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The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA
From the author of Argo comes an unforgettable behind-the-scenes story of espionage in action. In the first ever memoir by a top-level operative to be authorized by the CIA, Antonio J. Mendez reveals the cunning tricks and insights that helped save hundreds from deadly situations.
Adept at creating new identities for anyone, anywhere, Mendez was involved in operations all o...more
Adept at creating new identities for anyone, anywhere, Mendez was involved in operations all o...more
Paperback, 376 pages
Published
November 7th 2000
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published 1999)
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While I was researching the CIA background for my debut thriller, HUNTER, I devoured a host of books written by former Agency officers. My goal was to try to get a sense of the reality of their day-to-day lives and activities. And because aliases and disguises play such an important role in my novel, I was especially eager to learn as much as possible about that aspect of spycraft.
For both reasons, I was delighted to discover The Master of Disguise. Antonio Mendez is, and presents, the real deal...more
For both reasons, I was delighted to discover The Master of Disguise. Antonio Mendez is, and presents, the real deal...more
This book is good for a lot of reasons, but I want to tackle the biggest drawback first: there's not enough action. There are no accounts of gunfights or exfiltrations that require physical violence to succeed. In that way, I was just a little let down. However, it is a true story, and so that can't distract the reader too much.
Everything else about the book was really good. The complexities and nuances involved in Mendez's exfil ops are nothing short of extraordinary. The reader will obtain a n...more
Everything else about the book was really good. The complexities and nuances involved in Mendez's exfil ops are nothing short of extraordinary. The reader will obtain a n...more
I read this book after seeing the movie Argo and becoming intrigued to hear the real story behind the mission to help the six embassy workers get home from Iran. Mendez in this book takes you through his early life and the parts about his career in the CIA that he can reveal. It's not an action packed spy novel, but it's better than that because the is talking about real operations and real things that officers did in their daily work. Mendez primarily worked with disguises and exfiltration duri...more
I really enjoyed reading this book! The reality behind the cloak-and-dagger work of CIA work is revealed by Tony Mendez in this book. I found it to be VERY fascinating, and worth reading. How the 6 US diplomats escaped from Iran when the American Embassy was taken over is explained in this book. How informants are managed and extracted from various countries is also explained. Have you read "The Hunt for Red October"? Well, it seems that Tom Clancy must have known some real details, because it m...more
I liked this book. There’s a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ books regarding American intelligence but this is one of the few that’s agency sanctioned. Antonio Mendez is a CIA lifer who has worked in Southeast Asia and Russia during the Cold War including working with a woman who has her own small exhibit at The Spy Museum.
I definitely liked it and parts of it were very difficult to put down. However, parts of it very dry and dragged. If you already have an interest in spying and intelligence, this...more
I definitely liked it and parts of it were very difficult to put down. However, parts of it very dry and dragged. If you already have an interest in spying and intelligence, this...more
My partner and I were lucky enough to be invited to an art show done by the entire Menendez family at their studios near Knoxville, Maryland a summer or two ago. I bought my copy of this book from the "Master of Disguise", TONY MENDEZ, himself. While his daughter rang it up. He kindly inscribed it to me. So I might be just a little biased.
But this book - which is all about TONY MENDEZ before ARGO - definitely ranks 5 stars up and then some on my shelves!
Tony Mendez came out an old school at the...more
But this book - which is all about TONY MENDEZ before ARGO - definitely ranks 5 stars up and then some on my shelves!
Tony Mendez came out an old school at the...more
Unfortunately, because of the author’s position as a forger and disguise-master, he didn’t get the plum assignments. No tales of break-ins or derring-do here, but rather hours spent behind a magnifying glass creating documents. The most exciting cases here involve ex-filtrating spies and others from behind unfriendly territory. This usually involves making a mask for them and walking through an airport. In fact, there’s about 3 tales of making masks and walking through airports … and the author...more
Mendez is in the news again because of the part he played in smuggling six U.S. diplomats out of Iran in early 1980, but don't read this book merely to get that story. Read it because Mendez manages to write 300 pages of fascinating stories without revealing any trade secrets, keeping the suspense up while juggling your curiosity with his pledge to protect classified material. This is a Cold War memoir, one that captures the spirit and attitudes of those times. A true tale well told.
Very informative on the world of espionage.
The reason why I don't read much crime or spy novels is because I know it isn't like that. I admit, it is cool, but it's something I'm very sensitive in. Anyway, while. do know that the US Department of Defence has taken out every classified piece in this book, it truly does give a meaning to what "CIA officer" means, and he's not a man who wears custom tailored suits who shoot guns like they're vigilantes.
