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In True Face: A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked
The bestselling co-author of The Moscow Rules and Argo tells her riveting, courageous story of being a female spy at the CIA and battling against the prevailing culture of sexism at the time, all while undertaking dangerous missions for America’s safety during the height of the Cold War.
Jonna Hiestand Mendez began her CIA career as a "contract wife," a second-class citizen who was hired as a convenience to her husband’s career, a young officer stationed in Europe. She needed his permission to open a bank account or shut off the gas to their apartment, and she performed secretarial duties for the CIA.
Mendez's talent for espionage was clear, and she soon took on bigger and more significant roles at The Agency. She lived under cover and served tours of duty all over the globe, as well as at CIA Headquarters. She confronted dangerous situations that called on her spy coming face to face with a rogue Jihadi who had brought down an American plane, and helping steal a top-secret encryption machine from a Soviet embassy, among other high stakes situations. She became an international spy and ultimately Chief of Disguise at CIA’s Office of Technical Service--a kind of female American version of James Bond's famous "Q."
In this breakthrough memoir, Mendez recounts not only the drama of her international spy career but the grit and good fortune it took for her to navigate a misogynistic world. She was undermined, harassed, and intimidated, all while maintaining a patriotic mission and working to advance her own career. She was a firsthand witness to the cost of this gendered culture, both to the women who worked there, and to the interests of the agency and the nation it serves.
In True Face is both clear-eyed and the story of an incredible spy career, and what it took to achieve it.
Jonna Hiestand Mendez began her CIA career as a "contract wife," a second-class citizen who was hired as a convenience to her husband’s career, a young officer stationed in Europe. She needed his permission to open a bank account or shut off the gas to their apartment, and she performed secretarial duties for the CIA.
Mendez's talent for espionage was clear, and she soon took on bigger and more significant roles at The Agency. She lived under cover and served tours of duty all over the globe, as well as at CIA Headquarters. She confronted dangerous situations that called on her spy coming face to face with a rogue Jihadi who had brought down an American plane, and helping steal a top-secret encryption machine from a Soviet embassy, among other high stakes situations. She became an international spy and ultimately Chief of Disguise at CIA’s Office of Technical Service--a kind of female American version of James Bond's famous "Q."
In this breakthrough memoir, Mendez recounts not only the drama of her international spy career but the grit and good fortune it took for her to navigate a misogynistic world. She was undermined, harassed, and intimidated, all while maintaining a patriotic mission and working to advance her own career. She was a firsthand witness to the cost of this gendered culture, both to the women who worked there, and to the interests of the agency and the nation it serves.
In True Face is both clear-eyed and the story of an incredible spy career, and what it took to achieve it.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published March 5, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
December 26, 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 dangerous missions. I don't believe she succeeded on either account. Méndez's writing style in this book is not focused on any one of the topics the book purports to illuminate. It almost feels like she will get bored in the middle of a page and jumps to a different subject.
Admittedly, I was primed for this book after reading two exceptional books on women in the CIA (Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt and The Sisterhood by Liza Mundy). Each of these books dig deep into CIA history and painstakingly document how unfairly women were treated within the agency. I had hoped Méndez would give a more personal, but also detailed, rundown of the challenges she faced. While Méndez called out many people in the narrative, she did not provide in-depth examples of these injustices regularly. Often, she would say she knew she was being treated differently due to her sex, but then moves on to another topic. When she does take the time to detail specific instances of these problems, the book is quite good. However, there is more examples of the former rather than the latter.
Similar problems occur when it comes to recounting her own missions. An anecdote about meeting President Bush the elder while in disguise is fascinating. However, mostly her missions are just a few paragraphs with little detail. The same can be said about her personal life which the author seems to shy away from truly digging into.
There are things to like about this book, but there is too much extraneous information on unimportant topics and not enough information on the subjects which matter.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and PublicAffairs.)
Admittedly, I was primed for this book after reading two exceptional books on women in the CIA (Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt and The Sisterhood by Liza Mundy). Each of these books dig deep into CIA history and painstakingly document how unfairly women were treated within the agency. I had hoped Méndez would give a more personal, but also detailed, rundown of the challenges she faced. While Méndez called out many people in the narrative, she did not provide in-depth examples of these injustices regularly. Often, she would say she knew she was being treated differently due to her sex, but then moves on to another topic. When she does take the time to detail specific instances of these problems, the book is quite good. However, there is more examples of the former rather than the latter.
Similar problems occur when it comes to recounting her own missions. An anecdote about meeting President Bush the elder while in disguise is fascinating. However, mostly her missions are just a few paragraphs with little detail. The same can be said about her personal life which the author seems to shy away from truly digging into.
There are things to like about this book, but there is too much extraneous information on unimportant topics and not enough information on the subjects which matter.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and PublicAffairs.)
March 11, 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.
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.
April 5, 2024
What a disappointing mediocre book. I certainly wasn’t expecting any agency secrets but I hoped for an interesting read. It seemed like the author slapped this collection of bland memories together just to sell a book.
Lots of focus on the discrimination of women in the CIA but this wasn’t a surprise and Mendez didn’t have to constantly remind us. I think it’s fair to say that most professional women have dealt with these issues and worse yet something about her tone was off putting.
I was also dismayed by her description of the end of her marriage. It’s hard to believe her 20+ year marriage seemed to mean so little to Mendez but given the fact that they spent so little time together over the years, maybe it is fitting.
Lots of focus on the discrimination of women in the CIA but this wasn’t a surprise and Mendez didn’t have to constantly remind us. I think it’s fair to say that most professional women have dealt with these issues and worse yet something about her tone was off putting.
