Argo - Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio

Argo

By Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio

  • Release Date: 2012-09-13
  • Genre: U.S. History
Score: 4
4
From 341 Ratings

Description

The true, declassified account of CIA operative Tony Mendez's daring rescue of American hostages from Iran that inspired the critically-acclaimed film directed by and starring Ben Affleck, and co-starring John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston.

On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the American embassy in Tehran and captured dozens of American hostages, sparking a 444-day ordeal and a quake in global politics still reverberating today. But there is a little-known drama connected to the crisis: six Americans escaped. And a top-level CIA officer named Antonio Mendez devised an ingenious yet incredibly risky plan to rescue them before they were detected.

Disguising himself as a Hollywood producer, and supported by a cast of expert forgers, deep cover CIA operatives, foreign agents, and Hollywood special effects artists, Mendez traveled to Tehran under the guise of scouting locations for a fake science fiction film called Argo. While pretending to find the perfect film backdrops, Mendez and a colleague succeeded in contacting the escapees, and smuggling them out of Iran.
Antonio Mendez finally details the extraordinarily complex and dangerous operation he led more than three decades ago. A riveting story of secret identities and international intrigue, Argo is the gripping account of the history-making collusion between Hollywood and high-stakes espionage. 

Reviews

  • Another example why "normal" people shouldn't write a book

    2
    By EmilyGilmour
    The story itself is fascinating, but the execution was just terrible. There is a reason ghostwriters exist!!!!!!! The story is all over the place - it is neither a biography of tony Mendez (which probably would be a great read...) nor is it a story just about Argo. It jumps from one to the other, and then I have to assume that there is A LOT of info that mr Mendez can't talk about since it is still classified. At least - I hope there is, since otherwise all he did during his time at the CIA was play makeup artist or forge passports. And if that is the case, I want a tax refund - from his description, the CIA isn't anything more than a boy scout organization concerned with dressing up defectors in foreign countries and putting them on airplanes right under the eyes of hostile governments. This is probably one of the few examples where the movie is going to be better than the book.
  • Riveting!!!!!!

    5
    By vflane777
    I could not put this down. It is an amazing read. A gripping page turner. I think my heart stopped a few times from all of the nail-biting excitement. I would highly recommend this book.
  • Awesome

    5
    By Lalala0717
    Amazing easy read book about a very interesting time in US history. Mendez makes the story come alive.
  • Great read

    5
    By ssupplee623
    This is a very well written, fast paced book. I really couldn't put it down. Don't miss out on this read.
  • ARGO

    5
    By @frankwolfe
    This book is a great read! It provides good insight to a tragic chapter of American History.

Comments