The reason why I don't read much crime or spy novels is because I know it isn't like that. I admit, it is cool, but it's something I'm very sensitive in. Anyway, while. do know that the US Department of Defence has taken out every classified piece in this book, it truly does give a meaning to what "CIA officer" means, and he's not a man who wears custom tailored suits who shoot guns like they're vigilantes.
If you like Jason Bourne or James Bond, and enjoy reading about the reality behind fantasy, then this is a must read book. Tony Mendez might not have the fluid style of an accomplished novelist, but his book reads pretty well, anyway. His stories are fascinating. I bought this book when it was a kindle daily special around the time that Argo released in theaters. If you liked the movie, you'd be crazy if you don't read this book.
I thought that this book started off slow, but on the other hand as the book continued I got really interested. The art of how we used technology to benefit us. It wasn't always spies that came up with these new techniques. Hollywood make up artists helped to improve the disguises that the CIA used. This book was great insight on how the CIA worked throughout the years of the Cold War.
I have always been interested in spy craft and this book showed different ways that the CIA used spy craft duri...more
I have always been interested in spy craft and this book showed different ways that the CIA used spy craft duri...more
With a budding variety of espionage history and CIA dirty laundry being aired, this particular memoir presented a refreshing and unique viewpoint. I'm glad I stumbled upon the opportunity to read this and I feel it delivers every bit of the four stars I have awarded the experience. Tony presents his history in a fun, well organized, an interesting way. He helps you widen your view of the complex nature of professional espionage without an overbearing focus on the deep, dark horrors of the game m...more
I read this after watching Argo, and it was interesting to hear about this and several cold war operations from the man who lived it. Surprisingly candid and relatable. Action buffs may be disappointed by the lack of certain story details that relate to still-classified agency tactics, but that's a small price to pay for a peek inside life as a CIA officer,
After seeing the movie Argo this is really interesting. At first I thought I'd only be into the Argo section, but the lead up to it was very important to understand aspects of the situation and the movie. Somethings that were detailed but were not explicitly explained are much more understandable after having read this.
I do think movie first and then this book.
I do think movie first and then this book.
Once the buzz for the movie Argo began, I wanted to read Tony Mendez's book, published in 1999. Actually, the story line of the movie is only one chapter of Mendez's CIA memoir. And I was a bit surprised that the Argo story line was not as compelling as some of the other events of his career. But this is what makes his experiences so fascinating--the cloak-and-dagger style of infiltration and exfiltration that was typical of secret agent work before the age of high technology. This is the style...more
I've read a lot of Cold War spy memoirs over the past two years, but all of the others have been from the KGB side. One immediately obvious difference between this book and the others I've read is that while the former KGB men are all pretty much forced by history to take a critical stance toward the ethics of their agency's (and sometimes even their own) actions, this former CIA man absolutely doesn't have that. At times I would have appreciated a bit more of that, to be honest, but I suppose i...more
This was an interesting little autobiography of the man who gave us "ARGO." There was a little bit of self- preening, and quite a bit of deprecation of any spy NOT from either America, or Moscow(USSR). I guess you expect the author to polish his own star, but I was a little surprised to see him do it at the expense of denigrating others on the opposite side of his profession. He also justified EVERY behavior that the agency engaged in, which is kind of evocative of what the NSA is doing now, dur...more
Fascinating story. Author is the character played by Ben Affleck in the movie Argo. A real behind the scenes reselling of events.
I had seen this book referenced in an article from The Atlantic a while back and was reminded of it again after finally seeing the movie Argo.
The book is a professional biography of sorts, where the author describes a brief bit of his personal background before recounting a series of vignettes which highlight his career working for the CIA. Mendez describes being hired at the CIA and his experiences supporting field operations through his expertise with document forgery and later physical disgui...more
The book is a professional biography of sorts, where the author describes a brief bit of his personal background before recounting a series of vignettes which highlight his career working for the CIA. Mendez describes being hired at the CIA and his experiences supporting field operations through his expertise with document forgery and later physical disgui...more
Of all the books about the CIA and espionage I have read, this is my absolute favorite. It is an easy and fascinating book about a man with little education but with an amazing artistic skill who through hard work becomes the highly decorated Director of Science and Technology for the CIA. I learned so much about how the CIA recruits and trains the dedicated men and women who answer those seemingly benign help wanted ads and eventually participate in incredible cloak-and-dagger operations.
The m...more
The m...more
The good:
It is amazing the amount of detail work that must go into every single operation.
I really felt like I knew him. When he spoke about how he would, as the final thing, leave his wedding ring with his wife it made my heart ache a little.
A lot of what he talks about is really interesting and gives small puzzle pieces to bigger world events. I especially enjoyed where he speaks about how hard things were in the Soviet Union.
The bad:
The book takes awhile to really start to flow. The first cha...more
It is amazing the amount of detail work that must go into every single operation.
