Wise Gals
Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage
By: Nathalia Holt
[Nominee for ‘Best History/Biography’ category of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge]
“It is only in death that the full measure of their accomplishment can be revealed.”
I wanted to like this book. I’m into spy stuff and this book was written with declassified files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act so I was ready to get the scoop.
There were a few things here and there that were surprising, interesting, or enlightening, but for the most part I felt bored reading this book.
I fell asleep every time I picked the book up to read.
I think it would have engaged me better if it didn’t feel so disjointed.
It felt like whenever there were finally interesting things that caught my attention, she would cut to something else.
For example, one of the women is in a taxi and the driver misses the turn and drives her out in the middle of nowhere and stops. She thinks she’s about to be tortured or killed. Eventually he just drives her back into the city and she gets out of the taxi. But Holt never tells us what that was all about. I’m guessing we just don’t know, but even that wasn’t said.
This type of writing didn’t create suspense, it was a tease and it was frustrating.
Holt tracks the lives of five women who contributed to the creation and continuation of the CIA. It begins in WWII and talks about post-war operations, the Bay of Pigs, the Cold War and nuclear race, etc.
“Eloise’s career had taught her that it wasn’t the flashy operations that gained the most useful results. Instead, it was the maneuvers that the cowboys described as tedious, the ones that operated with small budgets, little attention from headquarters, and no uniformed personnel. It required an officer to engage in tasks that yielded no personal glory, entailing perseverance but not, preferably, bloodshed.”
Holt tries to draw connections between the five women, but there really isn’t much significant overlap.
She jumps around from one woman to another within the same chapter. Even though there are clear breaks between the switches, it was hard to keep their stories straight as to who was where and what struggles they were facing and what missions they were on.
I think it would have been a lot more engaging and easier to read if Holt broke the book up into five parts, chapters written focused on one woman at a time. Then we would get a better chronological view of their career and what sequence things happened.
I also wonder if this wouldn’t be better as a documentary with interviews and visuals.
Some of the interesting things I learned:
The microdot camera was becoming perfected by the 1940s which is a lot earlier than I realized. Technology is crazy to me. I remember this spy technique being used on a postage stamp in a movie (was it Mission Impossible?) but for some reason I think I thought it was futuristic spy tech. It was actually old school!
City 40 was the site of nuclear bomb testing and the radiation there was worse than Chernobyl. The CIA knew about it because of their reconnaissance missions on Soviet nuclear progress, but they kept it secret from the public because they didn’t want the Soviets to know about their surveillance. So all the citizens living in and around that city had no idea they were exposed to radiation.
Gloria Steinem worked for the CIA.
The CIA has mandatory retirement, usually at the age of 60, but sometimes 65. The FBI has it too, but theirs is age 57.
The CIA acknowledges that they engaged (probably still do?) in covert operations which were not necessarily hidden in terms of results but were supposedly untraceable to the CIA. Things like influencing elections of foreign countries or actions that would overthrow foreign leaders or influence certain laws. And I realize that if they have no qualms with influencing foreign elections, how am I supposed to believe that US elections are on the up and up? There just really is no way to trust an election is there? But I also don’t know what to do with that information so I think I just have to pretend everything is fine….
A common thread throughout the book is the inequality of women and men in this industry.
In 1952, 40% of the CIA was women but only 20% were getting paid the same salary level as 70% of the men when they were doing the same work. Some of the women even had advanced degrees.
“Male, pale, and Yale” was the formula for recruitment.
Each woman’s story includes many examples where they were denied promotions or raises or job assignments because they were women or mothers.
It was a common thought that women were not good hires or good to send overseas because they either had families or could get married and start families.
I suppose some of that train of thought still exists today.
But considering the nature of the work at the CIA I’m not sure to what extent I would agree or disagree with this train of thought.
Should certain military or intelligence positions be for men only? I don’t know if women should be denied just because they are women, but I think it makes sense that women may not be as interested in those types of jobs if they have families.
If there is a discrepancy in number of male to female agents in the field, I think it would make sense that there would be less women who would want to do that.
I do see how women could be particularly helpful in obtaining intelligence because people may find them easier to trust or to talk to. They probably do blend in better than men in a lot of ways and are less suspected of nefarious work.
I don’t know where I land on it all. I’m not sure I would go as far as outlawing women from doing certain jobs just because they are women, but I wonder if there’s wisdom in women refraining from certain positions (for a variety of reasons that space does not allow a rundown of in this context.)
For example, I would never want the military to be so inclusive of women that they would make women part of a draft, so there is obviously some difference there. I’m just not sure how far ‘protections’ should go, how much should be legislated, and how much should just be up to the woman.
Regardless, this book depicts five women who were up against ‘the man’ in trying to excel in a field that they were good at. Holt writes to expose their tenacity and perseverance and the sacrifices they made for their career and their country.
“Today roughly half of all CIA officers are women, working in locations spread across the globe… obtaining coveted field positions despite the ‘hazards’ the male CIA administrators of 1953 once warned of: partners, marriages, and children.”
Holt writes,
“To become a spy, you do not merely fill out a job application. The decision will override all other life choices, can never be altered, and is occasionally deadly. You are signing up not merely for a job, but a way of life. No family member, or friend will ever again have your complete confidence. You will surrender the comforts of your home and live abroad, likely for years. Your work and accomplishments are unlikely to ever be acknowledged outside your own intimate circle. Even death may not lift the shroud of secrecy.”
So yeah… I don’t think I’ll sign up to be a spy today. And I can imagine a lot of other women, especially those who desire families, would probably feel the same way.
There may be a disparity in number of women in the CIA, but in a lot of ways, it makes sense.
Obviously equal pay for equal work should still apply regardless of how many women are in the CIA, but I don’t know if we need to go all out trying to recruit women if the majority of women just prefer different careers.
Recommendation
I am interested in history and learning and the premise of this book was very intriguing, but the execution was lacking. I don’t think this book is for everyone.
If you are a history buff and have a knack for keeping multiple similar story lines distinct, you’ll probably love this book.
If you’re looking for a more exciting exposé on the CIA and women’s role in it, I think you’ll be disappointed.
Kristin Harmel’s blurb on the back of the book felt misleading to me. She says, “With the lyrical ease of a natural storyteller, Holt weaves deep research into an impossible-to-put-down tale that reads like historical fiction, though every word is true.”
I’m a fan of Harmel’s historical fiction, but this book does not come close to the same type of storytelling Harmel does. I wouldn’t call the writing lyrical, or with ease. And it was definitely put-downable for me.
The research Holt did was very evident. She put in the work to gather the information. I just think if she had organized it differently the storytelling would have vastly improved.
Related Reading
If you are interested in women’s role during WWII with cryptanalysis I would recommend the historical fiction books: The Rose Code and The Bletchley Women. Holt references Bletchley several times in this book.
There is also talk of the nuclear race. If that interests you, I would recommend Broker of Lies (talks about the Freedom of Information Act and takes place in Oak Ridge, TN- a site of the Manhattan Project ) or An Affair of Spies (talks of exfiltrating scientists working on German nuclear weapons and the Manhattan Project.)
Bomber Mafia is a non-fiction book that talks about those first bombs and how the invention of bomb sights changed warfare.
[Content Advisory: none]
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