Women and Books Discussing Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt

In-Person and Virtual Program

Join the book club for a hybrid (in-person and online) discussion of Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage by Nathalia Holt. For adults.

This is a hybrid event and will be hosted in-person in the Community Meeting Room at West Hollywood Library as well as on WebEx Meetings via the following link:

https://lacountylibrary.webex.com/lacountylibrary/j.php?MTID=maa8a00d769f8b023cc81d2d603b7184c

Co-sponsored by the City of West Hollywood Women's Advisory Board. Please contact the library to borrow a print copy of the book. eBook/eAudiobook available through OverDrive/Libby app. 

This event is held in-person. LA County Public Health strongly encourages masks and physical distancing indoors regardless of vaccination status. Masks will continue to be available for customers upon request. Please see the Guidelines for Attendees during the registration process for more information.

Summary provided by the publisher:

In the wake of World War II, four agents were critical in helping build a new organization that we now know as the CIA. Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudmeier, called the "wise gals" by their male colleagues because of their sharp sense of humor and even quicker intelligence, were not the stereotypical femme fatale of spy novels. They were smart, courageous, and groundbreaking agents at the top of their class, instrumental in both developing innovative tools for intelligence gathering—and insisting (in their own unique ways) that they receive the credit and pay their expertise deserved.

Throughout the Cold War era, each woman had a vital role to play on the international stage. Through their friendship and shared sense of purpose, they rose to positions of power and were able to make real change in a traditionally "male, pale, and Yale" organization—but not without some tragic losses and real heartache along the way.

Upcoming events