Wise Gals: the Spies who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage by Nathalia Holt

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: 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. Adelaide rose through the ranks, developing new cryptosystems that advanced how spies communicate with each other. Mary worked overseas in Europe and Asia, building partnerships and allegiances that would last decades. Elizabeth would risk her life in the Middle East in order to gain intelligence on deadly Soviet weaponry. Eloise would wield influence on scientific and technical operations worldwide, ultimately exposing global terrorism threats. 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.

Meticulously researched and beautifully told, Holt uses firsthand interviews with past and present officials and declassified government documents to uncover the stories of these four inspirational women. Wise Gals sheds a light on the untold history of the women whose daring foreign intrigues, domestic persistence, and fighting spirit have been and continue to be instrumental to our country’s security.

HerKentucky Review: Wise Gals is a fascinating and painstakingly researched history of the women of the OSS and, later, the CIA. Ms. Holt details the stories of these agents’ lives of espionage and service while detailing their struggle for equality within the agency. It’s a fascinating look at how a core group of female agents impacted the future of the CIA and, ultimately, the history of our nation.

Wise Gals is impressive in its scope, spanning from the 1930s to the 1980s, and telling the stories of four groundbreaking women. Due to the nature of these women’s work, it is necessary to quickly recap major world events. At times, the narrative becomes lost in details of complex situations like the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Iraqi Revolution. At times, the author tends to refer to players who are never again referenced or to end a paragraph with a thread of foreshadowing that seems a little too neatly tied. In all, this was a very enjoyable and informative work that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys 20th century history, stories of boot-on-the-ground second wave feminists, or stories of espionage.

Purchase Wise Gals on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

Nashville: Scenes from the New American South by Heidi Ross and Ann Patchett

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: A dynamic, experiential, and intimate portrait that explores the many sides of the legendary Southern city and country music capital, from award-winning writers Ann Patchett, Jon Meacham, and acclaimed photographer Heidi Ross.

Nashville is a creative collaboration that awakens the senses, providing a virtual immersion in this unique American city hailed as the Athens of the South. Patchett, Ross, and Meacham in his introduction, at once capture both the city’s iconic historical side—its deep, rich Southern roots, from its food and festivals to its famous venues, recording studios, and style—and its edgier, highly vibrant creative side, which has made it a modern cultural mecca increasingly populated by established and upcoming artists in art, film, and music.

Nashville celebrates Nashvillians’ beloved locales and events, both established and new, that are the heart of the city’s character including:

• Bobbie’s Dairy Dip

• Broadway

• Cumberland River

• Buchanan Arts District

• Bolton’s Chicken and Fish

• Dino’s

• East Nashville Tomato Arts Festival

• Germantown

• The Gulch

• Grand Ole Opry

• Pie Town (SoBro)

• Pride Festival

• Prince’s Hot Chicken

• Schermerhorn Symphony Center

• Stanley Cup Playoffs

• Tennessee Performing Arts Center

• Tennessee State Fair

• Third Man Records

• WXNA Independent Radio

Here, too, are engaging vignettes spotlighting the diverse talent that makes the Tennessee city a significant cultural incubator and influencer, including singer-songwriters Marty Stuart, Gillian Welsh, and Dave Rawlings; film director Harmony Korine, textile designer Andra Eggleston, country music fashion designer to the stars Manuel, chef Margot McCormack, acclaimed pastry chef Lisa Donovan, and model and musician Karen Elson.

Blending exceptional narrative, evocative photography—including 175 black-and-white and color photographs—and a bold graphic design, Nashville is an intimate, textured panorama that brilliantly illuminates one of America’s most remarkable treasures.

HerKentucky review: Nashville is my very favorite city. I loved living there. I visit as often as I can. It just sparks the creative process for me in a way that no other place can. It’s the perfect mix of small-town and big-city. Trends arrive there about a year after they hit Brooklyn, and a good 18 months before they make it to Louisville — just in time for me to have a firm opinion on them!

Because I love Nashville so very much, i spent a good chunk of last autumn waiting for the release of Nashville: Scenes from the New American South by Heidi Ross and Ann Patchett. Of course, I waited to purchase it from Parnassus Books, author Ann Patchett’s bookstore, on my annual Christmas shopping trip to the Music City. I wanted a signed copy, of course, and I never pass up an opportunity to visit Parnassus.

