficult it was for those involved. Especially women who gave there life to defend our country but we're not recognized as having an equal part along side the men. I enjoyed learning how women helped to form the CIA and were willing to do alot of the dirty work that there male counterparts maybe wouldn't have even thought of. I would recommend this book to only those who are invested in the CIA but also history buffs. I learned alot about our country and they dealt with big events that have shaped our nation.
Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book early.

Wise Gals The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage by Nathalia Holt is a captivating read, but the transitions are clunky and hard to follow at times. Overall a great book if you're looking for a history of women in the CIA.

There is a ton of interesting information in this book, but it’s not as easy to digest as it could be. It’s nonfiction, but if it had told the stories of these different American female spies in a way that was more similar to fictional story telling, it would have made all the information easier to process and remember.

A lot of this book is infuriating at how poorly women in the CIA were treated. No matter how well educated and experienced these women were, they got paid less and had few positions of power because it was assumed that men would not want to report to women and that women naturally would prefer male bosses. The main thing they were penalized for was the audacity to get married because that of course meant children. “I tell you this business about people getting married and pregnant. I just don’t see how you as a group of supervisors to put quite as much money on them as they do someone who is not subject to these hazards,” said Colonel White, who had four “hazards” himself at home.

Because of the secret nature of their work, divorced or never-married women were assumed to be tragic figures—their friends and family had no idea they were being flown across the world, speaking languages like Russian fluently and doing important work for the security of the United States.

I learned a lot of interesting things from this. I had no idea Gloria Steinem worked for the CIA when she was young, reporting on the importance of youth and student affairs.

I spent the entire read being furious about misogyny in general and in the government in particular. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book, which RELEASES September 6, 2022.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Penguin Group Putnam for this important book on the role of women in Cold War history.

Women never seem to get their due, or even sometimes an appearance in historical events, especially ones that seem so manly or macho. Police investigations, war, women, and for that matter minorities all seem to have not been present, maybe mentioned in passing or a footnote. Women kept the home fires burning always seems the summation of their contributions. Well if the home fires are interrogating former Nazis, and suspected Russian spies, developing new technology to help gather and pass on information, or even being the sole remaining agent in a suddenly dangerous city, yes these women kept the home fires burning brightly. Nathalia Holt in her latest history Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage writes of the role of agents of the CIA who happened to be women, sharing their stories and exploits and how they fought for recognition as hard as they fought for their country.

The book focuses on five women, one who unfortunately was taken too soon, present in the early days of America's transition from World War II rough and tumble OSS to the CIA started under Truman. The book follows their careers, some who started with the OSS some who came in later, but all facing a system that did was becoming stacked against them. All suffered discrimination because of their being women, with pay disparities and advancement not always certain. Two worked on the technological end, developing codes and breaking codes, or working on the U-2 program. Two worked in intelligence gathering, gathering information the old fashion way of listening and paying attention, or in one agents case being the sole remaining American agent working in Baghdad in the 1950's during the revolution. She stayed so that the network she helped develop would continue to exist and that contacts she had made would be safe. For this she was nominated for one of the CIA's highest honors, but being just a girl, there was a lot of consternation about giving it to her. All sacrificed in many different ways, family friends, recognition, but shared the same characteristics. They were tough, they were strong, and they were heroes.

A fascinating look at the Cold War from different point of view, one that points out many mistakes and overreaches that the CIA attempted and failed at in a whole new light. Nathalia Holt has done a tremendous amount of research and is a writer of great skill that can tell a story with many different viewpoints, with technical terms and historical data, that never drags or loses the narrative. There are sections that are taut as a thriller, mixed with stories of shopping for books in Japan, or being stationed in Alaska that balance so well in sharing what life must have been like for these people.

A great addition to books about the Cold War, and one that I said earlier does give a different point of view to great events. There is a great section where a male agent is talking and talking, and the woman, who has probably seen more action than this man ever will comes to the realization that men are not good at intelligence work because their macho aspects and unwillingness to listen or learn makes them miss a lot. Looking back at many of the CIA misses and errors, Sputnik's effect on American moral, the Bay of Pigs, the turn from gathering intelligence to overthrowing governments or other cool things, rather than listening and learning, I think there is still a lot that can be learned from these women. Recommended for history and Cold War fans, and for people who want to be inspired by people who fought their enemies and wouldn't except their own allies imposed limitations.

