A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

Virginia Hall's accomplishments during WWII helped to influence the outcome of many decisive battles, leading to the demise of the corrupt Vichy government in France and the liberation of Paris. This well researched history goes into depth to portray the many obstacles she overcame, while reading like an adventure book! So enlightening, highly recommend!

My absolute favorite read this year. One of the best accounts on Virginia Hall. Reads like a thriller, you won't be disappointed.

An American of privileged birth, Virginia Hall, a name few of us learned in school, was not only there at the birth of the British secret service and the CIA, but helped to shape them in ways that endure yet today. And she did so despite a prosthetic foot and the fact that she was a woman, a gender initially considered by both organizations as unfit for both battle and intelligence fieldwork.She proved both institutions and the men who ran them wrong, becoming one of the most successful spies of World War II. Starting as an ambulance driver who charged through the throngs of French refugees fleeing the German invasion in order to recover injured French soldiers, she went on to become a key player in the development of the French Resistance that played such a critical role in the Allied success following the invasion of Normandy.She played many roles. She recruited; distributed supplies, money, and weapons; she organized escape routes for compromised spies and downed pilots; she provided critical intelligence to the RAF and American Army Air Force; provided intelligence on enemy troop strength and movement to Allied headquarters; and ultimately organized and carried out sabotage missions and outright military assaults, commanding the resistance troops that were the first to liberate areas of France outside of Normandy.Perhaps her greatest strength and contribution, however, was her ability to gain the confidence and trust of an army of potentially helpful people, from prostitutes to police chiefs. And, as time went on, her ability to avoid capture.She was resourceful to be sure. And brave. And relentlessly focused and hard working. And, it appears, she focused not just on proving that a woman could fulfill a role they were previously excluded from, but her love of France, an attraction to thrill and danger, and an unyielding desire to contribute.It would be perhaps misleading to say that she was a pioneer for gender equality since today, more than half a century later, gender equality is far from a completed reality. Any more than racial equality has been truly realized. Unfortunately, as the world has gotten smaller, new forms of wealth inequality and ethnic discrimination have emerged.What has also emerged, however, is the recognition, for those willing to see, that discrimination of every kind, whether it’s racial, ethnic, or economic, is structural and institutional, not just attitudinal. She earned the trust and admiration of many male colleagues who came to know her. But individual attitudes and judgments are only the tip of the iceberg of discrimination.Discrimination of every stripe is ultimately built upon a foundation of structural institutional bias. It is an institutional bias built by prejudiced individuals, of course, but changing the individual does not automatically alter the institution. Power, once gained, is almost impossible to dislodge by individuals, however well meaning, unless the institutions that sustain their power are likewise altered.But I digress. Virginia, it seems, was not out to change institutions so much as she was out to save the France she loved, make a contribution, and achieve relevance. And she never let anything, including the patriarchal social structure of the era, stand in her way.But however you feel about equality, or the lack thereof, this is a splendid book, thoroughly researched, well written, and filled with suspense and jaw-dropping awe and inspiration.

I am blown away with this book. I had NO IDEA about Virginia Hall and what she accomplished in WWII. We all owe her a debt of gratitude for her service and heroism. This book is excellent. It has keep me riveted to my seat - not believing the bravery, strategy and cunning of Virginia Hall! Well worth my time!

I always enjoy a good non-fiction book about real people and real times. This was a good and quick read. I would highly recommend it. These real life stories are always humbling and makes me appreciate my life so much.

This is absolutely one of the most amazing books I've ever read! It tells the magnificent story of Virginia and other heroes who helped save democracy and win World War II. Highly recommend you read it!

Victoria Hall’s life story is both interesting and inspirational. It is amazing to learn what she was able to accomplish. She was clearly a woman ahead of her time.

Sonia Purnell, kudos to you for taking on the story of Virginia Hall. The story is fascinating, and I am in awe of the amount of research it took to write this book. There is always so much more to learn about WWII. I feel guilty giving this book only 3 stars but here is why: it is just too many people, too many places, somewhat dry, too much detail and it kind of rambles. I found it hard to follow and by 30% started skimming the chapters. I would have enjoyed knowing more about her life once she returned home.If I were Sonia, or her publisher, I would take the same terrific body of information and turn it in to a really interesting biography. Slim it down, make it a story and more people will love it. I felt the same way about David McCullough’s Path Between the Seas about the Panama Canal. It is a great wealth of information but just too much. I felt like I had a PhD in Panama Canal when I was done. It was more than I really wanted or needed to know. Just my humble opinion.

I am half way through this book and cannot put it down. Each page is full of suspense and all this from a woman who had lost part of a leg. Her accomplishments are well worth reading and the author did an excellent job telling this story. A great read, highly recommend.

Cuando pedí el libro no conocía al personaje. Quedé sorprendida de lo valiente y dedicada que fue está mujer que vivió en las sombras. Muy bien escrito y ameno. Lo recomiendo ampliamente.

It is a great story about an unknown person who had a very big impact in World War 2. The writing is also good

An excellent biography that reads as a novel! Not only do we learn about this exceptional woman who despite her wooden leg became an incredible spy, but also so much more beside!!!Virginia Hall had to fight against many odds, the first one being the fact that she was a woman in a spy world mostly run by men. This remained an obstacle most of her life, whether while in France and being extremely successful or after the war. Indeed war medals were not offered women....What I also loved about this book is that I learned about the difference between the SOE and M16, the CIA's first steps, the organisation (or lack of at the beginning of WWII!) of the resistance in France.The author has masterfully conveyed all dangers met by the resistants constantly coexisting with the deadly fear they lived with day and night. This story could have been a novel with a suspense enhanced by the numerous comments which have been collected. Extensive research has been done as shown in the pictures and bibliography at the end of the book. Highly recommended!

This true story of an American WW2 heroin tugs at the old heartstrings at times. Hopefully people still read books like this to remind us of the barbarity of the Nazi regime and the bravery of those that opposed it. One can't help thinking, as ever with such courageous women, that if she had been a man her name would be much more well-known. Thoroughly recommended.