If you love any aspect of Nashville — the music scene, the meat and threes, the history, or anything else — then you’ll love this coffee table book. The foreword by journalist/Presidential biographer Jon Meacham touches on the city’s role in the civil rights movement, popular culture, and Southern life. Ann Patchett’s accompanying essay intersperses these themes with her own experiences of growing up in 1960s Nashville. While I never miss a chance to read what either of these folks have to say, the true star of this work is the stunning visual spread of Heidi Ross’s photographs. You’ll see everything you love about Nashville in this work. The Nashville I love — the Pancake Pantry line, musicians like Margo Price and Sturgill Simpson, the iconic hot chicken restaurants — is well-represented. So are everyday sights like high school cheerleaders and street musicians, art galleries and parks, diners and farmers’ markets. It’s a gorgeous reminder that Nashville is far more than the Disney-like strip of celebrity-inspired bars and bachelorette parties offered on SoBro. If you love Nashville, you’ll love this book.

Purchase Nashville: Scenes from the New American South on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

Who Killed Betty Gail Brown? by Robert Lawson

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: On October 26, 1961, after an evening of studying with friends on the campus of Transylvania University, nineteen-year-old student Betty Gail Brown got into her car around midnight―presumably headed for home. But she would never arrive. Three hours later, Brown was found dead in a driveway near the center of campus, strangled to death with her own brassiere. Kentuckians from across the state became engrossed in the proceedings as lead after lead went nowhere. Four years later, the police investigation completely stalled.

In 1965, a drifter named Alex Arnold Jr. confessed to the killing while in jail on other charges in Oregon. Arnold was brought to Lexington, indicted for the murder of Betty Gail Brown, and put on trial, where he entered a plea of not guilty. Robert G. Lawson was a young attorney at a local firm when a senior member asked him to help defend Arnold, and he offers a meticulous record of the case in Who Killed Betty Gail Brown? During the trial, the courtroom was packed daily, but witnesses failed to produce any concrete evidence. Arnold was an alcoholic whose memory was unreliable, and his confused, inconsistent answers to questions about the night of the homicide did not add up.

Since the trial, new leads have come and gone, but Betty Gail Brown's murder remains unsolved. A written transcript of the court proceedings does not exist; and thus Lawson, drawing upon police and court records, newspaper articles, personal files, and his own notes, provides an invaluable record of one of Kentucky's most famous cold cases.

HerKentucky review: Betty Gail Brown was a Lexington native, a Transylvania University student, and a member of the Delta Theta Chapter of Phi Mu. She was on campus late one Thursday night in October studying for a biology exam; the following morning, she was found dead in her car. Intense media coverage, a thorough police investigation, and a prolonged trial ensued. In Who Killed Betty Gail Brown?, Mr. Lawson, longtime criminal law professor at UK College of Law, recreates the crime, the investigation, and the legal proceedings from his perspective as the defense attorney for the accused killer, an alcoholic drifter named Alex Arnold.

I was immediately drawn to this story because I love any story about Lexington's past, and I loved my years as a Phi Mu in the Transy chapter. Of course, I needed to read about what happened to my sorority sister! 

The book is extremely respectful of Miss Brown, and takes pains to explain why the author and his law partner were committed to the belief that Mr. Arnold was, in all likelihood, not the killer. Professor Lawson's most-read work is Kentucky's Penal Code, and I will say that the story is, at times, very lawyerly and dry. There is no sensationalism in the work -- in fact, there are times when more details would have aided the story -- and the book often reads like the recitation of facts in a legal brief. It's an interesting exercise for a reader: I find myself coming to the story with an interest in Lexington history, and the victim's school and sorority, while the author is interested in finding answers to an unsolved crime and legal proceedings that ended in mistrial. It's an interesting exercise in perspective. For example, I found in follow-up research that the victim was a niece to the late Kentucky-born actor Harry Dean Stanton. I found this detail fascinating; of course it was omitted from the narrative of the book because it had nothing to do with the story.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes stories true crime, legal nonfiction, or Lexington history. If you're familiar with Transylvania's campus, it's eerie to think that this terrible crime took place in an area where you've walked so many times. Professor Lawson tells a great story from the perspective of his own involvement in the story, and his own uncertainty about who actually killed Miss Brown.

Order Who Killed Betty Gail Brown? from Amazon or Bookshop.org.

This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.