“Argo” by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio – Glamorous Espionage

The 20th century was a very turbulent one for the people of Iran, as numerous political events, including, the nationalization of foreign oil industries, a coup d’etat, and an ever-increasing rise in poverty, have led to what became known as the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

When it happened, millions of citizens surrounded the American embassy in Tehran, capturing nearly all of those within as hostages, also executing many of them. 

However, amidst the smoke six American foreign relation officers managed to escape and have gone into hiding. Argo by Antonio Mendez and Matt Baglio is about the operation the conducted in order to rescue those six Americans.

First off, I think you should know that Antonio Mendez was actually the man who was tasked with going to Tehran and personally escorting the six American diplomats through the Iranian border. In other words, he was the one executing the mission, meaning there are few people out there who know more about it than he does.

How did he go about it? Well, back in America a whole cover operation was set up with the help of Hollywood in order to make Antonio Mendez pass off as a Canadian film producer on a location scouting trip. He was to get into Iran, deliver documents to the six Americans, making them part of his filming crew, and then simply leaving with no one the wiser. However, the operation proves itself to be more dangerous, tense, and gripping than initially planned.

The first thing that amazed me in this book was the sheer complexity of the whole operation, the depths people went to in order to make sure that everything looks legitimate. Countless measures are taken in order to ensure that all the “what if” scenarios are covered. The process of putting the whole thing together is phenomenally-described, and it shows that Antonio Mendez truly knows what he is talking about and doesn’t shy away from revealing information.

Apart from the whole factual aspect of it, I have to say that the mission was quite well novelized without sacrificing accuracy for it. There aren’t exactly any extraordinary moments in there in the conventional sense of the term, but there are a few sequences that are especially chilling, boiling with unimaginable tension as one misstep can end up costing very dearly to all of them. 

Also, the fact that Hollywood was involved in such a high-stakes operation simply served to make the whole thing that much more improbable, that much more unbelievable, and that much more of a pleasure to watch unfold. If you’re into novelized, factually-accurate first-accounts of military operations, I heavily recommend you read this book, and if you like it, perhaps you could also check out the movie by the same name, brilliantly directed by Ben Affleck. 

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Matt Baglio Personal site Matt Baglio is a young author with already a bestselling book under his belt, The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist. His one true goal, in regards to literature at least, is to bring the unaltered truth to his readers in regards to the spiritual questions which plague us all.

Antonio Mendez Antonio Mendez is a retired American CIA technical operations officer who took part in a number of clandestine and covert operations held by the organization. Most notably he is known for his management of the “Canadian Caper” during the Iran hostage crisis in 1980, and so far he has written three memoirs based on his CIA experiences, including Master of Disguise, Spy Dust and Argo.