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Code Name Blue Wren
Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spyand the Sister She Betrayed | Jim Popkin
4 posts | 5 read | 10 to read
The incredible true story of Ana Montes, the most damaging female spy in US history, drawing upon never-before-seen material and to be published upon her release from prison. Just days after the 9/11 attacks, a senior Pentagon analyst eased her red Toyota Echo into traffic and headed to work. She never saw the undercover cars tracking her every turn. As she settled into her cubicle on the sixth floor of the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, FBI agents and twitchy DIA officers were hiding in nearby offices. For this was the day that Ana Montesthe US Intelligence Community superstar who had just won a prestigious fellowship at the CIAwas to be arrested and publicly exposed as a secret agent for Cuba. Like spies Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen before her, Ana Montes blindsided her colleagues with brazen acts of treason. For nearly seventeen years, Montes succeeded in two high-stress jobs. By day, she was one of the governments top Cuba experts, a buttoned-down GS-14 with shockingly easy access to classified documents. By night, she was on the clock for Fidel Castro, listening to coded messages over shortwave radio, passing US secrets to handlers in local restaurants, and slipping into Havana wearing a wig. Montes didnt just deceive her country. Her betrayal was intensely personal. Her mercurial father was a former US Army colonel. Her brother and sister-in-law were FBI special agents. And her only sister, Lucy, also worked her entire career for the Bureau. The highlight of Lucys distinguished thirty-one years as a Miami-based language specialist: helping the FBI flush Cuban spies out of the United States. But little did Lucy or her family know that the greatest Cuban spy of all was sitting right next to them at Thanksgivings, baptisms, and weddings. In Code Name Blue Wren, investigative journalist Jim Popkin weaves the tale of two sisters who chose two very different paths, plus the unsung heroes who had to fight to bring Ana to justice. With exclusive access to a secret CIA behavioral profile of Ana, family memoirs, and Anas incriminating letters from prison, Popkin reveals the making of a traitora woman labeled one of the most damaging spies in US history by Americas top counterintelligence official. After more than two decades in federal prison, Montes will be freed in January 2023. Code Name Blue Wren is a thrilling detective tale, an insiders look at the clandestine world of espionage, and an intimate exploration of the dark side of betrayal.
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keithmalek
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Pickpick

Great book! I was surprised to see from the pictures of her that she's not hot. I always assumed that female spies have to be really hot. But that just means that I watch too many movies.🤣

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keithmalek
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tphil10283
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Pickpick

It‘s a compelling story and very readable. I wouldn‘t be surprised if they made a streaming series about it. It‘s somewhat propagandistic with the assumption that she couldn‘t possibly be doing this because of strong ideological convictions. Overall, it‘s a good story about a family and the secrets and abuse that become problematic for some people more than others.

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Megabooks
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Ana Montes is the most damaging spy you‘ve never heard of. She spied in the US for #Cuba, while working in the Departments of Defense and setting US foreign policy for all of Latin America. This is the story of her radicalization, the secrets she may have passed, and why it took nearly 20 years to catch her. The author conducted in-depth interviews with her family, friends, and co-workers. CW ⬇️

#Nicaragua #ElSalvador #ReadingTheAmericas23

Megabooks CW: Her dad was very abusive to her, her siblings, and step-siblings. That is discussed. 1y
Librarybelle Stacking! 1y
Cinfhen Ohhhh, #Stacked 🙌🏻‼️ 1y
Megabooks @Cinfhen yes! This is right up your alley! 1y
Megabooks @Librarybelle enjoy! 😁 1y
79 likes7 stack adds5 comments