What do you think?
Rate this book
In the System: Life as an Operative
Less than 3% of United States intelligence officers are women. To date there have been 38 captured overseas while actively working. I am one of them.
Many stories have been written by men in the intelligence field, yet few have been told by their female counterparts. After retiring from U.S. Intelligence Agency work in 2012, I decided to write about my experiences as an FBI Field Agent and US Counter-Intelligence Operative executing missions in Washington D.C., Bosnia, Israel, Iraq, and Syria.
Based on field notes, mission notebooks and my personal field journals, compiled between 1981 through 2011, this manuscript is based on real events in my life and the real people that shaped me. Names have been changed to protect active agents.
Many stories have been written by men in the intelligence field, yet few have been told by their female counterparts. After retiring from U.S. Intelligence Agency work in 2012, I decided to write about my experiences as an FBI Field Agent and US Counter-Intelligence Operative executing missions in Washington D.C., Bosnia, Israel, Iraq, and Syria.
Based on field notes, mission notebooks and my personal field journals, compiled between 1981 through 2011, this manuscript is based on real events in my life and the real people that shaped me. Names have been changed to protect active agents.
391 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 24, 2023
6 people are currently reading
2853 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 2, 2025
4.5 rounded up
This was truly an exceptional memoir, and I am SO happy I had the opportunity to read it! This is a memoir that will stay with me forever.
Sally Gold is definitely the strong, independent woman I would want my daughter emulate! She's smart and fierce; she broke barriers and always got the job done. Her childhood in foster care was heartbreaking, but after she was adopted, things started to look up. She excelled in school, went to UCLA, and was recruited while in college. She was a highly accomplished U.S. counterintelligence operative, a woman who excelled in a traditionally male-dominated profession. Reading about her work was incredibly intriguing. I was absolutely fascinated by her story. It gave gripping accounts of her missions and her capture. She juggled being a mom of two sons with a worthless husband, whom I'm glad she divorced. She deserved so much better. I honestly hope she reconnected with Moshe. But I'm still wondering what happened to her teammates when she was captured.
I have to say, after reading this captivating memoir, Sally Gold has become one of my heroes. It was a total page-turner, and I would HIGHLY recommend it!
This was truly an exceptional memoir, and I am SO happy I had the opportunity to read it! This is a memoir that will stay with me forever.
Sally Gold is definitely the strong, independent woman I would want my daughter emulate! She's smart and fierce; she broke barriers and always got the job done. Her childhood in foster care was heartbreaking, but after she was adopted, things started to look up. She excelled in school, went to UCLA, and was recruited while in college. She was a highly accomplished U.S. counterintelligence operative, a woman who excelled in a traditionally male-dominated profession. Reading about her work was incredibly intriguing. I was absolutely fascinated by her story. It gave gripping accounts of her missions and her capture. She juggled being a mom of two sons with a worthless husband, whom I'm glad she divorced. She deserved so much better. I honestly hope she reconnected with Moshe. But I'm still wondering what happened to her teammates when she was captured.
I have to say, after reading this captivating memoir, Sally Gold has become one of my heroes. It was a total page-turner, and I would HIGHLY recommend it!
October 10, 2025
What an amazing true life story! 4+ stars all the way. Sally began life as an orphan and lived through early loveless years in foster care and an orphanage. She was later adopted by a loving Jewish couple and raised in that faith.
I suspect her early life experiences, natural intelligence, and the great education her adoptive parents provided for her led to being sought out to join Special Ops. Living the privileged life with loving birth parents that I did I can't even imagine putting myself in harms way like Sally did. I cringed in reading her experiences and it is easy to see why only about 3% of the Special Ops are women. Unbelievable that she continued to put herself in harms way after marrying and having two sons. Granted her marriage was not a loving one but still the children risked losing their mom.
Disclaimer: I won this book in a GoodReads giveaway but that in no way influenced my review or opinion. One comment though: this is the ONLY Giveaway I ever won where the author took time to personalize a note on my copy. Sally wrote: "Joan, Everyone has a story. What's yours?" signed S. Gold. I found this personal touch very sweet and will treasure my copy of this book.
