Written by a mother of five and 20-year veteran of counterterrorism in the U.S. Intelligence Community, this book demystifies the underworld of terrorism and offers a unique comparison of how the super-secret intelligence approach to securing the nation is surprisingly similar to how parents secure their homes and families.

The acclaimed author of Code Girls returns with a “rip-roaring” (Steve Coll), “staggeringly well-researched” (The New York Times) history of three generations at the CIA, “electric with revelations” (Booklist) about the women who fought to become operatives, transformed spycraft, and tracked down Osama bin Laden. “This masterful book cements Liza Mundy as one of our foremost historians.”—Kate Moore, bestselling author of The Radium Girls One of Kirkus Reviews’ Most Anticipated Books of the Fall Created in the aftermath of World War II, the Central Intelligence Agency relied on women even as it attempted to channel their talents and keep them down. Women sent cables, made dead drops, and maintained the agency’s secrets. Despite discrimination—even because of it—women who started as clerks, secretaries, or unpaid spouses rose to become some of the CIA’s shrewdest operatives. They were unlikely spies—and that’s exactly what made them perfect for the role. Because women were seen as unimportant, pioneering female intelligence officers moved unnoticed around Bonn, Geneva, and Moscow, stealing secrets from under the noses of their KGB adversaries. Back at headquarters, women built the CIA’s critical archives—first by hand, then by computer. And they noticed things that the men at the top didn’t see. As the CIA faced an identity crisis after the Cold War, it was a close-knit network of female analysts who spotted the rising threat of al-Qaeda—though their warnings were repeatedly brushed aside. After the 9/11 attacks, more women joined the agency as a new job, targeter, came to prominence. They showed that data analysis would be crucial to the post-9/11 national security landscape—an effort that culminated spectacularly in the CIA’s successful effort to track down bin Laden in his Pakistani compound. Propelled by the same meticulous reporting and vivid storytelling that infused Code Girls, The Sisterhood offers a riveting new perspective on history, revealing how women at the CIA ushered in the modern intelligence age, and how their silencing made the world more dangerous.

Bennett has been featured in PBS' MAKERS, in Showtime's "Spymasters," in HBO's "Manhunt" as well as The New York Times "A Sisterhood Against Terror," Maureen Dowd's OpEd "Good Riddance, Carrie Mathison, " Washington Post "In Zero Dark Thirty She's The Hero; in Real Life CIA Agent's Career is More Complicated," Newsweek "The CIA's Secret Weapon," Salon "Zero Dark Thirty Gets CIA Wrong," CNN "The Real Women of The CIA" along with LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Vogue. Bennett presents talks on national security at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and spoke at the 2017 Estoril Global Conference in Portugal. NATIONAL SECURITY MOM offers the basics of current terrorism trends and national security policymaking from a parent's perspective. Written by a mother of five and 20-year veteran of counterterrorism in the US Intelligence Community, this book de-mystifies the underworld of terrorism and offers a unique comparison of how the super-secret intelligence approach to securing our nation is surprisingly similar to how parents secure their homes and families. By comparing the expertise parents gain while running their households to the skills required to govern, NATIONAL SECURITY MOM empowers America's parents to engage with confidence in the public national security debate. The simple premise, that everything we need to know about securing our nation we have learned from our family life, offers hope that no matter what security challenges America faces, our nation will be proud and secure. We need only follow the guidance we give our children, such as "clean up your own mess," "tell the truth," and "don't give in to a bully," to ensure our nation's welfare. Moms know that the most important lessons they teach their children will last a lifetime. Who better to entrust the security of our nation than mothers?