I was also dismayed by her description of the end of her marriage. It’s hard to believe her 20+ year marriage seemed to mean so little to Mendez but given the fact that they spent so little time together over the years, maybe it is fitting.
March 28, 2024
This is a fascinating look at the inner workings of the CIA that is well worth reading.
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 the CIA, more than delivers on that promise. The 26 chapters in this book are an easy read as the typeface and line spacing are larger than most books. There is also an Index in the back of the book.
Jonna and her first husband, John Goeser, dedicated their whole lives to the CIA to serve their country. He was a CIA Security Officer; she worked in the CIA’s Office of Technical Services. Her work often involved “matching wits with Russia’s KGB, East Germany’s Stasi, Cuba’s DGI and China’s MSS” where she became involved in many dangerous situations. The first part of the book detailed a dizzying number of operations she was involved in without naming exact cities or locations (probably for security reasons). It also goes into great detail about her photography work and/or developing films as a photo operations officer.
Not only did she have to stay focused on her high-stakes work, she also had many professional challenges, her greatest being Tom Smallwood, her Chief in the subcontinent, who worked hard to destroy her career but was ultimately unsuccessful in sabotaging her reputation and her performance.
There is a lot of detail in the book about hostile interrogation and defensive driving training (executing a reverse 180 maneuver while looking down the barrel of a gun) at the Farm, the CIA’s training center, south of Washington, DC.
On a humorous aside, she talks about the time she was on a trip once to Kolkata, when she told a woman who was pushing into her personal space to “Stop pushing!” Little did she know, that woman was Mother Teresa.
After her 23 years of marriage to John, they decided to part ways. When they did, she called her friend Tony Mendez, an artist and Chief of the Clandestine Imaging Division in OTS. He immediately dropped everything to go meet her. Their relationship bloomed and he ended up proposing to her. They were married in 1991. Tony received the CIA’s Trailblazer Award and the movie Argo depicted Tony’s rescue of six diplomats in Tehran. They both retired early; he, at age 50, she, after she had her first child at age 47. He took up painting again. She became a mother, teacher, photographer, public speaker, author and event planner/Vice President for a music foundation. They were founding members of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
At the end of the book, she gives tribute to another trailblazer—Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court Justice who, “on many levels, represented women in America and their struggle for equal treatment in the workplace.”
All in all, I found this a fascinating read.
Jonna and her first husband, John Goeser, dedicated their whole lives to the CIA to serve their country. He was a CIA Security Officer; she worked in the CIA’s Office of Technical Services. Her work often involved “matching wits with Russia’s KGB, East Germany’s Stasi, Cuba’s DGI and China’s MSS” where she became involved in many dangerous situations. The first part of the book detailed a dizzying number of operations she was involved in without naming exact cities or locations (probably for security reasons). It also goes into great detail about her photography work and/or developing films as a photo operations officer.
Not only did she have to stay focused on her high-stakes work, she also had many professional challenges, her greatest being Tom Smallwood, her Chief in the subcontinent, who worked hard to destroy her career but was ultimately unsuccessful in sabotaging her reputation and her performance.
There is a lot of detail in the book about hostile interrogation and defensive driving training (executing a reverse 180 maneuver while looking down the barrel of a gun) at the Farm, the CIA’s training center, south of Washington, DC.
On a humorous aside, she talks about the time she was on a trip once to Kolkata, when she told a woman who was pushing into her personal space to “Stop pushing!” Little did she know, that woman was Mother Teresa.
After her 23 years of marriage to John, they decided to part ways. When they did, she called her friend Tony Mendez, an artist and Chief of the Clandestine Imaging Division in OTS. He immediately dropped everything to go meet her. Their relationship bloomed and he ended up proposing to her. They were married in 1991. Tony received the CIA’s Trailblazer Award and the movie Argo depicted Tony’s rescue of six diplomats in Tehran. They both retired early; he, at age 50, she, after she had her first child at age 47. He took up painting again. She became a mother, teacher, photographer, public speaker, author and event planner/Vice President for a music foundation. They were founding members of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.
At the end of the book, she gives tribute to another trailblazer—Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court Justice who, “on many levels, represented women in America and their struggle for equal treatment in the workplace.”
All in all, I found this a fascinating read.
November 17, 2023
I loved this book! I read it straight through after planning to skim most of it and just stop for the most interesting chapters. Well, they were all interesting! Mendez described how she started in the CIA, how she negotiated the old boy network of the 60s and 70s (and 80s and 90s), how she became a photography specialist and then switched to the art and science of disguises. She told many stories of getting into and out of tight spots, detailed her training throughout her career, and described her post-CIA life helping to start and promote the International Spy Museum, as well as co-writing books with her spy husband, Tony Mendez. If it seems odd that a spy would write a book spilling all the beans about her career, well, she doesn't spill ALL the beans. For instance, several times she would describe being in a new location -- the hotel and the streets and the people and I would realize I had missed exactly what city she was in. Because she never said. I imagine she changed names and details quite a bit, while preserving the atmosphere and tension. Great book, I will be looking up her previous books. Thanks to NetGalley and Public Affairs Books for a digital review copy.
