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A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
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Original price was: $19.00.$12.99Current price is: $12.99.
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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Chosen as a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by NPR, the New York Public Library, Amazon, the Seattle Times, the Washington Independent Review of Books, PopSugar, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, BookBrowse, the Spectator, and the Times of London
Winner of the Plutarch Award for Best Biography
“Excellent…This book is as riveting as any thriller, and as hard to put down.” — The New York Times Book Review
“A compelling biography of a masterful spy, and a reminder of what can be done with a few brave people — and a little resistance.” – NPR
“A meticiulous history that reads like a thriller.” – Ben Macintyre
A never-before-told story of Virginia Hall, the American spy who changed the course of World War II, from the author of Clementine.
In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: “She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her.”
The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill’s “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and–despite her prosthetic leg–helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it.
Virginia established vast spy networks throughout France, called weapons and explosives down from the skies, and became a linchpin for the Resistance. Even as her face covered wanted posters and a bounty was placed on her head, Virginia refused order after order to evacuate. She finally escaped through a death-defying hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown. But she plunged back in, adamant that she had more lives to save, and led a victorious guerilla campaign, liberating swathes of France from the Nazis after D-Day.
Based on new and extensive research, Sonia Purnell has for the first time uncovered the full secret life of Virginia Hall–an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance, and personal triumph over shocking adversity. A Woman of No Importance is the breathtaking story of how one woman’s fierce persistence helped win the war.
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Categories: Women Writers
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A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
Price:
Original price was: $19.00.$12.99Current price is: $12.99.
Daina –
I had watched a film about Virginia Hall so was excited to read more about what she did during the Second World War. A very engaging read, would definitely recommend!
William Conrad –
I am a WWII history buff, and I downloaded A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell. It is about Virginia Hall, an American woman with excellent language skills who becomes a spy, resistance organizer, and saboteur stationed in France during WWII. Sonia begins this biography with Virgini’s early life, including a tragic shooting accident resulting in a leg amputation.
The real adventure begins when WWII breaks out, and Virginia pleads to join the resistance as a British agent. This was very unusual for the time as she was female, American, and had a handicap.
To the great surprise of her commanders, Virginia becomes an astounding agent. In my opinion, the best secret agent of all time. She masters gathering intelligence, recruiting locals, group organization, leadership, self-discipline, spy craft, communications, sabotage, and outwitting the enemy. Virginia possesses superior intelligence, people reading skills, language skills, the ability to disguise herself, and street smarts. Her feat is even more impressive, considering medical technology was limited in 1940. Virginia’s leg prosthetic was painful to use and limited her mobility. This did not even stop her from riding a bike.
I enjoyed reading this book, but there were two problems. I find the title to be very demeaning. Virginia’s contributions were extraordinary, and she had a personality bigger than life. This means she was an important figure. The author clearly implied that Virginia was good at blending in, but I would have preferred a positive title.
The second problem was that the last three chapters seemed rushed. This included Virginia’s second time behind enemy lines, the end of the war, her time at the CIA, and later life. These chapters lacked detail and insight. Perhaps little is known about this time, but I got the sense that the author wrapped things up.
Despite these quirks, I recommend this book to any WWII buff who wishes to know more about Virginia Hall, the French resistance, WWII politics, and covert operations.
Roni Batzion –
For anyone interested in World War II, the French resistance, and an American woman who literally changed the course of the war, this book is for you. Impeccably researched, beautifully written, it is a must for historians, students, professors, the military, or anyone interested in the Resistance of WW-II. I didn’t know much about Virginia Hall, but she is memorialized in the Capitol as well as CIA headquarters. She was an amazing woman, but being female, well, need I say more? A “must read.” For sure.
KAS –
I love the no nonsense way this American Woman `s sacrifice and total commitment to defeating the Germans was portrayed. Not perfect but brilliant and brave. I wonder if the early and current CIA has learned anything? It should be required reading for all CIA recruits and managers.
