Washoe County Library System

"Anna Smith Strong was a fearless woman who acted as a spy for George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Recruited by Washington's spymaster, Major Benjamin Tallmadge, she joined the Culper Ring, a group of American spies. General Washington placed a huge amount of trust in his spies, and Anna helped pass him important messages at a great risk to herself and her family. One of her cleverer devices was to hang laundry on the line in a planned...

"A dramatically illustrated biography of Private Rosetta "Lyons" Wakeman, the only soldier whose letters capture the Civil War from a woman's perspective. In 1862, the war between North and South showed no signs of stopping. In rural New York, nineteen-year-old Rosetta Wakeman longed for a life beyond the family farm. One day she made a brave, bold choice: she cut her braid and disguised herself as a man. No one suspected that "Lyons" was a woman—not...

An introduction to women fighter pilots during World War II describes how hundreds of women proved their worth by working as civilian pilots.

"The compelling, hidden story of Cathy Williams, a former slave and the first woman to ever serve in the US Army "Here's the first thing you need to know about Miss Cathy Williams: I am the daughter of a daughter of a queen and my Mama never let me forget it." Missouri, 1864 Powerful, epic, and compelling, Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen shines light on a nearly forgotten figure in history. Cathy Williams was born and lived a slave until the Union...

"The inspirational true story of how 22-year-old Henny Sinding courageously helped smuggle hundreds of Jewish families in occupied Denmark to safety in Sweden during the Holocaust"--

In a dramatically different tale of espionage and conspiracy in World War II, Shadow Warriors of World War II unveils the history of the courageous women who volunteered to work behind enemy lines. Sent into Nazi-occupied Europe by the United States’ Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE), these women helped establish a web of resistance groups across the continent. Their heroism, initiative, and resourcefulness...

"Soon after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, they also attacked U.S. military installations in the Philippines. For the army and navy nurses stationed there, what had been a peaceful outpost quickly turned into a raging war zone. When the U.S. and Philippine forces retreated to the Bataan Peninsula and the fortress island of Corregidor, the nurses followed them to the field hospitals to care for the wounded. Persevering through...

"When the United States entered World War II, it had to face its own contradictions at home. Opportunities opened up for Black people and women in support of the war effort. But ideas about race and gender didn't change as swiftly. Read the story of the first all-Black battalion in the Women's Army Corps-the Six Triple Eight-and its leader, Major Charity Adams. These women bravely confronted the racism and sexism they experienced. And they did it...