March 29, 2024
I read about 112 pages and could tell it wouldn’t get any better. I’m disappointed. I was looking forward to reading it because it was a perfect book on Women’s History Month. The book didn’t live up to what I thought. It read like a check list of her life, not personal. I’m sorry to say it was dull. Only a few things I got out of it. I never knew couples were recruited in the CIA. I did a google search and nothing comes up, obviously for good reason. Secondly, she did talk about sex discrimination. Women were treated, and rewarded poorly, included pay. You were sent as a team and went over seas with your spouse. You were paid better when you went overseas. When the assignment was over you weren’t guaranteed the same job as you left, and paid poorly. As reading none of it made sense though. They were hired as a team. But they had separate assignments over seas and when they came state side. Either I just didn’t understand, or it went over my head. This one missed the mark…
May 8, 2024
The image of the Central Intelligence Agency is one of mystery and intrigue. An agent's life can be exciting and dangerous. That was not so for the women who traveled to distant lands to support their husbands' careers. Women employees were pretty much ignored and stuck in lower level clerical jobs.
That was not ok for Jonna Mendez. She knew she could do better. She fought an uphill battle to develop skills that eventually brought her respect and promotions. Being from the same approximate age group and having worked for a male dominated government agency (not the CIA!) I understand the battles she had to fight. I'm glad she won and I admire her spirit.
This book made me realize how lonely it must be to work for the CIA. Often having to invent a fictional identity, being unable to discuss your work with friends and family members. It's a considerable sacrifice to make in the service of one's country.
That was not ok for Jonna Mendez. She knew she could do better. She fought an uphill battle to develop skills that eventually brought her respect and promotions. Being from the same approximate age group and having worked for a male dominated government agency (not the CIA!) I understand the battles she had to fight. I'm glad she won and I admire her spirit.
This book made me realize how lonely it must be to work for the CIA. Often having to invent a fictional identity, being unable to discuss your work with friends and family members. It's a considerable sacrifice to make in the service of one's country.
August 11, 2024
Most people learn about espionage through books by authors like Ben Macintyre and John Le Carre. Others know about it through Hollywood films like the Bond movies or ‘The Bridge of Spies’. If we are uninspired by spycraft, we prefer the Austin Powers movies. Unlike the spy agencies in China or Russia, the CIA allows its retired spymasters to write their memoirs on their CIA lives or make movies about them. This book by Jonna Hiestand Mendez is her memoir of a long 25-year career in the CIA at various levels. She started from the inferior position of a ‘contract wife’ and retired as the Chief of Disguise, running multi-million dollar operations with her staff distributed around the world. After retirement in 1993 at the end of the Cold War, she continued with her interests in photography and travel and even helped in making the film ‘Argo’. Mendez says obfuscation and deception ruled her life throughout her time as a CIA spy. Her profession and employer remained a mystery to even her closest friends and family. No one knew who she was anymore.
Jonna Hiestand was born in Kentucky and went to high school and college in Wichita, Kansas. She longed to leave Kansas and go out into the wide world. Her skills in English get her a job at the Chase Manhattan Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. There, she meets John Goeser, a CIA spy, and marries him. Soon, the CIA recruits her as a ‘contract wife’. Her role is performing secretarial duties for the CIA as a convenience to her husband. CIA historian Tim Weiner says the ‘contract wife’ is just a step up from a chattel slave. Jonna rises to become staff secretary to the head of Technical Service, where spies went to get their spy gear. Jonna wants to do more in life and prevails upon her boss to let her attend the internal course on clandestine and surveillance photography. Over time, the CIA acknowledges her talent and allows her to develop further by specializing in disguise and making masks. Masks play a critical role in helping to get ‘CIA assets’ out of troublesome foreign locales. Jonna moves up by taking a challenging course on how to stay alive if captured by enemies, without revealing critical information. Her competence as a female spy leads to challenging encounters with the Soviet Union’s KGB, East Germany’s Stasi and the Cuban DGI. After a successful career, Jonna retires as Chief of Disguise at the CIA’s Office of Technical Service in 1993. She marries her CIA boss Tony Mendez and they live happily ever after!
Jonna Mendez’s book is not just about her job as a spy and disguise expert in the CIA. It is also about misogyny and sexism in the CIA in the second half of the twentieth century. It is worth highlighting the gender discrimination as it raises its ugly head throughout the book. Quoting CIA historian Tim Weiner, Mendez says the Marines and the clandestine services of the CIA are the branches of US government service most hostile to women. She devotes an entire chapter to how one of her bosses, named Smallwood, discriminated against her. Jonna found his dislike of her visceral and unprofessional, bordering on childish. In her assessment, Smallwood had a personal vendetta against her. She speculates it was perhaps because he viewed the disciplines of disguise, photography and doctoring documents as unnecessary. Jonna, a woman specializing in all three, provoked his disdain. She asserts that harassment in the immediate work environment causes discomfort for women and minorities and creates feelings of inferiority and powerlessness in the ‘harassed’.
One may ask why Mendez did not complain to the Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) about Smallwood’s discrimination towards her. She says those who use the EEO system end up creating additional problems for themselves. There is a strong perception in the CIA culture it is unacceptable to complain. There is also a perception that no real help is available if one complains and that such complaints are harmful to one’s career. During Mendez’s time, the CIA had the ‘old boys’ club’ culture. She concludes that throughout human history, men have benefitted from the favoritism inherent in the ‘old boys’ club’.
Having worked as a spy, Mendez challenges the notion in the CIA that women are unsuited for espionage work. She says women at the agency have always known they make better operations officers. They are less threatening and could blend into the background because many countries dismiss women as insignificant. Women also have the gender advantage of knowing how to flatter, are more observant, and excel at reading body language. Ops officers need these assets to grasp immediately any environment they encounter. It’s a skill that nobody can teach you, and Mendez believes it comes to many women without effort.