William Connors –
Extremely well written and researched book. What Virginia Hall accomplished in fighting Nazi Germany is amazing, which makes it all the more surprising that she is little known. I just wonder how she rationalized working for the CIA after the war when it was suppressing when not killing many (mostly communists) who also fought against the Nazis. It is especially strange that she did not resign when the CIA helped the Nazi butcher Klaus Barbie escape to Bolivia, a man who was responsible for the killing and torture of many people that Ms. Hall worked with (and he also tried very had to get her). But then Ms. Hall was very discreet and did not reveal much about herself, and the author was also unable to view all documents, since some are still classified as secret.
Gary Moreau, Author –
An American of privileged birth, Virginia Hall, a name few of us learned in school, was not only there at the birth of the British secret service and the CIA, but helped to shape them in ways that endure yet today. And she did so despite a prosthetic foot and the fact that she was a woman, a gender initially considered by both organizations as unfit for both battle and intelligence fieldwork.
She proved both institutions and the men who ran them wrong, becoming one of the most successful spies of World War II. Starting as an ambulance driver who charged through the throngs of French refugees fleeing the German invasion in order to recover injured French soldiers, she went on to become a key player in the development of the French Resistance that played such a critical role in the Allied success following the invasion of Normandy.
She played many roles. She recruited; distributed supplies, money, and weapons; she organized escape routes for compromised spies and downed pilots; she provided critical intelligence to the RAF and American Army Air Force; provided intelligence on enemy troop strength and movement to Allied headquarters; and ultimately organized and carried out sabotage missions and outright military assaults, commanding the resistance troops that were the first to liberate areas of France outside of Normandy.
Perhaps her greatest strength and contribution, however, was her ability to gain the confidence and trust of an army of potentially helpful people, from prostitutes to police chiefs. And, as time went on, her ability to avoid capture.
She was resourceful to be sure. And brave. And relentlessly focused and hard working. And, it appears, she focused not just on proving that a woman could fulfill a role they were previously excluded from, but her love of France, an attraction to thrill and danger, and an unyielding desire to contribute.
It would be perhaps misleading to say that she was a pioneer for gender equality since today, more than half a century later, gender equality is far from a completed reality. Any more than racial equality has been truly realized. Unfortunately, as the world has gotten smaller, new forms of wealth inequality and ethnic discrimination have emerged.
What has also emerged, however, is the recognition, for those willing to see, that discrimination of every kind, whether it’s racial, ethnic, or economic, is structural and institutional, not just attitudinal. She earned the trust and admiration of many male colleagues who came to know her. But individual attitudes and judgments are only the tip of the iceberg of discrimination.
Discrimination of every stripe is ultimately built upon a foundation of structural institutional bias. It is an institutional bias built by prejudiced individuals, of course, but changing the individual does not automatically alter the institution. Power, once gained, is almost impossible to dislodge by individuals, however well meaning, unless the institutions that sustain their power are likewise altered.
But I digress. Virginia, it seems, was not out to change institutions so much as she was out to save the France she loved, make a contribution, and achieve relevance. And she never let anything, including the patriarchal social structure of the era, stand in her way.
But however you feel about equality, or the lack thereof, this is a splendid book, thoroughly researched, well written, and filled with suspense and jaw-dropping awe and inspiration.
Berengaria –
Cuando pedí el libro no conocía al personaje. Quedé sorprendida de lo valiente y dedicada que fue está mujer que vivió en las sombras. Muy bien escrito y ameno. Lo recomiendo ampliamente.
Nick Ransdale –
This true story of an American WW2 heroin tugs at the old heartstrings at times. Hopefully people still read books like this to remind us of the barbarity of the Nazi regime and the bravery of those that opposed it. One can’t help thinking, as ever with such courageous women, that if she had been a man her name would be much more well-known. Thoroughly recommended.
Sharon Fortino –
I loved the book but the type was kind of small, should have got it on my kindle.
Lewis J. –
This is a great read for anyone interested in WWII, German cruelty in WWII and the fortitude needed to assemble a results oriented working group in the most challenging times of a nation and its people.
Karen R. Tallha –
A very brave, heroic woman. Wish Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks would make a movie about a woman hero of WWII. A story well with the big screen. I hope someone has bought the rights to film this great story.
Verna Henderson –
I am half way through this book and cannot put it down. Each page is full of suspense and all this from a woman who had lost part of a leg. Her accomplishments are well worth reading and the author did an excellent job telling this story. A great read, highly recommend.