This particular book I found at my local library in a display for Women’s History Month. The Sisterhood by Liza Mundy tells the story of the women who work or have worked for the CIA which makes it highly appropriate for such a display. It opens with a bit of background on the origins of the CIA by explaining how it evolved out of the OSS shortly after WWII and briefly discusses the roles women held with the OSS and during the founding years of the CIA. After that it moves on to discussing the early roles women held with the CIA itself and how they were the ones who were in charge of the archives that contained all of the information amassed by the CIA field operatives. It discussed the derogatory views held by the men working for the CIA and the institutionalized sexual harassment that the women had to endure, including various nicknames such as the vault women or the sneaker women. The book continued from there to discuss how various women were continually pushing the boundaries to be allowed to do actual field work and to work as case agents. It also touched upon the difficulties women faced in terms of promotion and equal rights while working there. The book also discussed other difficulties women faced such as the difficulty female analysts faced when trying to get their information heard by higher ups so it could be acted upon. Even when it was heard they rarely got the actual credit for the original analysis.
This is a book that shines a light on an often overlooked and forgotten piece of history that by all rights should never have been overlooked or forgotten. That alone would garner my respect but the fact that this story is so superbly told would add immensely to the respect that I hold for this book. Technically, I guess this story is actually several interconnecting and overlapping stories as it tells the story of over a dozen women who have worked for the CIA in some capacity. However, by doing so it allows for the broader story of women working for the CIA in general to be told. I think in many ways that is why the book is titled The Sisterhood as it is about this entire group of women, this sisterhood, that worked for the CIA and attempted to improve the conditions for the women who came after. In fact, not only does this book have my respect but so does the author, Liza Mundy, for being willing to write a book about such a topic and the women who are featured in the book. The women who actually faced the conditions the book describes probably have the most respect from me as they were the ones who pushed the boundaries in the first place. This also ties in to one of the most important aspects of this book. The meticulous research that had to occur in order for this book to be written in the first place. Anybody can go and tell a story and not everybody bothers to verify background information before they do. However, any author that takes the time to conduct the immense amount of research that was needed for this book is a standout by that alone. Liza Mundy not only conducted research into the organization and the documents available, she also went out and conducted interviews with an untold number of women that worked for the CIA at various points in time to add depth and personal experiences to the story. Not only that, she incorporated information from those interviews in a respectful manner and made it feel like a whole and cohesive story. This is definitely going in my collection of best works on Women’s history and their untold role in it. I give this a solid four out of five stars.
I greatly enjoyed this book and really felt like I learned a lot from it about the working experiences of these women. While I can understand that the culture depicted in this book was probably fairly normal across the country for women at the time, I can also say that I am horrified on their behalf. As such, I would recommend this book to everybody who is old enough to be able to read it. Not only does this book highlight the untold role of these women it also shines a light on exactly what they had to go through in order to do the same job as their male counterparts. That right there is why it should be read as it helps emphasize why women deserve the same respect as men. This book is probably aimed mostly at adults but I don’t think any of the content is graphic enough that it would make it unsuitable for teenagers. There are mature references and even violent references throughout but they are not necessarily overly graphic references. I know this book would probably hold greater appeal to people who appreciate books on history but as I have already said I think other readers may also gain something from having read this. Either way, feel free to share your thoughts on the book in the comments.