Mendez specialized in making disguises and masks. Disguise is an additive process. You could make a person taller, not shorter, fatter, not slimmer, older, but not younger. Interestingly, the technology for making masks came to the CIA straight out of Hollywood and the Los Angeles film industry. Mendez fabricated masks from latex rubber poured onto aluminum molds and heated to high temperatures. She would then hand-finish the masks. She mastered the technique for working with liquid latex, and then the meticulous artistry required to turn the blank masks into lifelike people. In this experience, she writes about her colleague Williamson, a most artistic member of the disguise-making group, who was gay but did not conceal his homosexuality. Mendez worried it could cost him his job. The CIA rationale was that enemies could use his homosexuality for blackmail, putting the agency at risk. Mendez counters with a woman’s practicality, stating that if a person expresses his homosexuality in public, enemies cannot use it as leverage against them or the agency!
The Hostile Interrogation Course that Mendez attends prepares CIA spies against dangerous possibilities, including being taken hostage. It helps agents to observe themselves in dire circumstances. Mendez finds it one of the most useful and disturbing courses she ever took. She learns the concept of “peeling an onion”, how spies could reveal information to the enemy if captured, but in a slow and deliberate manner. But they would always conceal the truth, which is the onion’s heart. Spies learn to offer enemies a portion, then additional, but never the essence. If you are in solitary confinement in a small room, it teaches you to escape your surroundings mentally. The trick is to imagine yourself in your favorite place and spending the day there. With true focus, you could escape the ‘box’. Mendez describes her own experience doing it during training. Drawing a deep breath, she envisioned places she loved. After many attempts, she discovered that while standing in a mattress-size box too narrow to even rotate her shoulders, she could escape captivity by training her mind. While boxed up, she could enter a glistening green world, like using night-vision goggles in a darkroom. She imagined the Flint Hills of Kansas, a vast, tallgrass prairie that she loved. In that familiar landscape from her upbringing, which she had worked hard to leave behind, she survived the nightmare of being enclosed in a box.
India seems to be one country which Jonna found fascinating in terms of culture and the prospects for photography. She doesn’t mention Rajasthan by name, but from the narrative, one can infer the region mesmerized her. In her own words, “It didn’t take long for the region to cast its spell on me. The desert and culture of the area attracted me, like moths to flame. I found myself captivated by the region”. She found the vibrant hues of colors in Rajasthan, across acres of blazing sand, electric. The photographer in Mendez was in heaven watching the women doing manual labor and walking single file atop the sand dunes. They would balance copper pots full of water from the few deep tube wells on their heads. Squalid streets led into beautiful landscapes, with rhesus macaque monkeys howling behind her as small packs of wild dogs ran alongside. Mendez also makes an interesting observation about India’s caste system. Flying on Indian Airlines or Air India in this part of the world, she observes that only privileged, educated, upper-caste women worked as flight attendants. They looked beautiful, but would not help the passengers with the luggage or opening the overhead compartments because of their high caste.
The book contains personal anecdotes about her love and affection for her elder sister, Jennifer. Jonna had a fulfilling married life with her CIA boss and second husband, Tony Mendez, and being blessed with a child at the late age of forty-seven. Tony died of Parkinson’s disease in January 2019 and Jonna continues to lecture on her life in espionage and promoting equal treatment of women in government and elsewhere.
An absorbing memoir by a CIA spy about her life in espionage and equal opportunity for women in the CIA.
Jonna Hiestand was born in Kentucky and went to high school and college in Wichita, Kansas. She longed to leave Kansas and go out into the wide world. Her skills in English get her a job at the Chase Manhattan Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. There, she meets John Goeser, a CIA spy, and marries him. Soon, the CIA recruits her as a ‘contract wife’. Her role is performing secretarial duties for the CIA as a convenience to her husband. CIA historian Tim Weiner says the ‘contract wife’ is just a step up from a chattel slave. Jonna rises to become staff secretary to the head of Technical Service, where spies went to get their spy gear. Jonna wants to do more in life and prevails upon her boss to let her attend the internal course on clandestine and surveillance photography. Over time, the CIA acknowledges her talent and allows her to develop further by specializing in disguise and making masks. Masks play a critical role in helping to get ‘CIA assets’ out of troublesome foreign locales. Jonna moves up by taking a challenging course on how to stay alive if captured by enemies, without revealing critical information. Her competence as a female spy leads to challenging encounters with the Soviet Union’s KGB, East Germany’s Stasi and the Cuban DGI. After a successful career, Jonna retires as Chief of Disguise at the CIA’s Office of Technical Service in 1993. She marries her CIA boss Tony Mendez and they live happily ever after!
Jonna Mendez’s book is not just about her job as a spy and disguise expert in the CIA. It is also about misogyny and sexism in the CIA in the second half of the twentieth century. It is worth highlighting the gender discrimination as it raises its ugly head throughout the book. Quoting CIA historian Tim Weiner, Mendez says the Marines and the clandestine services of the CIA are the branches of US government service most hostile to women. She devotes an entire chapter to how one of her bosses, named Smallwood, discriminated against her. Jonna found his dislike of her visceral and unprofessional, bordering on childish. In her assessment, Smallwood had a personal vendetta against her. She speculates it was perhaps because he viewed the disciplines of disguise, photography and doctoring documents as unnecessary. Jonna, a woman specializing in all three, provoked his disdain. She asserts that harassment in the immediate work environment causes discomfort for women and minorities and creates feelings of inferiority and powerlessness in the ‘harassed’.
