Book review: Code Girls: The Untold Story of American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


One of my (achievable) New Year’s resolutions is to read more non-fiction. “Code Girls” was a wonderful place to start. The author paints a detailed and knowledgeable picture of the role women played in World War II breaking both the Japanese and German codes. Despite their obvious intelligence and substantive contributions to the war effort, these women often faced discrimination during their service. And, yet, the vast majority of them persevered, wanting to do their part to support the war effort. Their patriotism and their contributions in breaking the codes of the enemy are an untold and underappreciated part of World War II history.
I found the descriptions of the code-breaking effort and what it entailed fascinating. But even more fascinating was reading about the backgrounds of the various women. Certainly, there were women from elite colleges such as Barnard and Smith that contributed. But many of the most brilliant code-breakers came from less exalted schools or were from rural areas or were schoolteachers or just looking for adventure. And while discrimination certainly existed, there were also senior (male) officers who were supportive and gave credit where credit was due.
Another factor that struck me was what happened to many of the women once the war was over. A few of them stayed in what ultimately became the NSA, but most of the women left government service and started families. They rarely talked about their wartime activities and while many found their lives fulfilling, the excitement and the feeling of making a difference was something that was missing from their subsequent lives.
I highly recommend this book as an excellent resource of a little-known part of the United States war effort.



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2018 New Year’s Eve Dinner at Métier (Washington, DC)

As consolation for not being able to go to Hawaii over holiday break (a First World problem, I know), we celebrated New Year’s Eve with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Métier, the younger sibling of Kinship, headed up by Chef Eric Ziebold and his wife, Celia Laurent.


To our delight, the kids decided that they would rather have dinner with their parents than hang out with their friends to celebrate the new year (I suspect us raving over the food had something to do with it).

We think Eric is one of the most gifted chefs we have ever encountered, and he certainly performed beyond our expectations once again. Once we arrived at the main dining room, we began with an Avocado Carpaccio with persimmon glaze, shaved radish, minced brioche croutons, and Ossetra caviar.

avocado carpaccio

Next up was a Russet Potato Pancake with braised quince, spiced crème fraîche, smoked salmon roe, and pumpkin coulis. Who knew something as rustic as a potato pancake could taste so elegant and delightful?

russet potato pancake

Koshikari Garlic Fried Rice with aoyagi clam ceviche, marinated bok choy, crispy shitake mushrooms, and yuzu kosho-clam broth followed. No further words are needed.

koshikari garlic fried rice

The most impressive dish of the evening was a Confit of Savoy Cabbage Agnolotti served with roasted Brussels sprouts, hazelnut broth, and Périgord truffles. The dish was impressive because to be able to create an agnolotti that tasted of essence of cabbage is a superb feat of creativity and cooking.

confit of savoy cabbage agnolotti

Chatham Bay Cod En Persillade was next, accompanied by hay smoked leeks, celery root, pickled celery branch, and Maine lobster bisque. Heavenly.

cod en persillade

And, in case you weren’t quite full enough, the Métier Borscht was served, complete with a grilled Martin Farm beef calotte, heirloom beet tapenade, tempura, and à la Grecque and beet-infused beef consommé. Amazing.

métier borscht

We ended this delightful meal with a Vanilla Olive Oil Parfait served with citrus salad, Meyer Lemon curd, blood orange sorbet, and Niçoise olive meringues. As Jim said, “For a non-chocolate dessert, this was amazing.”

vanilla olive oil parfait

Service throughout the evening was friendly, unobtrusive, and skilled. It was truly a memorable way to celebrate the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019!

Christmas 2018

Christmas 2018 will go down in the family chronicles as the Christmas with an (Over) Abundance of Lintotts. :). Jim’s mother, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew all joined us for our Christmas celebration. It was the first time in many years that the three grandchildren all spent Christmas with their grandmother, and it was lovely that everyone could be together to enjoy the holiday.

For Christmas dinner, we had been given a porchetta by some close friends, so the menu was as follows:

Porchetta
Gougères
Caesar salad (with homemade dressing)
Potatoes Anna
Wild Blackberry Pie

We hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season!

the porchetta in its “natural” state
Christmas dinner
The Lintott Family Christmas
The family Christmas lights