First published 2013
Antonio Mendez transforms himself into a fake Hollywood producer with an audacious mission. Six Americans have escaped the embassy seizure in Tehran, but Iranian militants are hunting for them. Mendez creates an elaborate cover story about scouting locations for a science fiction movie called Argo. He assembles a team of forgers, CIA operatives, and Hollywood special effects artists to make the deception believable. Flying into revolutionary Iran, Mendez must locate the hidden Americans and guide them past suspicious guards and checkpoints. Every moment risks exposure and capture. The operation demands split-second timing and flawless acting from everyone involved. Mendez reveals how Hollywood expertise merged with intelligence tradecraft to pull off an extraction that seemed impossible. This firsthand account shows how creativity and courage combined to save lives during one of America's most tense international crises.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, action, espionage
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: based-on-true-events, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Iran, Tehran
Period: 20th-century
310 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books