- Paperback: 376 pages
- Publisher: Avon; Reprint edition (Oct 26 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060957913
- ISBN-13: 978-0060957919
- Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 14.2 x 2.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #228,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
The problem with memoirs by ex-secret agents is that they usually make their careers sound about as exciting as that of $6-an-hour bowling alley security guard, unless you're of the opinion that filing papers and making phone calls is the epitome of thrills. Antonio Mendez, however, has produced a tome that makes the life of a CIA agent sound every bit the slam-bang world of intrigue and skulking in the shadows that movies like Mission: Impossible make it out to be.
Honored by the CIA on its 50th anniversary as being one of the agency's 50 "Trailblazers," the now-retired Mendez spins a fast-paced tale of intriguing characters partaking in skullduggery in exotic locales, made all the more appealing because Mendez himself is the featured star of the proceedings. In an almost offhand manner, he writes about seeing and doing things that would wilt the flower of courage in almost any reader. "Was I proud to be enlisting," he rhetorically ponders at one point, "on our side in the Cold War? You bet." Originally drafted by the CIA as a "technical artist" to provide cover for agents behind enemy lines, Mendez worked his way up the ladder and progressed to a full-fledged agent in the field, sneaking diplomats past enemy guards and spiriting informants into the night, eluding capture and torture at every turn--and using his artist's eye for detail to paint vivid word pictures of his predicaments. Mendez possesses a remarkably keen sense of the mechanics of a good cloak-and-dagger story, and fortunately pours it on in abundance here in his quite hefty--and surprisingly lively--autobiography. --Tjames Madison --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Former CIA chief of disguise Mendez was an award-winning spy (yes, they have awards). Here, given unique permission by that agency to write about his career, he offers an entertaining and action-filled, though restrained, memoir of his Cold War clandestine service, emphasizing the gritty, complicated realities of intelligence work. Experienced as an illustrator and seeking a little excitement, in 1965 he answered a newspaper ad for navy artists to work overseas, and soon found himself signing on with "the Company" as a graphics specialist in the technical services division. Mendez effectively conveys the tension of forging documents on short notice and knowing that an agent's life depended on his accuracy. The ambitious Mendez quickly sought overseas transfer; this, coupled with his innovations in the then nascent fields of alias creation, countersurveillance and disguise, made him into a sought-after specialist who was brought in to numerous hot spots to perform daunting tasks. The book is packed with these stories, but the detail on espionage techniques his team developed can be excessively dry, and Mendez at times turns abruptly circumspect to avoid divulging current components of spycraft. Mendez offers a balanced and humanized portrait of life within the CIA, acknowledging the strain on agents' families, and grounds his tale in the Cold War era's historical realities, producing a volume with appeal for both spy buffs and the simply curious. 8 pages of photos not seen by PW. 6-city author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
The anxious memories returned to haunt me that summer night, keeping me from sleep once more... Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The anxious memories returned to haunt me that summer night, keeping me from sleep once more... Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting & Personal,
By Chiu Hse Yu (Singapore) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Master Of Disguise (Paperback)
Mr. Mendez has put together an interesting collections of his personal experiences working in the CIA. There is nothing here to shock or get excited about but it is at once interesting, exciting and informative, and lets outsiders peek behind the curtain of real-life covert field operations. Whether by design or due to faulty memory, some of his tales are not told just they way they happened and times and places have been fudged, but none of that takes away from the stories nor the readers pleasure. Not great literature but a good read never the less.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast-paced & Factual,
By Claudia Sarfatis (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Master Of Disguise (Paperback)
This book is fast-paced by keeping the facts brief and relevant. It's not an expose so much as a pleasant example of an agent who is sharing his more interesting missions in a catchy, intriguing style. A quick, worthwhile read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Folks...Listen to the Experts...,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA (Hardcover)
I probably would not have even bothered reading this book except for one minor issue: I know Mr. Mendez personally. As a teenager, he and his family lived on a small Army-type facility in Okinawa from 1968-1971 called the United States Army Composite Service Group. I assure you, there was nothing "Army" about it. It was all CIA and they were conducting operations all over Southeast Asia. It wasn't until I had grown up and was a Major in the Army before I heard of his book and began corresponding with him. Since my father was also in the CIA we all shared a close bond. But what really stunned me was that no one talked about what the other guy was doing. Mr. Mendez's book absolutely captured my interest and held it. It was and is men like him that make the CIA tick. If you are at all interested in the inner workings of the agency and want to know some of the different things they did, then by all means, get this book. I hope you find it as fascinating as I did. Funny though...even at the age of 81 and being retired since 1978, my own father rarely mentions alot of the things the cold warriors did at a time when they were active in so many deadly cat-and-mouse games with ruthless adversaries. Mr. Mendez just happened to be at the right place at the right time to make his mark in history. And for that, he has my utmost respect.
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