Yardley’s Ace: Making and Breaking American Military Intelligence

This is the true story of Herbert O. Yardley, a small-town college dropout who worked his way up through the US State Department to become the nation’s most infamous codebreaker, whose work helped found the NSA—and who revealed all his secrets in a bestselling book.

America’s 1917 entry to World War I exposed the country’s lack of military intelligence. It had to catch up with the world’s major players, and fast. Herbert Yardley, who’d learned his life lessons at the poker table, knew he could apply his analytical skills to the field of cryptology. Given the chance to lead MI-8, the first unit dedicated to military intelligence, he was soon intercepting and deciphering classified diplomatic cables—and helping the Allies to victory.

Yardley had been dealt an ace, but with the war over MI-8 was disbanded. Embittered and convinced—correctly—that cryptanalysis would only become more important as rampant nationalism took hold of the world, Yardley refused to back down. His work as an independent codebreaker would lead him to the bright lights of Hollywood, the brutal battle for China, the front pages of national newspapers—and to accusations of treason…