I suspect her early life experiences, natural intelligence, and the great education her adoptive parents provided for her led to being sought out to join Special Ops. Living the privileged life with loving birth parents that I did I can't even imagine putting myself in harms way like Sally did. I cringed in reading her experiences and it is easy to see why only about 3% of the Special Ops are women. Unbelievable that she continued to put herself in harms way after marrying and having two sons. Granted her marriage was not a loving one but still the children risked losing their mom.
Disclaimer: I won this book in a GoodReads giveaway but that in no way influenced my review or opinion. One comment though: this is the ONLY Giveaway I ever won where the author took time to personalize a note on my copy. Sally wrote: "Joan, Everyone has a story. What's yours?" signed S. Gold. I found this personal touch very sweet and will treasure my copy of this book.
June 9, 2025
It’s been a minute since I read a Memoir and I picked a good one to start back with. Sally Gold started out her life in the foster care system. But she was a curious kid and started reading well below the normal age. Little did she know just how that would all help her out later in life.
I found the story pulled me in quickly, maybe because I spent time in the Middle East myself, so I found myself understanding a lot of what she would go through in a make-dominated world. As she mentions, you need a good team during those times behind you. And not everyone out there has book intentions.
You should read this book if you enjoy a compelling story, true life events, history, or any kinda political thriller. I rated this a 4/5.
I found the story pulled me in quickly, maybe because I spent time in the Middle East myself, so I found myself understanding a lot of what she would go through in a make-dominated world. As she mentions, you need a good team during those times behind you. And not everyone out there has book intentions.
You should read this book if you enjoy a compelling story, true life events, history, or any kinda political thriller. I rated this a 4/5.
May 19, 2025
This was a really good book! Sally’s story is truly amazing and engaging and I couldn’t put it down. She is so brave and smart and strong and (in my opinion) a total badass. She takes us behind the scenes of the intelligence industry and on some of her assignments - at times her story almost felt like a movie - but make no mistake she lived through everything in this book.
If you love memoirs about strong women, I highly recommend picking this up!
If you love memoirs about strong women, I highly recommend picking this up!
May 20, 2025
Fascinating. That is the word I would use to describe In the System, a memoir by Sally Gold, a retired intelligence officer who definitely has a story to tell. I am in awe of her and the things she has been through in her life.
She is the same age as I am now, so as she recounted parts of her life I couldn’t help but contrast our two lives and how different they have been. I am, frankly, in awe of her.
The synopsis:
Less than 3 percent of US intelligence officers are women. Thirty eight have been captured overseas while actively working - Sally Gold is one of them. After retiring from her role as a US counter-intelligence operative in 2012, she decided to share her story. This gripping memoir reveals the realities of intelligence work for one of the few females in a male-dominated field. Compiled from extensive mission notes and personal journals from 1981 to 2011, this first-hand account recalls high-stake assignments executed in Washington DC, Israel, Iraq, and Syria. 'In the System' is a story of sacrifice and resilience resulting in finding one's own path to self-acceptance in a world few get to see. Though the book shares real events, names have been changed to protect active agents.
This book was eye opening, anxiety inducing at times, and so interesting. I am so thankful to @thesallygold @KateRockBookTours @alkira_publishing for my copy of this book and a place on this tour. It is available now!
I had to keep remembering that this book was a true story, it read like an amazing spy novel. If you enjoy books with strong women, government agencies, perilous predicaments, or fascinating memoirs, you might really enjoy this.
She is the same age as I am now, so as she recounted parts of her life I couldn’t help but contrast our two lives and how different they have been. I am, frankly, in awe of her.
The synopsis:
Less than 3 percent of US intelligence officers are women. Thirty eight have been captured overseas while actively working - Sally Gold is one of them. After retiring from her role as a US counter-intelligence operative in 2012, she decided to share her story. This gripping memoir reveals the realities of intelligence work for one of the few females in a male-dominated field. Compiled from extensive mission notes and personal journals from 1981 to 2011, this first-hand account recalls high-stake assignments executed in Washington DC, Israel, Iraq, and Syria. 'In the System' is a story of sacrifice and resilience resulting in finding one's own path to self-acceptance in a world few get to see. Though the book shares real events, names have been changed to protect active agents.