One may ask why Mendez did not complain to the Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) about Smallwood’s discrimination towards her. She says those who use the EEO system end up creating additional problems for themselves. There is a strong perception in the CIA culture it is unacceptable to complain. There is also a perception that no real help is available if one complains and that such complaints are harmful to one’s career. During Mendez’s time, the CIA had the ‘old boys’ club’ culture. She concludes that throughout human history, men have benefitted from the favoritism inherent in the ‘old boys’ club’.
Having worked as a spy, Mendez challenges the notion in the CIA that women are unsuited for espionage work. She says women at the agency have always known they make better operations officers. They are less threatening and could blend into the background because many countries dismiss women as insignificant. Women also have the gender advantage of knowing how to flatter, are more observant, and excel at reading body language. Ops officers need these assets to grasp immediately any environment they encounter. It’s a skill that nobody can teach you, and Mendez believes it comes to many women without effort.
Mendez specialized in making disguises and masks. Disguise is an additive process. You could make a person taller, not shorter, fatter, not slimmer, older, but not younger. Interestingly, the technology for making masks came to the CIA straight out of Hollywood and the Los Angeles film industry. Mendez fabricated masks from latex rubber poured onto aluminum molds and heated to high temperatures. She would then hand-finish the masks. She mastered the technique for working with liquid latex, and then the meticulous artistry required to turn the blank masks into lifelike people. In this experience, she writes about her colleague Williamson, a most artistic member of the disguise-making group, who was gay but did not conceal his homosexuality. Mendez worried it could cost him his job. The CIA rationale was that enemies could use his homosexuality for blackmail, putting the agency at risk. Mendez counters with a woman’s practicality, stating that if a person expresses his homosexuality in public, enemies cannot use it as leverage against them or the agency!
The Hostile Interrogation Course that Mendez attends prepares CIA spies against dangerous possibilities, including being taken hostage. It helps agents to observe themselves in dire circumstances. Mendez finds it one of the most useful and disturbing courses she ever took. She learns the concept of “peeling an onion”, how spies could reveal information to the enemy if captured, but in a slow and deliberate manner. But they would always conceal the truth, which is the onion’s heart. Spies learn to offer enemies a portion, then additional, but never the essence. If you are in solitary confinement in a small room, it teaches you to escape your surroundings mentally. The trick is to imagine yourself in your favorite place and spending the day there. With true focus, you could escape the ‘box’. Mendez describes her own experience doing it during training. Drawing a deep breath, she envisioned places she loved. After many attempts, she discovered that while standing in a mattress-size box too narrow to even rotate her shoulders, she could escape captivity by training her mind. While boxed up, she could enter a glistening green world, like using night-vision goggles in a darkroom. She imagined the Flint Hills of Kansas, a vast, tallgrass prairie that she loved. In that familiar landscape from her upbringing, which she had worked hard to leave behind, she survived the nightmare of being enclosed in a box.
India seems to be one country which Jonna found fascinating in terms of culture and the prospects for photography. She doesn’t mention Rajasthan by name, but from the narrative, one can infer the region mesmerized her. In her own words, “It didn’t take long for the region to cast its spell on me. The desert and culture of the area attracted me, like moths to flame. I found myself captivated by the region”. She found the vibrant hues of colors in Rajasthan, across acres of blazing sand, electric. The photographer in Mendez was in heaven watching the women doing manual labor and walking single file atop the sand dunes. They would balance copper pots full of water from the few deep tube wells on their heads. Squalid streets led into beautiful landscapes, with rhesus macaque monkeys howling behind her as small packs of wild dogs ran alongside. Mendez also makes an interesting observation about India’s caste system. Flying on Indian Airlines or Air India in this part of the world, she observes that only privileged, educated, upper-caste women worked as flight attendants. They looked beautiful, but would not help the passengers with the luggage or opening the overhead compartments because of their high caste.
The book contains personal anecdotes about her love and affection for her elder sister, Jennifer. Jonna had a fulfilling married life with her CIA boss and second husband, Tony Mendez, and being blessed with a child at the late age of forty-seven. Tony died of Parkinson’s disease in January 2019 and Jonna continues to lecture on her life in espionage and promoting equal treatment of women in government and elsewhere.
An absorbing memoir by a CIA spy about her life in espionage and equal opportunity for women in the CIA.
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 also drops a fair bit of her own sexism throughout the book. She frequently comments on women’s appearances. There’s also a good bit of saying women are better than men for the job seemingly because all women have softer temperaments which really gets me riled up.
The writing felt very repetitive. It’s constantly “at that point in my life”, “uniquely positioned”, and “in the subcontinent”. There’s understandably little direct detail about the who what’s and where’s but it leaves lots of emptiness where a story should have been. You never really know where she is or what she’s doing.
And if you’re hoping this book will be an interesting look into the world of disguise and subterfuge, you’re wrong. I really wanted to know more about how you make masks, what’s the process like in the field, how do you source things but none of it is covered. You see her move through her career but never learn anything about her career.
Wasn’t the worst but certainly wasn’t the best.
She also drops a fair bit of her own sexism throughout the book. She frequently comments on women’s appearances. There’s also a good bit of saying women are better than men for the job seemingly because all women have softer temperaments which really gets me riled up.
The writing felt very repetitive. It’s constantly “at that point in my life”, “uniquely positioned”, and “in the subcontinent”. There’s understandably little direct detail about the who what’s and where’s but it leaves lots of emptiness where a story should have been. You never really know where she is or what she’s doing.
And if you’re hoping this book will be an interesting look into the world of disguise and subterfuge, you’re wrong. I really wanted to know more about how you make masks, what’s the process like in the field, how do you source things but none of it is covered. You see her move through her career but never learn anything about her career.
