GLADBROOK – Sixteen members of Alpha Study Club met at the home of Deb Wentzien on April 22. Deb opened the meeting with Roll Call which consisted of telling about our spring cleaning tips. If we couldn’t think of any and many of us couldn’t, Deb had some humorous ones for us to read. After Roll Call, the Secretary’s and Treasurer’s reports were read and approved.

There were no bills presented for payment and no Old Business. Under New Business, we are to be thinking of new members who may want to join us for an afternoon of fun and learning about the book review of the month.

Our next meeting will be at the Methodist Church on May 27 with Lynne Sash as hostess. Our meeting adjourned at this time.

Jo Anne Sash reviewed the book “A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II” by Sonia Purnell. Virginia Hall was a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill’s “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and, despite her prosthetic leg, helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it. Virginia established vast spy networks throughout France, called weapons and explosives down from the skies and became a linchpin for the Resistance.

Based on new and extensive research, Sonia Purnell has for the first time uncovered the full secret life of Virginia Hall – an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance and personal triumph over shocking adversity. “A Woman of No Importance” is the breathtaking story of how one woman’s fierce persistence helped win the war.

After the review, lunch was served by Deb consisting of a very tasty croissant and fresh fruit.