The sisterhood

"Created in the aftermath of World War II, the Central Intelligence Agency relied on women even as it attempted to channel their talents and keep them down. Despite discrimination--even because of it--women rose to become some of the CIA's shrewdest operatives. Because women were seen as unimportant, pioneering female intelligence officers moved unnoticed around Bonn, Geneva, and Moscow, stealing secrets from under the noses of their KGB adversaries. Back at headquarters, women built the CIA's critical archives--first by hand, then by computer. And they noticied things that the men at the top didn't see. As the CIA faced an identity crisis after the Cold War, it was a close-knit network of female analysts who spotted the rising threat of al-Qaeda--though their warnings were repeatedly brushed aside. After the 9/11 attacks, more women joined the agency as a new job, targeter, came to prominence. They showed that data analysis would be crucial to the post-9/11 national security landscape--an effort that culminated in the CIA's successful efforts to track down bin Laden in his Pakistani compound. 'The Sisterhood' [reveals] how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age, and how their silencing made the world more dangerous"--Provided by publisher.