In True Face, Jonna Mendez
In True Face, Jonna Mendez
3 Rating(s)
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In True Face
A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked

Author: Jonna Mendez

Narrator: Barbara Benjamin-Creel

Unabridged: 8 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 03/05/2024

Synopsis

The bestselling coauthor of The Moscow Rules and Argo tells her riveting, courageous story of being a female spy at the height of the Cold War

Jonna Hiestand 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 shut off the gas to their apartment. Yet Mendez had a talent for espionage, too, and she soon took on bigger and more significant roles at the Agency. She parlayed her interest in photography into an operational role overseas, an unlikely area for a woman in the CIA. Often underestimated, occasionally undermined, she lived under cover 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—how this savvy operator parlayed her “everywoman” appeal into incredible subterfuge—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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brendan on December 25, 2023

In True Face by Jonna Méndez is unfortunately an example of a book which does not live up to its title. A memoir written by Méndez who was a spy in the CIA, In True Face is touted as an inside look at a woman's struggle against the misogyny of the CIA during her career along with a chronicle of her......more

Goodreads review by Belle on March 10, 2024

Almost all the way through I would call this Spy-Lite. The book became infinitely better for the last 1/4. When the author tells her post-CIA story. I really ended up liking the author by the end of the book but wished she would have been far more personal in telling the story.......more

Goodreads review by Joan on March 16, 2024

Like a lot of people who join the CIA, Jonna Mendez wanted a life that promised adventure, intellectual challenge, and travel to different countries and cultures. Her memoir, In True Face, written by a woman who started out as a GS-3 or -4 and eventually became the Chief of the Disguise Division at......more

Goodreads review by Laurien on March 28, 2024

This is a fascinating look at the inner workings of the CIA that is well worth reading.......more

Goodreads review by Stephanie on March 30, 2024

2.5 stars. I felt very frustrated and sometimes angry with the author and her response to the sexism she was facing. I’d expected her hindsight to be more critical and harsh but instead most of what we get is along the lines of ‘oh well that was just the way it was’ which feels very lacking. She als......more

Quotes

“Mendez details her fascinating career in this gripping memoir… an entertaining and enlightening glimpse inside the opaque world of spycraft.”—Publishers Weekly

“Fans of true espionage will enjoy Mendez’s stories of a formative era in intelligence history.”—Kirkus

“An extraordinarily brave and entertaining book. Jonna Mendez shows us that one of the CIA’s biggest secrets was its treatment of women and the consequences not only for its officers, but the nation it was supposed to serve.”—Sonia Purnell, New York Times-bestselling author of A Woman of No Importance

“Few outside the intelligence community understand the pressures and deceptions involved in spying. Even fewer know what it means to navigate this world while also fighting against discrimination. But all that secrecy can take a toll. In this book, Jonna Mendez takes a risk that she never could in her spying days--to tell the full and unvarnished truth.”—Valerie Plame, bestselling author of Fair Game and Burned

“Who can imagine James Bond without secret weapons, tricky cars and disguises? Meet Jonna, the CIA’s version of Q and the first woman to master the many skills of deception and spy craft.  With more than a decade of undercover operations, I had met only a few of the Agency’s rare, but storied technical officers — the ones responsible for many of the most sensitive, elaborate activities. In True Face had me glued to the pages until I finished in one sitting! This is a rare glimpse at the Spy-vs-Spy that won the Cold War and wages still. A must-read and inspiration to women who fear not.”—Mary Beth Long, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs

“In this refreshingly personal account, Jonna Mendez uses stories from her amazing 25 year CIA career to shed light on everything from clandestine photographic operations to decades of sexism at the Agency to mind-blowing disguise technology. A must-read for anyone interested in intelligence.”—David Priess, former CIA officer and author of The President's Book of Secrets

"I loved the book. Part adventure story, part real-life espionage novel, and part life journey, the book comes alive with Jonna’s rich vignettes of a life and work overseas for the CIA. Most importantly, Jonna battled terrible institutional misogyny to rise from a contract spouse to Chief of Disguise at CIA, where she was a critical component of the CIA’s espionage activities against our nation’s toughest adversaries. Jonna’s experiences will no doubt inspire the next generation of female CIA officers.”
 —Marc Polymeropoulos, former CIA operations officer, MSNBC national security analyst and author of Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA

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