This is about the four women who after WWII were critical for helping build what we now know as the CIA. You learn something new everyday. While I knew that women were used as spies during WWII. I didn't realize how much of a role they played in creating the CIA.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

These are the stories of four women you have probably never heard of: Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudmeier. They were called the wise gals by their male counterparts in the CIA, pioneers blazing a new trail for women after World War II.

Unlike the well-known spy Mata Hari, these dedicated women didn’t rely on seduction to become spies at the top of their class. They were intelligent, courageous and brave. You would need to be if you were provided two pills as part of your day-to-day work: a knock-out pill and a cyanide pill, to be used if necessary. Working throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East, they forged relationships that allowed them to gather intelligence, including things like the complete technical plans for the world’s first supersonic aircraft. Think of the scientific and technical advances they needed to keep up with, from the mid-1940’s to the 1980’s.

The book is well-researched, and I learned quite a few new things:

While I knew that the U.S. used camouflage to disguise Lockheed’s Burbank plant as a suburban town, I didn’t know Allied forced used life-size inflatable ships, tanks and aircraft. And it worked!

Project Bernhard was a plan to flood American and English markets with counterfeit money, meant to plunge the economies. Thwarted with help from the Wise Gals!

Ozersk, or City 40, is where the Soviet nuclear weapons program began. There was a catastrophic nuclear disaster when one of the cooling systems failed, leading to an explosion. While there were no casualties at the time, within days 300 of the 5,000 residents died of radiation poisoning. No one knew until sometime in the 1960’s that this happened, or that the radioactive waste was dumped into Lake Irtyash, which flows into the Arctic Ocean. I've become engrossed in learning and wondering about Ozersk, which is considered a closed city, yet there are still over 90,000 inhabitants.

The writing did feel a bit disjointed at times, going from one person to another, then back. However, the life stories of these women were thoroughly engrossing. They lived their lives on their terms, both professionally and personally. One drawback is that the author was a bit repetitive concerning the women’s professional struggles in their male-dominated field. I think we understood that from the beginning, but it was stressed continuously and became a bit wearing.

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Fascinating history on important women who were instrumental as spies for the OSS during WWII and help found what is now the CIA. This non-fiction book was well researched and I enjoyed each woman’s story of this non-traditional career and the struggles they endured. It is amazing that until their deaths, not even their family knew the significant contributions by these women. Their courage knew no bounds. This is a great book for fans of “Radium Girls”, “Code Girls” and “The Bletchey Women”, all focused about little know women during WWII but acknowledging key roles they played. Not as smooth at times though, it jumped around a bit and for that, I am giving it a 4 out of 5.

Many thanks to #netgalley #wisegals #natalieholt #penguingroupputnam for the opportunity to read and review this book

Wise Gals is the true story of the women who helped shape the CIA during WWII. These women didn’t get the glory or the pay that their male colleagues did and this book is giving them some long overdue credit for their work.

If you’ve read The Rose Code by Kate Quinn this part of history would be familiar to you. I loved seeing the real-life stories of this women. They were strong and courageous and inspiring.

The book had pictures of the women mentioned and the amount of research conducted by the author was so apparent. It didn’t read like a textbook though, and I found myself very interested in the stories.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I could not get into this book. Sorry I tried a few times. I cannot leave a review for a book I cannot finish. Thanks for your consideration.

This book made me feel like I was inside a mobgirl book. Which was awesome I was always left guessing what would come next. The character and world building was awesome. I would recommend this book to mob movie likers that want to learn about the female version of the characters. It was a good page turner and kept me guessing what was to come.

nonfiction, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, espionage, CIA, OSS, declassified, cold-war-era, women-in-history, WW2, foreign-espionage, career-agents, double-agent, doctorates, experience, gender-disparity, archival-photos, Lakota, personal-sacrifice, personal-isolation*****

This book is the result of the author digging into recently declassified info from the CIA and from personal records and photos kept by the families of these five and other women agents during and between the wars. These were five of the women who worked to transform the OSS into the CIA and improve the art of spycraft and wanted recognition by contemporaries in their field. It shows the depth of investigation and the hard work to assimilate it all into a somewhat cohesive narrative. These women and others are the real deal who fought in their own way to defeat the enemies of their time while also fighting for their right to contribute. Excellent work! Get a copy for your local library as well!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons via NetGalley. Thank you!

This book is an engrossing, riveting exploration of the women who helped build the CIA. It was engaging to read, informative, and hard to put down. I learned so many things, and I enjoyed the vivid way in which everything was described. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in World War II intelligence, the Cold War, and beyond.