Wasn’t the worst but certainly wasn’t the best.
November 22, 2023
Jonna is truly a remarkable woman. She worked in the CIA as a female spy at a time where women in high positions were looked down upon. As a female working in the government sector, I cannot thank Jonna enough for her strength and courage. She broke down many barriers so that women can flourish working alongside men in a male dominated industry. I highly recommend anyone to take the time and read this amazingly written story.
November 29, 2023
The view into the CIA as one of the first female operators is extremely interesting. Jonna had to fight for every opportunity she wanted within the old boys club and she succeeded. Her tales of operations she participated in were very entertaining and she is a true crusader for women in a "man's' career. Highly enjoyed this memoir.
March 24, 2024
During all the press for Argo, I don't remember much mention about Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck's character)'s second wife, do you? I'm assuming this was an attempt to not take attention away from Tony and the central story, which had taken place a decade before their marriage, but she deserves her own film or fictionalized story because she's led a fascinating and trail-blazing life. Starting out as a secretary/wife/helpmate at the CIA, she worked her way through dangerous jobs and misogyny to become a spy who traveled the world and eventually, their Master of Disguise.
A few informative and fun interviews/features she's done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JASUs...
https://people.com/cias-former-chief-...
https://fashionista.com/2020/01/jonna...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUqeB...
I wish there were more details of some of the missions in the book, and some of the anecdotes meander a bit. But fascinating stuff all the same.
A few informative and fun interviews/features she's done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JASUs...
https://people.com/cias-former-chief-...
https://fashionista.com/2020/01/jonna...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUqeB...
I wish there were more details of some of the missions in the book, and some of the anecdotes meander a bit. But fascinating stuff all the same.
July 28, 2024
4.5. I definitely enjoyed this and didn’t want to put down. I have read several books about this time period regarding women spies and their challenges in the CIA. I felt this was a little lighter on detail, but still very good. A probably small thing to others but it really bothered me, is that dates and specific locations weren’t routinely mentioned. Likely the locations may still have to be hidden for security reasons, but I would’ve liked a timeframe for when things were happening that was a bit less general. However, this story is amazing! I’m in awe. One thing this has over most of the other books I’ve read, is it’s a first hand account/memoir. So much of this info could’ve been kept secret forever so we’re fortunate she was allowed and able to tell her story.
May 10, 2024
Fascinating memoir of a woman who spent 20+ years in the CIA. Interesting counterpoint to a book THE SISTERHOOD which was a history of women's roles and struggles within the agency at a macro level. Jonna Mendez's career officially began as a contract wife to a CIA agent. This was back in the time where women were unable to have bank accounts or credit cards in their own names without signed permission from a man in their life. Working hard from a sectorial position, she discovered her love of the work. Eventually becoming an expert photographer, with very unique specializations, then moving on to a mastery of disguise. Combining the stories of interesting events with the her career arc and the misogyny inherent there provides a keyhole peek into the business of spying.
4.25 stars rounded down.
4.25 stars rounded down.
May 13, 2024
TrueFace is a turn page memoir written by by one of the females who were trail brasers in breaking the glass ceiling for women in the CIA. The first three quarters of the book was filled with fascinating information on spy craft.
The most interesting parts of the book focussed on disguise methods used by the CIA. Honestly, I was surprised that so much detail about CIA operations would be allowed to be published
I would have given this book 4.5 stars but wasn’t given the option so I chose to score it upwards.
A must read for those people who love reading memoirs and those who are fascinated by the CIA.
The most interesting parts of the book focussed on disguise methods used by the CIA. Honestly, I was surprised that so much detail about CIA operations would be allowed to be published
I would have given this book 4.5 stars but wasn’t given the option so I chose to score it upwards.
A must read for those people who love reading memoirs and those who are fascinated by the CIA.
June 2, 2024
This is an autobiography of one of the female CIA employees. She was married to career CIA officers and her second husband (Tony Mendez) was the real-life ‘Argo’ of the movie (played by Ben Affleck) and book of the same name. The author recounts stories from her 25 years’ career with CIA to shed light on everything from clandestine photography operations to decades of sexism at The Agency to incredible disguise technology. Thoroughly absorbing book!
March 16, 2024
Interesting book. Loved all the stories and really helps you understand the secrecy behind it all. She had an amazing career at the CIA.
About 3/4’s through the book turns to more of a testament of how the CiA is definitely a “good ‘ol’ boys” agency. No doubt in my mind that is true. She quotes many ratios of men vs women and pay grades as well. Didn’t enjoy the last part of the book as much, HOWEVER she does make a valid point. It is the last bastion of the boys network of government because it is so secret and cannot be openly described. Interesting. She wanted to do her part in breaking down the glass wall for women coming behind her in the CIA. Kudos for her work.
Unfortunately, as a woman, it’s still very much a mountain women will be climbing for years to come. It has improved but more work is still to be done.
About 3/4’s through the book turns to more of a testament of how the CiA is definitely a “good ‘ol’ boys” agency. No doubt in my mind that is true. She quotes many ratios of men vs women and pay grades as well. Didn’t enjoy the last part of the book as much, HOWEVER she does make a valid point. It is the last bastion of the boys network of government because it is so secret and cannot be openly described. Interesting. She wanted to do her part in breaking down the glass wall for women coming behind her in the CIA. Kudos for her work.
Unfortunately, as a woman, it’s still very much a mountain women will be climbing for years to come. It has improved but more work is still to be done.
