In True Face

Reviews

“Mendez details her fascinating career in this gripping memoir… an entertaining and enlightening glimpse inside the opaque world of spycraft.”—Publishers Weekly “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 “Fans of true espionage will enjoy Mendez’s stories of a formative era in intelligence history.”—Kirkus “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 Expand reviews