A Life in Code

G. Stuart Smith

ISBN 10: 147666918X / ISBN 13: 9781476669182

Published by McFarland and Co Inc, US, 2017

About this Item

Protesters called it an act of war when the U.S. Coast Guard sank a Canadian-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Mexico in 1929. It took a cool-headed codebreaker solving a "trunk-full" of smugglers' encrypted messages to get Uncle Sam out of the mess: Elizebeth Smith Friedman's groundbreaking work helped prove the boat was owned by American gangsters. This book traces the career of a legendary U.S. law enforcement agent, from her work for the Allies during World War I through Prohibition, when she faced danger from mobsters while testifying in high profile trials. Friedman founded the cryptanalysis unit that provided evidence against American rum runners and Chinese drug smugglers. During World War II, her decryptions brought a Japanese spy to justice and her Coast Guard unit solved the Enigma ciphers of German spies. Friedman's "all source intelligence" model is still used by law enforcement and counterterrorism agencies against 21st century threats.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781476669182

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Life in Code
• Publisher: McFarland and Co Inc, US
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 147666918X
• ISBN 13: 9781476669182
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 313 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Protesters called it an act of war when the U.S. Coast Guard sank a Canadian-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Mexico in 1929. It took a cool-headed codebreaker solving a "trunk-full" of smugglers' encrypted messages to get Uncle Sam out of the mess: Elizebeth Smith Friedman's groundbreaking work helped prove the boat was owned by American gangsters.
This book traces the career of a legendary U.S. law enforcement agent, from her work for the Allies during World War I through Prohibition, when she faced danger from mobsters while testifying in high profile trials. Friedman founded the cryptanalysis unit that provided evidence against American rum runners and Chinese drug smugglers. During World War II, her decryptions brought a Japanese spy to justice and her Coast Guard unit solved the Enigma ciphers of German spies. Friedman's "all source intelligence" model is still used today by law enforcement and counterterrorism agencies against 21st century threats.

About the Author

G. Stuart Smith is a journalism professor at Hofstra University. As a television reporter and videographer he won awards for investigative and feature reporting as well as videography. He sailed to Cuba three times to produce the documentary A Bridge to Cuba, which aired on PBS stations. He also produced another documentary for public TV, Heritage or Hate, which explores the use of Confederate symbols on public property. He is the author of two books, Going Solo: Doing Videojournalism in the 21st Century and A Life in Code: Pioneer Cryptanalyst Elizebeth Smith Friedman.