*received for free from netgalley for honest review* this was a great read, would buy and recommend for sure!

This nonfiction book about women working in propaganda during WWII focuses on the work of 4 remarkable women, including a journalist, an immigrant, and famous German actress Marlene Dietrich. They did remarkable work at home and overseas, often going up against sexism within their own ranks, to help bring an end to the war. A fascinating read for anyone with an interest in WWII history.

I love that we continue to discover stories from the past especially those from WWII. In Propaganda Girls, we learn about the impact four women in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) had on the war. Betty MacDonald, Zuzka Lauwers, Jane Smith-Hutton, and Marlene Dietrich helped create and spread black propaganda to influence enemy soldiers into losing faith and surrendering. It's always amazing to learn how different groups of people changed the tides of the war, but especially those who are stereotypically overlooked, unappreciated and undervalued. It was fascinating to learn about these women and I hope we take inspiration from them today as we continue to face oppression in new, but similar, forms.

Propaganda Girls shines a light on four women recruited into the Office of Strategic Services to create "black propaganda" during World War II. I found it fascinating to learn about the different ways that black propaganda was used, as well as the individual stories of the women involved. They had an almost insatiable desire for adventure and influence, characteristics often devalued in women. It was nice to read about the ways their talents were used.

The narration was fine.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for a free copy of #PropagandaGirls by Lisa Rogak. All opinions are my own.

As a female Navy veteran, I’m always drawn to stories that spotlight women’s service to their country—especially the ones history tends to overlook. Propaganda Girls does exactly that, and in such a compelling, accessible way. It’s so important that these stories are told—not just to honor the women who paved the way for us, but to inspire future generations of women AND men.

Lisa Rogak takes an intriguing slice of World War II history and turns it into an incredibly palatable listen. This isn’t your typical dry nonfiction—Propaganda Girls feels like fiction in the best possible way: engaging, pacy, and fascinating.

The book tells the untold story of four remarkable women—Betty MacDonald, Zuzka Lauwers, Jane Smith-Hutton, and Marlene Dietrich—who used forged letters, fake newspapers, and scripted broadcasts as part of a secret OSS operation designed to break enemy morale. Their contributions were bold, covert, and absolutely essential to the war effort… and until now, largely unknown.

I flew through the audiobook in a single morning. Samara Naeymi’s narration is pitch-perfect—she brings each woman’s story to life with clarity and care, never overdone but always charming. It made for a fantastic listening experience.

This is exactly the kind of nonfiction I love: informative and entertaining, spotlighting extraordinary women who deserve to be household names. Highly recommend for fans of WWII history, spy stories, and women’s untold contributions.

This was a fascinating and well-deserved spotlight on the incredible untold story of four women who helped win WWII through black propaganda efforts.

The accomplishments of these women—often overlooked by larger historical narratives—were impressive and inspiring. Lisa Rogak does a great job of presenting their work in a well-researched, narrative-driven style that kept me fully engaged from start to finish.

Highly recommend this to readers interested in WWII history, especially those drawn to the often hidden contributions of women behind the scenes.

The Propaganda Girls: The Secret War of the Women in the OSS by Lisa Rogak is a compelling historical account that sheds light on the untold stories of four remarkable women who played pivotal roles during World War II. These women—Betty MacDonald, Zuzka Lauwers, Jane Smith-Hutton, and the iconic Marlene Dietrich—were part of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the CIA. Their mission? To craft and disseminate propaganda aimed at undermining the morale of Axis soldiers.
The book delves into their diverse backgrounds and the challenges they faced, including sexism within the male-dominated OSS. From forging military orders to scripting radio broadcasts and even creating fake field manuals, their work was both innovative and dangerous. Rogak's narrative captures the intensity of their contributions, the risks they took, and the profound impact they had on the war effort.
Praised for its brisk storytelling and vivid historical detail, the book offers a fresh perspective on the information war of WWII. If you're intrigued by stories of unsung heroes and the complexities of wartime intelligence, this book is a fascinating read. Would you like to explore more about the OSS or similar wartime narratives?

