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Offers brief biographies of one hundred fifty female spies, and discusses their influence on world history.

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CHOICE Review

The role of women in espionage has long been a topic that fascinates novelists and spy buffs. Mahoney, a retired CIA officer, seeks with this biographical dictionary to help those looking for quick background information on notable female agents. The time frame is comprehensive (there are entries for the biblical figures Jezebel and Delilah) but the author emphasizes the 19th and 20th centuries. The organization is straightforward. The main body is an alphabetical listing by name, and there is a bibliography, a list of acronyms and abbreviations for the names of intelligence organizations, and a name-subject index. Each entry has its own list of sources, usually no more than four or five general or popular books. Entries vary in length according to the importance or notoriety of the subject. As one might expect, Mata Hari has the longest entry with four pages. Judith Coplon and Ethel Rosenberg, both celebrated as spies for the Soviet Union in the US, get three pages each. There are numerous see and see also references. This source is well organized and easy to use, but there are some defects: cross-references between spies and the governments for which they worked would have been helpful; several dates are inaccurate. A very general source with little new for intelligence scholars or specialists, but general readers will find it useful. Recommended for undergraduate and public libraries. W. F. Bell; University of North Texas

Booklist Review

From Delilah in the Bible to the present day, women have played a vital but quiet role in espionage and intelligence gathering. The lives of 150 of these women are memorialized here by a former CIA operative. The introduction gives the reader a brief look into the many roles women play in intelligence work, from clerical jobs to actual covert operations. It dispels the myth that women have primarily used sex as a tool for gathering intelligence. The alphabetical entries vary in length from a few paragraphs to several pages. Aliases are included for more famous spies with see references to the official name entry. See also references and a source or two are given at the end of each entry. Black-and-white portraits are provided for a few of the women. The index includes subjects as well as personal names so it is possible to look up particular wars or countries and find women who spied for a certain cause. The work is international in scope, but most of the women are American or European. Most of the spies are from the twentieth century, a time of great political upheaval with two world wars and the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West, but the American Revolution and Civil War are represented, too. The essays make interesting reading and are written for a lay audience. Women in Espionage is recommended for libraries supporting women's studies at the high-school and undergraduate level and for public libraries. (Reviewed Feb. 15, 1992)