In DECODING THE DEVIL, noted author Sarah Valentine presents a revelatory account of little-known but significant American history: the employment of Black American women to monitor sensitive, secret data regarding the regime of the USSR and its efforts to develop nuclear weapons. 

In the post-World War II era, computerization was a new phenomenon. Those who utilized its benefits would need to be highly educated, yet willing to work as undercover agents for low pay in harsh conditions and under the pressure of racial prejudice, which was especially prevalent in Washington, DC. Blacks who lived “under constant threat” were likely candidates to toil for what were known as Code Units.

"Readers new to Valentine’s chosen, vividly arrayed portraits of Black women willing to toil on behalf of a nation that generally scorned them, as well as those with inherent interest in the verities of their courageous work, will wish to further explore her literary offerings."

Valentine’s impressively detailed work focuses on four of these indomitable women: Naomi McElwaine, a Purdue graduate; Ethel Just, whose expertise was the German language; Iris Carr, a Texas schoolteacher; and Minnie Kenny, who developed special knowledge of both Chinese intelligence and cybersecurity.

Through their eyes, Valentine depicts grueling workdays spent in specially segregated buildings and basements under armed guard, the complexities of the regulations to be followed, and the punishments that might ensue for disobedience. She offers scrupulous research concerning the era, with reminders of the Ku Klux Klan, the ideology of the Cold War, America’s exploration of the efficacy of nuclear protection and aggression, the effects of such rebellious personalities as African-American actor and activist Paul Robeson, and the prevalence of beliefs that not only were Black people inferior, but that their very blood was a “contaminant.” Perhaps most telling was the official designation of the women’s workplace as the Traffic Processing Division, which was privately referred to by its managers as The Plantation. 

Valentine professes a strong personal attachment to the subject matter that she so diligently shares. Beginning with a talent for poetry, she became drawn to Russian literature. After achieving a PhD, she started to explore her experiences as a mixed-race person, composing the award-winning essay (and eventual memoir) “When I Was White.” DECODING THE DEVIL features a plethora of factual material concerning governmental policies, computer complexities, terminologies such as Book Cipher and Machine Cryptanalysis, and brief biographical portraits of such historical figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Kim Philby. 

Readers new to Valentine’s chosen, vividly arrayed portraits of Black women willing to toil on behalf of a nation that generally scorned them, as well as those with inherent interest in the verities of their courageous work, will wish to further explore her literary offerings.