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The sisterhood : the secret history of women at the CIA / Liza Mundy.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Crown, [2023]Copyright date: ©2023Edition: First editionDescription: xxii, 452 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780593238172
  • 0593238176
Other title:
  • Secret history of women at the CIA
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Prologue: The promise -- Part one: The assessment of men. Station W -- Get the food, Mary -- The clerk -- The diplomat's daughter -- Flaps and seals -- You had to wear a skirt -- Housewife cover -- The heist -- Incident management -- The vault women revolt -- Miss Marple of Russia house -- What are you going to do with the boat? -- Part two: Ladies doing analysis. The fiercely argued things -- Finding X -- You don't belong here -- A bright and attractive redhead -- Stress and a gray room -- The nicked earlobe -- "I've got a target on my back" -- September 11, 2001 -- Part three: Getting their guys. The threat matrix -- The new girls -- Putting warheads on foreheads -- Espionage is espionage -- I made bad people have bad days -- Anything to fit in -- Laundry on the line -- Epilogue.
Summary: "The New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls reveals the untold story of how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age, a sweeping story of a "sisterhood" of women spies spanning three generations who broke the glass ceiling, helped transform spycraft, and tracked down Osama Bin Laden. Upon its creation in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency instantly became one of the most important spy services in the world. Like every male-dominated workplace in Eisenhower America, the growing intelligence agency needed women to type memos, send messages, manipulate expense accounts, and keep secrets. Despite discrimination--even because of it--these clerks and secretaries rose to become some of the shrewdest, toughest operatives the agency employed. Because women were seen as unimportant, they moved unnoticed on the streets of Bonn, Geneva, and Moscow, stealing secrets under the noses of the KGB. Back at headquarters, they built the CIA's critical archives--first by hand, then by computer. These women also battled institutional stereotyping and beat it. Men argued they alone could run spy rings. But the women proved they could be spymasters, too. During the Cold War, women made critical contributions to U.S. intelligence, sometimes as officers, sometimes as unpaid spouses, working together as their numbers grew. The women also made unique sacrifices, giving up marriage, children, even their own lives. They noticed things that the men at the top didn't see. In the final years of the twentieth century, it was a close-knit network of female CIA analysts who warned about the rising threat of Al Qaeda. After the 9/11 attacks, women rushed to join the fight as a new job, "targeter," came to prominence. They showed that painstaking data analysis would be crucial to the post-9/11 national security landscape--an effort that culminated spectacularly in the CIA's successful efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden and, later, Ayman al-Zawahiri. With the same meticulous reporting and storytelling verve that she brought to her New York Times bestseller Code Girls, Liza Mundy has written an indispensable and sweeping history that reveals how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age"-- Provided by publisher.
List(s) this item appears in: Women's History Month (Adults)
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 327.1273 M965 Checked out 07/03/2024 33111011091747
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 327.1273 M965 Available 33111011195332
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A "rip-roaring" (Steve Coll), "staggeringly well-researched" ( The New York Times ) history of three generations at the CIA, "electric with revelations" ( Booklist ) about the women who fought to become operatives, transformed spycraft, and tracked down Osama bin Laden, from the bestselling author of Code Girls

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE * A FOREIGN POLICY AND SMITHSONIAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

In development as a series from Lionsgate Television, executive produced by Scott Delman ( Station Eleven )

Created in the aftermath of World War II, the Central Intelligence Agency relied on women even as it attempted to channel their talents and keep them down. Women sent cables, made dead drops, and maintained the agency's secrets. Despite discrimination--even because of it--women who started as clerks, secretaries, or unpaid spouses rose to become some of the CIA's shrewdest operatives.

They were unlikely spies--and that's exactly what made them perfect for the role. Because women were seen as unimportant, pioneering female intelligence officers moved unnoticed around Bonn, Geneva, and Moscow, stealing secrets from under the noses of their KGB adversaries. Back at headquarters, women built the CIA's critical archives--first by hand, then by computer. And they noticed things that the men at the top didn't see. As the CIA faced an identity crisis after the Cold War, it was a close-knit network of female analysts who spotted the rising threat of al-Qaeda--though their warnings were repeatedly brushed aside.

After the 9/11 attacks, more women joined the agency as a new job, targeter, came to prominence. They showed that data analysis would be crucial to the post-9/11 national security landscape--an effort that culminated spectacularly in the CIA's successful effort to track down bin Laden in his Pakistani compound.

Propelled by the same meticulous reporting and vivid storytelling that infused Code Girls , The Sisterhood offers a riveting new perspective on history, revealing how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age, and how their silencing made the world more dangerous

"The New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls reveals the untold story of how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age, a sweeping story of a "sisterhood" of women spies spanning three generations who broke the glass ceiling, helped transform spycraft, and tracked down Osama Bin Laden. Upon its creation in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency instantly became one of the most important spy services in the world. Like every male-dominated workplace in Eisenhower America, the growing intelligence agency needed women to type memos, send messages, manipulate expense accounts, and keep secrets. Despite discrimination--even because of it--these clerks and secretaries rose to become some of the shrewdest, toughest operatives the agency employed. Because women were seen as unimportant, they moved unnoticed on the streets of Bonn, Geneva, and Moscow, stealing secrets under the noses of the KGB. Back at headquarters, they built the CIA's critical archives--first by hand, then by computer. These women also battled institutional stereotyping and beat it. Men argued they alone could run spy rings. But the women proved they could be spymasters, too. During the Cold War, women made critical contributions to U.S. intelligence, sometimes as officers, sometimes as unpaid spouses, working together as their numbers grew. The women also made unique sacrifices, giving up marriage, children, even their own lives. They noticed things that the men at the top didn't see. In the final years of the twentieth century, it was a close-knit network of female CIA analysts who warned about the rising threat of Al Qaeda. After the 9/11 attacks, women rushed to join the fight as a new job, "targeter," came to prominence. They showed that painstaking data analysis would be crucial to the post-9/11 national security landscape--an effort that culminated spectacularly in the CIA's successful efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden and, later, Ayman al-Zawahiri. With the same meticulous reporting and storytelling verve that she brought to her New York Times bestseller Code Girls, Liza Mundy has written an indispensable and sweeping history that reveals how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 403-429) and index.

Prologue: The promise -- Part one: The assessment of men. Station W -- Get the food, Mary -- The clerk -- The diplomat's daughter -- Flaps and seals -- You had to wear a skirt -- Housewife cover -- The heist -- Incident management -- The vault women revolt -- Miss Marple of Russia house -- What are you going to do with the boat? -- Part two: Ladies doing analysis. The fiercely argued things -- Finding X -- You don't belong here -- A bright and attractive redhead -- Stress and a gray room -- The nicked earlobe -- "I've got a target on my back" -- September 11, 2001 -- Part three: Getting their guys. The threat matrix -- The new girls -- Putting warheads on foreheads -- Espionage is espionage -- I made bad people have bad days -- Anything to fit in -- Laundry on the line -- Epilogue.

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