In True Face
A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked
-
-
4.3 • 34 Ratings
-
-
- $15.99
Publisher Description
In this “extraordinarily brave and entertaining book” (Sonia Purnell, New York Times–bestselling author of A Woman of No Importance), the bestselling coauthor of Argo tells her riveting, courageous story of being a female spy at the height of the Cold War
Jonna Mendez began her CIA career as a “contract wife,” performing secretarial duties for the CIA as a convenience to her husband, a young officer stationed in Europe. She needed his permission to open a bank account or even shut off the gas to their apartment. Yet Mendez had a talent for espionage, too, parlaying her interest in photography into an operational role overseas, an unlikely area for a woman in the CIA. Often underestimated, occasionally undermined, she lived undercover and served tours of duty all over the globe, rising first to become an international spy and ultimately to chief of disguise at CIA’s Office of Technical Service.
In True Face recounts not only the drama of Mendez’s high-stakes work but also the grit and good fortune it took for her to navigate a misogynistic world. This is the story of an incredible spy career and what it took to achieve it.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Part whirlwind international travelogue, part autobiography, and completely fascinating, this is the true story of how one woman rose through the ranks of the CIA. In True Face tells Jonna Mendez’s own account of how she went from being a daredevil kid in Wichita to becoming a spy—and eventually, one of the CIA’s most acclaimed experts in disguise. Mendez balances colorful descriptions of her international adventures facing off with terrorists and KGB agents with a sharp eye for the indignities and misogyny she faced from the CIA’s own old boy network as a pioneering woman in the espionage field in the ’60s. As she details her journeys from Germany to Thailand and the Middle East, Mendez is a deeply thoughtful narrator, adding heart-rending ruminations on the agony and ecstasy of leaving her comfy Midwest home in search of something bigger and more meaningful. Whether you like thrilling spy stories and high-flying tales of globe-trotting or you’re more interested in the personal stories of an inspirational woman, In True Face is endlessly engaging.
Customer Reviews
Needed a better editor
Too many platitudes. Left out many potentially interesting things - details about masks, for example