In True Face: A Woman's Life in the Cia, Unmasked (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781541703124)

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.

Author: Jonna Mendez
ISBN-10: 154170312X
ISBN-13: 9781541703124
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Language: English
Published: 03/05/2024
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.29h x 5.83w x 1.18d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/08/2024
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2024
BookPage 03/01/2024