March 22, 2024
Last 25% was good the rest was just ok. But this woman slays and I like her YouTube videos
April 20, 2024
Fascinating look into the CIA and the women that work there, how they live and how the old boys club has treated them.
May 23, 2024
Audiobook
Really well organized memoir. Fascinating stories although infuriating misogyny. Can't wait to learn more. Thank you Jennifer for the gift!
Really well organized memoir. Fascinating stories although infuriating misogyny. Can't wait to learn more. Thank you Jennifer for the gift!
December 12, 2023
Oh, how I love a good spy book! I think I inherited that “genre gene” from my Dad, who read every spy book ever published (that might be stretching it, but not by much). So, when I had the opportunity to read In True Face: A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked, I pounced. So glad I did.
Jonna Mendez is no stranger to the book world. She and her (now deceased) husband, Tony Mendez, co-wrote The Moscow Rules and Argo, which was made into a movie. In this book, Mendez tells of her unusual rise through the ranks of the CIA, a male-dominated institution. I was fascinated with the variety and extent of what she did and impressed by her dedication to and love for America.
When she retired from the Agency, she had risen from being a “company wife” to international spy to Chief of Disguise at CIA’s Office of Technical Service. The misogyny of the organization plays a huge role in her life and—just like Ginger Rogers had to do everything Fred Astaire did, but in heels and backwards—Mendez found she had to repeatedly prove herself and be twice as good as the male agents.
If you like knowing behind-the-scenes info and gathering details about organizations shroud in secrecy, you’ll love In True Face. Prepare to be inspired by a woman who refused to settle for an ordinary life.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an advance e-copy to read and review.
Jonna Mendez is no stranger to the book world. She and her (now deceased) husband, Tony Mendez, co-wrote The Moscow Rules and Argo, which was made into a movie. In this book, Mendez tells of her unusual rise through the ranks of the CIA, a male-dominated institution. I was fascinated with the variety and extent of what she did and impressed by her dedication to and love for America.
When she retired from the Agency, she had risen from being a “company wife” to international spy to Chief of Disguise at CIA’s Office of Technical Service. The misogyny of the organization plays a huge role in her life and—just like Ginger Rogers had to do everything Fred Astaire did, but in heels and backwards—Mendez found she had to repeatedly prove herself and be twice as good as the male agents.
If you like knowing behind-the-scenes info and gathering details about organizations shroud in secrecy, you’ll love In True Face. Prepare to be inspired by a woman who refused to settle for an ordinary life.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an advance e-copy to read and review.
March 27, 2024
This was such an unexpected fun read! Unlike some other (more critical) reviewers, I've never read anything about the CIA, and I was blown away by the anecdotes Ms. Mendez shares about her escapades in her years as a CIA photographer, master of disguise, and field operative. I found the history about women's role in the CIA interesting (she served from the 70's through the Cold War in the 80's and saw much evolution towards equal rights for females despite a pervasive "Boys' Club" mentality), but it was the spy stuff that really sucked me in. We are in the midst of watching all the Mission Impossible movies for the first time, and I am stunned to find that the Hollywood style masks they employ in the movies were actually used in real life (spoiler alert - the CIA worked with Hollywood for some of the technology! Who knew?!?). I would have happily read more about the spy technologies and immersive trainings and field operations that Ms. Mendez experienced, although I'm sure much of it is classified. I'm surprised she's been allowed to disclose the information she has (although details are unsurprisingly light in many cases), but I'm happy that she has, as it makes for a fascinating read!
April 3, 2024
Jonna Mendez had a career with the CIA starting in the 1960’s through 1993. Jonna does a great job of outlining the trials of women trying to get ahead in the CIA. Married to a fellow CIA employee, she quickly learns that wives are treated like expendable employees. As husbands bounced between the US and foreign assignments, the wives were conveniently demoted with each move to a foreign land, while the spouses got promotions. This is a story of how women managed to maintain their careers with the CIA, and in some cases, even get promoted to positions of authority. Jonna’s assignments included photography and disguise. Interesting stories about the techniques used to camouflage people’s identities, including working with Hollywood movie artists. The stories about her training with the CIA were especially fascinating. She was a gutsy lady who persevered and eventually benefited from her perseverance by achieving the rank of Chief of Disguise. My only complaint is that she seemed to disparage one particular misogynistic boss too much in the book. She definitely had a bone to pick with this man.
March 10, 2024
Thank you NetGalley and PublicAffairs!
In True Face is a woman's story of starting at the bottom of the totem pole and fighting her way to the top. This story exposes and sheds light on just how sexist the work force is, and specifically the CIA/Government. Starting out as a "Contract Wife" there seemed to be not much hope for being anything other than a dinner host and arm candy. However, Jonna Mendez does not settle for life behind a typewriter despite literally everyone telling her that is where she belongs and where she will stay. Throughout we gain an insight on her career and on how she climbed from the absolute bottom and fought her way to where she got and it was nothing short of a battle. The world told her no and in response she said "Watch Me".
I gave In True Face four stars because at times it got repetitive and extremely dry. There seemed to be a lack of emotion and connection as the story went on. However, the in depth look at her career was nothing short of fascinating and this was well worth reading.
In True Face is a woman's story of starting at the bottom of the totem pole and fighting her way to the top. This story exposes and sheds light on just how sexist the work force is, and specifically the CIA/Government. Starting out as a "Contract Wife" there seemed to be not much hope for being anything other than a dinner host and arm candy. However, Jonna Mendez does not settle for life behind a typewriter despite literally everyone telling her that is where she belongs and where she will stay. Throughout we gain an insight on her career and on how she climbed from the absolute bottom and fought her way to where she got and it was nothing short of a battle. The world told her no and in response she said "Watch Me".
