A Woman of No Importance - The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

I first heard about Virginia Hall in an NPR article.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing - a woman who was able to change her appearance several times a day working as a spy right under the noses of the Nazis in France.  Did I mention that she did it all on a wooden leg?!!!

Sonia Purnell in her excellent non-fiction book, A Woman of No Importance - The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II (#832) finally brings Virginia Hall's story out of the shadows, where she preferred to stay while she was alive.  Her courage, charisma and just plain chutzpah allowed her to survive three brutal years behind enemy lines, supplying vital intelligence to the Allies while forming intelligence circuits, and later, recruiting and equipping resistance units from local French recruits.

It will probably come as no surprise to female readers that she managed to accomplish all this despite many obstacles placed in her way by bureaucrats unable to think outside the box while simultaneously trying to invent a new and unorthodox form of warfare.  Nor will it be surprising to learn that until very recently (She died in 1982.) her role in paving the way for a successful Allied invasion of Europe was downplayed and diminished by the very governments she worked for - the British and the Americans.

Thankfully, it seems that Ms. Hall is about to get her due at long last.  She is the subject of this book and also of several movies soon to be released.  The CIA has dedicated a wing to her in their museum (Which I believe is not open to the public.) and named a building at Langley for her.  Don't miss this riveting story of an unsung American heroine!