I really enjoy reading historical fiction books. This was a little different focus from my typical book in that genre and one I really appreciated. I liked getting to know the four primary characters and their work with the OSS (which later became known as the CIA) and their efforts to help end WWII. The women, Betty MacDonald, Jane Smith-Hutton, Zurka Lauwers, and Marlene Dietrich worked behind the scenes at lower pay than men and little recognition to control emotions via propaganda. Divided into several sections, the book focuses on the time before, during, and after WWII. While Marlene Dietrich is famous in her own right, I did not realize all she did to be a part of the OSS and fight against her native country, Germany, to stop Hitler’s reign of terror. While she could have remained safe in roles in the United States, she was willing to travel abroad and help encourage the soldiers and letting them know how important they were in the fight for freedom. I am so glad that these unsung heroes are finally being recognized for the different they made in the time when women’s contributions to the war efforts were not highly valued. An interesting view into that time period and how women were overlooked as being an integral part in ending WWII.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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Biography
Espionage
Historical
History
Nonfiction
War
Women's
WWII

Lisa Rogak shines a long-overdue spotlight on four extraordinary women whose behind-the-scenes work shaped the outcome of WWII in ways few ever knew. *Propaganda Girls* tells the true story of Betty MacDonald, Zuzka Lauwers, Jane Smith-Hutton, and Marlene Dietrich—each uniquely talented, each instrumental in a covert OSS campaign designed to psychologically dismantle the enemy from within. From crafting fake orders to penning entire newspapers and radio scripts, their ingenuity and bravery come alive in this gripping narrative. A fascinating tribute to forgotten heroines and the power of words in wartime.

This was a fascinating read and one that has taken on a whole new level of meaning in recent months. It is a fabulous book for anyone looking to learn more about women’s history with clear ties to our world today. Overall a wonderful read and a delight to recommend to the history focused readers in our store.

This is quite possibly the best book that I read yet this year!

It's exactly the type of history that I love learning about and that everybody should be familiar with. They are everyday Heroes who were responsible for victory, alongside the soldiers,nurses and other military personnel in World War II.

These women were courageous creative resilient and also unwaveringly brave in the face of adversaries from both other countries and within their own units.

These women overcame obstacles and are beyond inspiring. I have told so many people about this book!

Propaganda Girls by Lisa Rogak is a non-fiction story of four women who assisted in WW2 by creating lots of propaganda. Betty MacDonald, Zuzka Lauwers, Marlene Dietrich, and Jane Smith-Hutton were members of the OSS and were contributing members of the most covert and successful military campaigns of WW2. These women were tasked with creating propaganda which was designed to destroy the morale of the Axis soldiers. Not only did they work in Washington, they were in Europe and Asia to get an inside look at what they needed to and could accomplish.

I was intrigued not only by each individual woman, but also the work that they were able to accomplish. The narrator did an excellent job at telling their stories. It was evident that Lisa Rogak spent time researching this book to provide intricate details to their work. This was a side of WW2 that I did not know about but that I was thrilled to learn about!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook!

This was so very good—interesting, entertaining, and so well researched! I’ve read a lot of World War II novels, and this reads like the best of them, even though it is nonfiction. I learned a lot about a subject about which I knew very little, and was amazed at the roles these fascinating and driven women played in the war effort. The audiobook was especially well done.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

We’ve all heard of Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally, the Japanese and German women who bombarded the Allied soldiers with propaganda in an effort to demoralize them. Little is known about the Allied efforts to sway the Axis soldiers and help bring an end to the war. Betty McDonald, Zuzka Lauwers, Jane Smith-Hutton and Marlena Dietrich all became members of the OSS and worked under General Bill Donovan to persuade the Axis soldiers that they were losing, that they would be better off surrendering, that their lives were in imminent danger. Donovan was the head of the OSS which later became the CIA. It took innovative ideas and cunning schemes to implement the plan to sway the enemy; to crush their morale. Their success was evidenced when enemy soldiers turned themselves over to the Allies, put down their weapons, and truly believed that they would have better food and living condition in the custody of the Allied forces.

One of the projects involved discovering enemy soldiers who would be able to infiltrate back to their homeland and spread rumors for the Allies. This was very tricky and the men had to be carefully vetted. Surprisingly, the plan succeeded and the men completed their missions and returned to the Allied side. There were many other successful initiatives that the women devised to sway the Axis soldiers. Reading about Marlena Dietrich was especially fascinating because of her risqué behavior and her flaunting of acceptable norms.