I really felt like I knew him. When he spoke about how he would, as the final thing, leave his wedding ring with his wife it made my heart ache a little.
A lot of what he talks about is really interesting and gives small puzzle pieces to bigger world events. I especially enjoyed where he speaks about how hard things were in the Soviet Union.
The bad:
The book takes awhile to really start to flow. The first cha...more
I chose The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA by Antonio J. Mendez, because as I have always been a fan of books relating to history. Every kid grows up intrigued about the world of espionage, and this book gives a first hand account of the secret life. I never realized how much attention was paid to the minutest details in everyday things. This book chronicles the experiences of Mendez, throughout some of the most crucial times in American history. His personal work affected the ou...more
Jan 10, 2013
D
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Argo fans and fans of accounts of govt intrigue
a strong episodic self-narration of the most interesting now-declassified adventures in Tony Mendez's twenty-five-year career in the CIA.
having a soft spot for stories of clandestine government ops, i Nooked this book after loving the movie Argo. the read was enjoyable and enlightening but nothing special.
Mendez provides a brief overview of his childhood and young adulthood in the american west, offering glimpses into his character and why it would eventually fit so well within the Agency. then...more
having a soft spot for stories of clandestine government ops, i Nooked this book after loving the movie Argo. the read was enjoyable and enlightening but nothing special.
Mendez provides a brief overview of his childhood and young adulthood in the american west, offering glimpses into his character and why it would eventually fit so well within the Agency. then...more
This is interesting, but quite misleading from the title. I was under the impression that this book would be about amazing past secret missions of the CIA. Instead, it's very guarded information, where all names and quite possibly the locations have been changed, and a bunch of history lessons from this author that has a very high opinion of himself. I have no doubt that this author is a cool person who did awesome stuff in the CIA, however, it's just not been written in a very exciting way.
Hon...more
Hon...more
Mr. Mendez provided excellent service to his country. I enjoyed this book from the standpoint that I believed it to be more of a memoir of his career than a biography of his complete life. We are introduced to just enough of the back ground from Mr. Mendez to realize he came from humble beginnings and the personal life is kept at arms length (as well it should have been for this particular type of book).
His career brought him to many places and he was more often than not, forced to work through...more
His career brought him to many places and he was more often than not, forced to work through...more
This book is barely a three star, but I did enjoy a little more than half of it, so I can't quite dump it down to two stars. It's a bit misleading though. When they say the CIA has authorized a former operative to 'tell all' they mean 'tell a little'. Furthermore, 'tell a little' about a very specific area of espionage expertise, namely, disguise. This guy has some really good stories, but they are all basically the same: he had a agent who needed to be extricated from a hostile country, or he h...more
2.99 on iBooks, as Tony mendez' 10 year old autobiography goes on blue plate special, Mendez being the equiv of a two star general, chief of disguises, in the cia's clandestine service. The critical reviews here on GR probably due to aggressive marketing; yes, there are no torture sessions, no bombshells, except the revelation that the soviet union deployed tactical nukes in the 1973 October war. Egyptians with nukes? No wonder they slowly drifted into the US circle...
Mendez has a decent, intere...more
Mendez has a decent, intere...more
For anyone who seen the movie 'Argo' or has any interest in covert ops, the Iran hostage crisis or recent US history, this is a must. Tony Mendez, honored as one of the 50 most distinguished to contribute to the history of CIA, tells the story of how he started at the CIA in the days of Vietnam up to his retirement in the 21st century. The earlier chapters are interesting, but as he describes ever more important operations it becomes gripping.
This was a very interesting read! It was particularly interesting for me to read the parts in Moscow, especially since I visited many of the locations, but decades later, and certainly post-Cold War (Tony had quite a different experience from mine!). Reading about Russian involvement in US anti-Vietnam war movements was also intriguing, and makes you wonder - what foreign powers are influencing some of the movements in the US today? This could have been a 5 star book, but lacked more personal de...more
Tony Mendez spins a compelling and highly accessible narrative about a quarter-century of backroom spycraft in a way that reads less like an Ian Flemming novel than it does a mostly dispassionate autobiography of a well-traveled adventurer. The book offers a well-told tale about some of the more harrowing theaters of operation of the late 20th century. A worthy read for lovers of spy tales and historical nonfiction alike.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Life of CIA operatives | 1 | 2 | Aug 24, 2014 10:48AM |
Antonio Joseph "Tony" Mendez is an American CIA technical operations officer, now retired, who specialized in support of clandestine and covert CIA operations. He has written three memoirs about his CIA experiences.
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Mar 17, 2013 11:53AM
If you're interested in all of the secret stuff that spies do, try "Spycraft" by Robert Walla...more
Mar 17, 2013 12:54PM