Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History

This is a quick read, only 300 pages with wide-spaced formatting. But the little time I devoted to it yielded a large reward. It was written--with help--by one of the best CIA agents ever. Indeed in 1997 the CIA gave Tony Mendez one of its fifty Trailblazer Awards, commemorating him as one of the agency's top fifty officers in its first fifty years of existence.Though this estimable cloak-and-dagger guy reveals something of his personal life and the inner workings of the CIA's Office of Technical Services (disguises, phony passports, etc), ARGO is mostly about the escape of six diplomats from the U.S. embassy in Tehran when it was overran in 1979. Mendez also provides an overview of the entire hostage crisis, the failure of Operation Eagle Claw, and the release of the hostages. He does not approach the depth of coverage provided by Mark Bowden in GUESTS OF THE AYATOLLAH, but then Bowden says next to nothing about the Argo six. Mendez's book is THE source for that story.If your source of information about Argo is the movie, you will have only a broad understanding of the affair, and though your understanding will be true as a basic perspective, it will be grossly errant in detail. Just before reading the book, I saw the movie for a second time. While reading I jotted down about ten discrepancies between the movie and the book. I could list them here, boring you and spoiling the story if you have yet to read the book. Instead I will give a hint about the movie's most prominent fictionalization: The Keystone Cops chase sequence did not happen.As far as I know, the only significant fact noted in the movie that is not noted in the book is the use of the true name "John Chambers." That man was the renowned PLANET OF THE APES makeup artist who won a special Oscar in 1968. Mendez refers to him as "Jerome Calloway."It seems to me that the Academy (and the Golden Globes and I don't know who else) was celebrating Argo the movie less than it was celebrating Argo the event. Otherwise I might think these people were trying to tell me that truth is wrong and that I should embrace the righteousness of falsity. The movie was good, but it did not deserve glorification. The humble BOOK, however, demonstrates how truth can be just as suspenseful as--and more rewarding than--celluloid embellishments. For that reason and because it has enlightened me as to what really happened, it gets five stars.

This is a great movie- quite a nice yarn is spun on the events surrounding the early days of the Iranian conflict. I would have given this 5 stars if it had been politically accurate, which it was not- It painted the best face on the situation, but President Jimmy Carter was crowing about what a success this was, as if he had much of a hand in it- The "high profile" operation was actually a fairly large force contingent of special operations folks in several helicopters (memory recalls it was four to six helicopters) that was supposed to go in under cover of darkness and forcibly remove all the embassy staff from the Iranian captors. HOWEVER, virtually all the force was killed when the helicopters, rendezvousing with refueling teams, collided with each other. It's a sad fact that the pilots, using night vision goggles, couldn't see each other in the dark and sand kicked up by the helicopters. This is a horrible oversight of the planners, who chose economy over efficiency, and did not dedicate aircraft with thermal night vision systems, which would have worked better to reduce risk in a very risky operation. The operation was eluded to in the film, but only as a plan. No mention of the operation, and the loss of military personnel was made, either during the movie, or in the notes at the end of the movie.BACK TO THE MOVIE: The directing, acting, cinematography, and locations are convincing. The movie draws the viewer into the drama of the situation. There are a few technical details, such as the use of encrypted communications, that add spice and realism to the movie. I especially liked the scene where the CIA agent used a cryptographic device that had the outward appearance of a portable radio.This is a great movie, telling a great story of a man with the courage and intelligence to think on his feet and save the lives of the six embassy personnel, and the courageous Canadian ambassador, his wife, and housekeeper. If the CIA agent had made a single mistake, all these people would have most likely lost their lives. This movie a great tribute to the Canadian Ambassador, his family, their Iranian housekeeper who was loyal to her principles and the Canadians, and the CIA officer, and the six U.S. Embassy Staff who all kept their emotions in check and improvised when it was absolutely necessary. I congratulate all of them for an amazing operation that succeeded with seconds to spare!If you like foreign intrigue, cloak and dagger operations, drama, and superb acting, do put this movie on your to-watch list.

Después de ver la película he tenido curiosidad por saber más sobre la historia. La oportunidad de encontrarlo en Amazon a un pecio muy asequible en inglés me ha hecho decantarme por este título.

Good read. I had already seen the movie, but the book has details about other stories as well.

Bought for my husband for Christmas and he loved it. The movie was great as well. Could have showed how Canada was more the hero but then thats the states and their movies. LOL

Mir hat das Buch gefallen, es war sehr unterhaltsam und hat mich bis zum Ende gefesselt.Trotzdem vergebe ich "nur" 3 Sterne, weil es zwar ein netter Einblick in vergangene Geschichte der CIA darstellt und dabei noch unterhält, trotzdem irgendwie im oberen Mittelmaß versinkt. Irgendwie habe ich ein wenig mehr Erhofft, vielleicht liegt es daran, dass die Realität oft nicht so spannend ist, wie man erwartet.Wer Interesse an einer halbwegs authentischen und unterhaltsamen Schilderung eines CIA-Einsatzes hat, wird hier sicher seinen Spass haben. Sucht man einen spannenden Spionage-Thriller oder ähnliches, gibt es sicherlich bessere Bücher.

I was unable to put this book (kindle) down! Am now impatient to see the film, though I don't suppose it will go into as much detail. A truly fascinating story.