All four of the women ran into discrimination and the military’s reluctance to acknowledge the significant role they played. It is not at all surprising that these women are unsung heroes; given little credit for the significant role they played. This book is a wonderful addition to the historical record of spies and WWII. It has additional significance because it highlights the women who helped turn the tide through determination, fearlessness and creativity.

The audiobook is narrated by Samara Naeymi. She does a terrific job of highlighting the details of the book using her vocal skills and her straightforward presentation. Her narration added a nice touch making it a pleasurable listening experience.

Excellent read! Love learning more about the incredible work of these women. Everyone should read this!

3.5 - I definitely learned a lot! Non fiction is not my typical genre, but the story of the propaganda girls kept me more interested than I expected. Would recommend this to any history lovers! Was great on audio.

One of my goals this year is to read more nonfiction. I tend to read a lot of WWII historical fiction, so this nonfiction book about the incredible untold story of four women who helped win WWII by generating a wave of black propaganda caught my eye, especially since one of the four women was the famous actress, Marlene Dietrich. In addition to Dietrich, the other women were Betty MacDonald, a reporter from Hawaii, who witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor; Zuzka Lauwers from Czechoslovakia; and Jane Smith-Hutton, the spouse of a naval attaché based in Tokyo.

These women were members of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) and they were trained to produce and distribute what is known as black propaganda. The goal of black propaganda is to demoralize the enemy and to encourage pockets of resistance, and the propaganda these women produced was incredibly effective, creating one of the most covert & successful military campaigns in WWII.

I liked how this book was structured, giving the reader each woman’s POV in alternating chapters. I always worry that nonfiction will come across as dry, even if informative, but the way the author presents the information, it’s like reading four mini memoirs about the same experiences from 4 POVs. I enjoyed getting to know each woman. Since their contributions were obviously top secret at the time, it’s great for them to finally be recognized now.

This book is well researched, filled with great information about these women and their impact on the war, and at only 240 pages, it’s a quick read too. Not only that, but it’s also a page turner, which made me glad I had the audiobook, narrated by Samara Naeymi, so I didn’t have to stop reading when my hands were too busy to hold the book. Naeymi’s narration was so engaging that at times, I forgot I was listening to nonfiction rather than historical fiction.

This was an absolutely fantastic read about four fabulous and brave [out of MANY] who worked both as spies, and as propaganda writers within the OSS [which was 1. the precursor to the CIA, and 2. had several famous names were a part of the OSS as well; some are mentioned in the book], and their lives before *AND* after the war [and what storied, interesting lives they all led].

Detailed, expertly researched and written in an upfront, engaging way, this was one of the best books i have read this month, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a history buff or enjoys stories about truly brave and strong women.

Very well done!!

Samara Naeymi is a new-to-me narrator and I seriously hope its not the last time I get to listen to her narrate a book. She does an excellent job here and makes you really feel the story and the women within it. I highly recommend this audiobook!!

I was invited to read/review this book by the publisher [St. Martin's Press] and I thank them, NetGalley, Lisa Rogak, and Macmillan Audio for providing both the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!

A masterfully written true story of four women who helped win WWII with a campaign of deceptive propaganda!

There were countless brave women who contributed in some way to war efforts but they are rarely recognized or brought to light. So it was amazing to get to read such well researched stories of four young women who served in the OSS during WWII.

This was such a perfect read for Women's History Month! The narrator did an incredible job in helping bring this story to life! It doesn't seem to matter how many WWII stories I read, I always want to read more. There is still so much to learn!

I’ve always been interested in the roles of women in WWII and this was a fascinating look into the jobs that four key women played in overseas propaganda operations during that time period. I think I have previously read a loosely fictionalized version of Zuska’s wartime activities via a historical fiction novel (which I can’t for the life of me remember the name of) but it was interesting to see what the real story was. The book was both well written and read in audiobook by a narrator who was very easy to listen to. I’m often wary of nonfiction, or nonfiction audio specifically, because the wrong narrator or a dry author can turn even the most interesting subject matter into a snooze. Thankfully both the author and the narrator created a compelling story of the four women’s lives and their work during the war.