Liza Mundy to discuss 'The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA' on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at Collected Works

AT COLLECTED WORKS IN SANTA FE

Liza Mundy will discuss her new book “The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31 at Collected Works.

The book reveals the significant roles that women played at the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency after World War II, despite the discrimination against them. The book explains how women who started at the agency as clerks, secretaries or unpaid spouses became some of its smartest operatives, keeping agency secrets, making dead drops and sending cables. Given the fact that they were considered unlikely spies, they were able to moved about in European capitals stealing secrets from the Russians. Then in the years after the Cold War, a network of female CIA analysts raised a red flag about the threat of al-Qaida, though their warnings were often dismissed.

In the author’s note, Mundy says the book “tells the story of one pf the biggest transformations in CIA culture, from a male-dominated institution where women were seen as typists and sexual playthings to one where women propelled some of the agencies most important successes.”

Mundy is an award-winning journalist and a New York Times bestselling author of four previous books, including “Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II.”

Collected Works is located at 202 Galisteo St., downtown Santa Fe.

Liza Mundy to discuss 'The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA' on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at Collected Works

AT BOOKWORKS IN ALBUQUERQUE

Co-authors Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mansini of Santa Fe will be in conversation at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30 at Bookworks about their new book “That Time We Ate Our Feelings: 150 Recipes for Comfort Food from the Heart.” The two women launched “Corona Kitchen,” an unscripted nightly cooking how on Facebook and YouTube during the pandemic.

Lucas has also produced and written more than 30 TV series, including ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” Bravo’s “Work of Art” and NBC’s Emmy-winning “My 1st Time.” Mansini is known for her role as Fran in AMC’s “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” and for playing opposite Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart.”

“Lisa and Debrianna’s humor and personalities shine through in this eclectic collection of comfort food and stories. … Their insights and recipes provide the perfect amount of comfort, and it’s clear why these ladies and ‘Corona Kitchen’ became such a runaway hit during the uncertainty and loneliness of the pandemic,” Valerie Plame, a former CIA operative, wrote in a blurb for the cookbook.

Bookworks is located at 4022 Rio Grande Blvd. NW.

BOOK ABOUT APACHE LEADERS

Steve Price is the author of “Riding with Cochise: The Apache Story of America’s Longest War,” published in 2023. It looks at the history of the American Southwest in the mid-19th century through the eyes of Cochise and three other Apache leaders — Geronimo, Victorio and Mangas Coloradas. Price is a contributing editor for Field & Stream magazine. A former New Mexico resident, he lives in Arkansas.

— By David Steinberg/For the Journal