Code Name Blue Wren
The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy—and the Sister She Betrayed
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4.0 • 174 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
*An Amazon Best Book of 2023*
*An Apple Book of the Month for January*
The incredible true story of Ana Montes, the most damaging female spy in US history, drawing upon never-before-seen material and to be published upon her release from prison, for readers of Agent Sonya and A Woman of No Importance.
Just days after the 9-11 attacks, a senior Pentagon analyst eased her red Toyota Echo into traffic and headed to work. She never saw the undercover cars tracking her every turn. As she settled into her cubicle on the 6th floor of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, FBI Agents and twitchy DIA officers were hiding in nearby offices. For this was the day that Ana Montes--the US Intelligence Community superstar who had just won a prestigious fellowship at the CIA--was to be arrested and publicly exposed as a secret agent for Cuba.
Like spies Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen before her, Ana Montes blindsided her colleagues with brazen acts of treason. For nearly 17 years, Montes succeeded in two high-stress jobs. By day, she was one of the government’s top Cuba experts, a buttoned-down GS-14 with shockingly easy access to classified documents. By night, she was on the clock for Fidel Castro, listening to coded messages over shortwave radio, passing US secrets to handlers in local restaurants, and slipping into Havana wearing a wig.
Montes didn’t just deceive her country. Her betrayal was intensely personal. Her mercurial father was a former US Army Colonel. Her brother and sister-in-law were FBI Special Agents. And her only sister, Lucy, also worked her entire career for the Bureau. The highlight of her distinguished 31 years as a Miami-based language specialist: Helping the FBI flush Cuban spies out of the United States. Little did Lucy or her family know that the greatest Cuban spy of all was sitting right next to them at Thanksgivings, baptisms, and weddings.
In Code Name Blue Wren, investigative journalist Jim Popkin weaves the tale of two sisters who chose two very different paths, plus the unsung heroes who had to fight to bring Ana to justice. With exclusive access to a “Secret” CIA behavioral profile of Ana, family memoirs, and Ana’s incriminating letters from prison, Popkin reveals the making of a traitor—a woman labelled “one of the most damaging spies in U.S. history” by America’s top counter-intelligence official.
After more than two decades in federal prison, Montes will be freed in January 2023. Code Name Blue Wren is a thrilling detective tale, an insider’s look at the clandestine world of espionage, and an intimate exploration of the dark side of betrayal.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This whirlwind true story has all the twists and turns you’d find in the most exciting spy thriller. Investigative journalist Jim Popkin traces the little-known story of Ana Montes, an American-born spy who handed off secrets to the Cuban government for 17 years while hiding in plain sight. A masterful researcher, Popkin digs into all angles of Montes’ story through extensive first-person interviews, speaking with everybody from her closest relatives to long-estranged friends. But this isn’t just a fascinating deep dive for fans of Cold War politics, it’s also an emotional book that plunges into Montes’ personal life, from her violent father to her betrayal of her beloved sister. Mixing politics, family drama, and high-flying espionage, Code Name Blue Wren is a riveting nonfiction read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Investigative journalist Popkin's engrossing debut tells the story of Ana Montes, an intelligence analyst for the U.S. government who, probably before she joined the Defense Intelligence Agency in 1985, was spying for Cuba. In 1998, the efforts of her sister, Lucy, an FBI analyst, to bring down a Cuban spy ring in Miami led to clues about a highly placed U.S. citizen working for Cuba. The FBI and DIA spent more than two years investigating, but came up short due to a lack of cooperation between the agencies. It wasn't until they finally shared information that they identified the spy as Montes. She was arrested 10 days after 9/11, which explains the lack of headlines her capture received. Montes pleaded guilty to one count of espionage, receiving 25 years in prison. Popkin thoroughly explores her upbringing—an abusive father divorced her mother—but never really explains why she became an ardent supporter of Fidel Castro to the extent that she risked her high-level position at the DIA and ultimately her freedom. This is a must-read for espionage fans.
Customer Reviews
code name grand slam
impeccable word choice, i was writing down new words the whole book.
the account was very well put together considering ana montes was not able to be interviewed herself. as someone who has worked for the government myself, this story seems to have very little bias within it and i appreciated the way everything was presented.
the flow of the story was also a home run. if only the story didn’t have to end
A slow start
Slow start. Innuendos are many. Definite facts on the intel that was leaked in many instances are implied but not definitive.
Fascinating
A story I don’t remember hearing about and is as interesting as any spy novel out there.