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Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy
1 review
gracer's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
Really fascinating history of a very exciting time. I learned a lot about the war, not just codes and cryptanalysis- but that too! For example, I had heard that Allies tried to make Hitler believe they would invade Europe through Norway to distract from Normandy, but I never thought about how much work went into the distraction and who was doing it.
I thought this book covered a good span of history, going back to earlier American cryptographers like the Friedmans and Agnes Driscoll, without dwelling on them for too long. For the most part I also enjoyed forays into the personal lives of the code girls we followed.
That said, at times the writing went too far. Things were repeated - we get it, the only other job option these women had was to be a teacher, and we don’t need to be reminded each time a new code breaker is introduced. My favorite example of this was the line, “[they] were married on December 29, 1945, a few days after Christmas.” Yes, I do know when Christmas is... I guess sometimes people think these things add to the scene but to me they almost always feel superfluous.
At other times I didn’t really understand why the book was organized a certain way. It seemed to jump around a bit, as I’m sure was necessary (there was a lot going on from 1941-1945, let’s be honest), but the structure escaped me.
Also, in a few instances, the author quoted people using what are now considered to be racial slurs. I don’t understand why these slurs were published, wholly intact.
Overall, a highly informative read on a really interesting chapter of history.
I thought this book covered a good span of history, going back to earlier American cryptographers like the Friedmans and Agnes Driscoll, without dwelling on them for too long. For the most part I also enjoyed forays into the personal lives of the code girls we followed.
That said, at times the writing went too far. Things were repeated - we get it, the only other job option these women had was to be a teacher, and we don’t need to be reminded each time a new code breaker is introduced. My favorite example of this was the line, “[they] were married on December 29, 1945, a few days after Christmas.” Yes, I do know when Christmas is... I guess sometimes people think these things add to the scene but to me they almost always feel superfluous.
At other times I didn’t really understand why the book was organized a certain way. It seemed to jump around a bit, as I’m sure was necessary (there was a lot going on from 1941-1945, let’s be honest), but the structure escaped me.
Also, in a few instances, the author quoted people using what are now considered to be racial slurs. I don’t understand why these slurs were published, wholly intact.
Overall, a highly informative read on a really interesting chapter of history.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Racial slurs
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