Book Review: Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox

Book: 4/100

Rating: 3/5

Summary: Amaryllis Fox (AMAZING name!) recounts her time at the CIA, having been recruited at 21 because of an algorithm she created that predicted, with uncanny certainty, the likelihood of a terrorist cell arising in any village in the world. She was quickly fast tracked into training to become an undercover agent the year after. She was deployed as a spy under non official cover, the most difficult and coveted job in the field.

My Thoughts: I think I first heard about this book in the news: apparently Fox wrote and published the book without getting any permission from the CIA with regards to what she was allowed to talk about. It is a short read, at 240 pages, and I’m sure she could have made it much longer. This read packs a punch: Fox recounts her childhood and her life growing up in the CIA: how she was recruited, her training at the Farm, and her life as a spy.

If you’re into badass women and spies this would be an interesting read for you. I usually give star reviews but this one is tricky for me! I want to give it 3 stars, but I think I would have been ranked higher if I didn’t stretch out reading it as much. It’s only 240 pages, so if you want to read more non-fiction or memoirs I think this would be a great one for you!