Moss, Marissa. Spying on Spies: How Elizebeth Smith Friedman Broke the Nazis’ Secret Codes. Harry N. Abrams, 2024. 978-1-419-76731-9. $19.02. 242 p. Grades 5-9

Elizebeth Smith Friedman was critical in the world of code breaking, but she has been vastly overlooked throughout history. This nonfiction title works to showcase her attributions to the field of code-breaking and shine the spotlight on the work she did such as being the first code breaker for the Treasury Department and the Coast Guard, and intercepting and breaking coded messages from Mob bosses such as Al Capone.

THOGUHTS: Middle level students will find this nonfiction book rather engaging. While it is giving a lot of information about Elizebeth’s life, there are images throughout to help show what the author is discussing. I found those to be really beneficial especially when discussing code breaking and cipher machines.

652 Processes of Written Communication