I gave In True Face four stars because at times it got repetitive and extremely dry. There seemed to be a lack of emotion and connection as the story went on. However, the in depth look at her career was nothing short of fascinating and this was well worth reading.
August 7, 2024
I discovered Jonna Mendez as a guest on NPR’s “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell” me in 2020. A few months later, she was a guest expert on another podcast, “Wind of Change.” Within a period of ninety days, she fascinated me twice and I’ve been curious about her since. When I discovered she released a memoir this year, I snapped it up.
Jonna continues to be a source of fascination for me. Both her work and her experience are intriguing, and this book captivated my attention. At times, I would have liked a little more “dating” of events so I could contextualize stories in world history, but perhaps she didn’t have the clearance to share dates. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by the details she DID share about what she did for the CIA.
I think the parallel story of her work and the trail she blazed as a woman in the CIA was constant. This isn’t an exposé of the agency, by any means. Nor is she boastful of her accomplishments (she’s got Midwest humility).
Overall, this one lived up to my expectations.
Jonna continues to be a source of fascination for me. Both her work and her experience are intriguing, and this book captivated my attention. At times, I would have liked a little more “dating” of events so I could contextualize stories in world history, but perhaps she didn’t have the clearance to share dates. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by the details she DID share about what she did for the CIA.
I think the parallel story of her work and the trail she blazed as a woman in the CIA was constant. This isn’t an exposé of the agency, by any means. Nor is she boastful of her accomplishments (she’s got Midwest humility).
Overall, this one lived up to my expectations.
November 2, 2023
I have enjoyed the author's (and her husbands) previous books about "spying" very much. So when NetGalley offered me an ARC of Ms. Mendez's latest book, I jumped at the chance to read it. And I'm happy to say that I am glad that I did. Jonna really opens up about her entire life, from her upbringing to her finding her way to the CIA, to climbing the ranks, and into her retirement. I was very taken by the struggles she faced as a female in the male-dominated "old boys club". And through her method of dealing with it by throwing herself into her work and being the better employee than the men she worked for. I have to applaud her life of service, and the many, many sacrifices she made for it. She is a true hero. And as far as her nemesis, Smallwood, we have all had a Smallwood in our careers, and I hope he eventually got what he deserved. I know that we will never know exactly what the author's adventures were, but I sure would love to know them!
May 6, 2024
In her memoir, Jonna Mendez understands this is more than just her story. It's the story of American women fighting for equality in the workplace. She shares her obstacles to career advancement. Many of those obstacles are men's perception of what women can and cannot do and men themselves. At one point, Mendez reflects that she is just one small part of this story and expresses pride at having been able to help pave the way for women in future generations. I loved this.
I probably say this for most memoirs I read, but... I wanted more. Details. Descriptions. Thoughts. Feelings. I think the subject matter limited Jonna Mendez. She can only say so much about working for the CIA without potentially endangering current operatives and operations. However, she could have shared more about her first marriage. That dynamic fascinated me.
I probably say this for most memoirs I read, but... I wanted more. Details. Descriptions. Thoughts. Feelings. I think the subject matter limited Jonna Mendez. She can only say so much about working for the CIA without potentially endangering current operatives and operations. However, she could have shared more about her first marriage. That dynamic fascinated me.
June 26, 2024
2.5
I wanted to rate this higher, because it’s a pretty interesting story of a woman’s career in the technical division of the CIA starting at a time when women were in typing pools. Ultimately, though, the book comes across as a recruiting tool- Jonna’s life was a grand adventure, even the danger feels a bit like a lark, and things worked out incredibly well for her. Her biggest battle was with the misogyny in the organization. Her biggest critique was that misogyny- there was not one ounce of reflection regarding the role the CIA played in world events whatsoever, and that kind of self-awareness felt like a glaring omission. Even with what she did cover, her tone and the way she skated over topics and events meant that the story lacked any gravity. Someone in another review called this “spy lite” and I would agree.
I wanted to rate this higher, because it’s a pretty interesting story of a woman’s career in the technical division of the CIA starting at a time when women were in typing pools. Ultimately, though, the book comes across as a recruiting tool- Jonna’s life was a grand adventure, even the danger feels a bit like a lark, and things worked out incredibly well for her. Her biggest battle was with the misogyny in the organization. Her biggest critique was that misogyny- there was not one ounce of reflection regarding the role the CIA played in world events whatsoever, and that kind of self-awareness felt like a glaring omission. Even with what she did cover, her tone and the way she skated over topics and events meant that the story lacked any gravity. Someone in another review called this “spy lite” and I would agree.
August 7, 2024
This book, a memoir of a woman who started working at the CIA as a “contract wife “, the wife of a CIA operative overseas who can work in the CIA office abroad at a low secretarial level, focuses both on her personal ability to rise through the ranks and the misogyny that pervaded the CIA over the years for most women while changing very very gradually into the present time.
The frustrations I had with the book were that most of what she reports is very vague, probably due to its recency and therefore level of classification as well as, in contrast, to the level of detail in aspects of her own life story. Perhaps because other “spy” books I have read were about events much further in the past or because they were recounted by others, the details of field operations were more satisfyingly specific.
The frustrations I had with the book were that most of what she reports is very vague, probably due to its recency and therefore level of classification as well as, in contrast, to the level of detail in aspects of her own life story. Perhaps because other “spy” books I have read were about events much further in the past or because they were recounted by others, the details of field operations were more satisfyingly specific.
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