Rating: 2.7/5

"I dared not tell my parents about my latest “job opportunity” — my mother would not have slept for the entire week."

This book does have bias because it's written by the author, about herself and her time. The CIA has reviewed the book so there parts that are reacted. Which does take away from the book, but the publisher explains why, before the first chapter. So you take everything in this book with a grain of salt (read & understand it, but don't believe it 100%).

"had taken the position that [Text has been redacted here.]. In other words, [Text has been redacted here.] "

"the vast majority of people really only want to talk about themselves. Answering a query about yourself, especially if there is not a lot you want to give out, is a matter of providing enough to be polite, then deflecting the question back to the conversation partner."

While this book does cover some details that similar books don't cover, I would encourage you to read similar books to get context behind things that the author doesn't cover.

"Making decisions on how much money to offer a potential asset while handing crayons to my daughter who sat under my desk was strange indeed, but not without humor."

Many sentences felt like run-on sentences, commas are needed. The chapters are also very long, so I encourage you to watch the time when you read. There are passages of time that happen without context, or how long has passed, which makes it a bit harder to read.

"It was obvious to me that anyone working for the government better truly love what she was doing, because the modest pay and personal sacrifices wouldn’t keep a good employee with any ambition around for long."

The book could have been shorten in multiple ways, from removing sections & chapters that didn't make sense to have, the author's family history, and the afterword (which seems to be a shorten version of the book).

Overall, an interesting book which has a different perspective on the CIA.

"Nearly all foreign travel carries the risk of stomach upheaval, but while it is an inconvenience as a tourist, it is a catastrophe when on business."