Code Names: Betsy and Babe

by Linda Shields Allison

In 1971, a young American couple in their twenties, fly to Nairobi, Kenya, with their two young daughters to begin a five-year teaching contract at American-run Nairobi International School. Through a unique relationship with one of the students, the couple is approached by the student's father, who runs CIA operations in Kenya. Because of their legitimate reason for working in Kenya, the Chief of Station assesses and eventually recruits them to work covertly for the CIA under the BETSY AND BABE. The CIA arranges residency next to a suspected Russian KGB operative and a Middle Easter couple with the objective of befriending and monitoring listening devises in their homes. Over the next four years the couple will live a double life of intrigue and deception with neighbors, visiting family, and close friends. Linda Shields lives with her husband in San Diego, California. She received a B.A. from the University of San Bernardino and a master's degree from Azusa Pacific University. She has written five young adult historical The Emerald Bottle, The Bronze Bottle, The Amythyst Bottle, The Mandarin Bottle, and The Turquoise Bottle. BETSY AND BABE -A MEMOIR recounts a young couple, working in Kenya as teachers, recruited to spy undercover for the CIA in the seventies.

309 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 6, 2025

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting account of the authors time in Africa being recruited & working undercover for the CIA .