Setting out to decipher the Alfred Vail 19th century ciphers, I remembered seeing an introduction to cryptanalysis that appeared in QST during World War II.    

It is "Yhpargotpyrc_Ni_Detseretni? Solution of an Elementary Type of Cipher" by QST editor John Huntoon,, W1LVQ.   It appeared in the May 1942 issue, available from worldradiohistory.com here .

The series continues with 6 lessons in the July through December issues.

At the end of the May article, Huntoon recommends getting a copy of Elementary Cryptanalysis by Helen Fouche Gaines.

To my surprise, there was not a Wikipedia article for Gaines, except for an Italian version.   I did find, however, a well written biographical entry in the book  Arkansas Biography: A Collection of Notable Lives by Nancy A. Williams.

Read the slides below, and perhaps you will agree with me that the life of cryptanalyst Helen Fouche Gaines's was, indeed, notable.