This book was eye opening, anxiety inducing at times, and so interesting. I am so thankful to @thesallygold @KateRockBookTours @alkira_publishing for my copy of this book and a place on this tour. It is available now!
I had to keep remembering that this book was a true story, it read like an amazing spy novel. If you enjoy books with strong women, government agencies, perilous predicaments, or fascinating memoirs, you might really enjoy this.
May 22, 2025
When I was a little girl, we were to be seen and not heard. You had a place in this world, and it surely was not meant to be a U.S. Intelligence Officer. So for me, being able to read a memoir written by someone who risked her life, broke barriers, and set the standards high for both men and women—this was something I knew I had to read.
Sally Gold’s In the System is more than a memoir; it’s a rare window into a world most of us will never glimpse. From covert missions in Bosnia and Syria to the quiet intensity of stateside operations, Gold takes us into the heart of intelligence work with a voice that’s honest, grounded, and deeply personal. What struck me most wasn’t just the action or the high-stakes scenarios—it was the clear sense of purpose and resilience she carried in a field where women were often dismissed or underestimated.
Reading about her decades-long career, drawn from field notes and personal journals, I felt like I was walking beside her—navigating the dangers, the doubt, and the sheer determination it took to stay in the game. Her writing is accessible without sacrificing complexity, and it’s clear she knows how to tell a story that resonates.
What makes this book unforgettable is not just what she did, but who she had to be to do it: tough, observant, and unapologetically smart. For those of us who grew up in a world that placed limits on our dreams, Gold’s story is proof that those limits were never real. She didn’t just work in the system—she changed it.
This is a book I’ll recommend to anyone who thinks they know what courage looks like. Sally Gold redefines it, one mission at a time.
Sally Gold’s In the System is more than a memoir; it’s a rare window into a world most of us will never glimpse. From covert missions in Bosnia and Syria to the quiet intensity of stateside operations, Gold takes us into the heart of intelligence work with a voice that’s honest, grounded, and deeply personal. What struck me most wasn’t just the action or the high-stakes scenarios—it was the clear sense of purpose and resilience she carried in a field where women were often dismissed or underestimated.
Reading about her decades-long career, drawn from field notes and personal journals, I felt like I was walking beside her—navigating the dangers, the doubt, and the sheer determination it took to stay in the game. Her writing is accessible without sacrificing complexity, and it’s clear she knows how to tell a story that resonates.
What makes this book unforgettable is not just what she did, but who she had to be to do it: tough, observant, and unapologetically smart. For those of us who grew up in a world that placed limits on our dreams, Gold’s story is proof that those limits were never real. She didn’t just work in the system—she changed it.
This is a book I’ll recommend to anyone who thinks they know what courage looks like. Sally Gold redefines it, one mission at a time.
July 8, 2025
This gripping true life memoir held my attention start to finish.
How Sally Gold managed to survive an orphanage, being an elite domestic and foreign operative, and hold down a suburban home life raising two sons remains a mystery.
There are lots of missing data in her story, some of which must be due to her work responsibilities. But lots of questions remain and I hope she'll write another book about her experiences going from school drop-off to foreign operative soon.
Here is a memoir worth the read, and if anyone is paying attention, would make a great movie.
How Sally Gold managed to survive an orphanage, being an elite domestic and foreign operative, and hold down a suburban home life raising two sons remains a mystery.
There are lots of missing data in her story, some of which must be due to her work responsibilities. But lots of questions remain and I hope she'll write another book about her experiences going from school drop-off to foreign operative soon.
Here is a memoir worth the read, and if anyone is paying attention, would make a great movie.
May 14, 2025
In The System: Life as an Operative by Sally Gold is a remarkable book. I think the most remarkable thing is that she survived to write this book. Sally was one of the 3% of women US Intelligence officers. 38 of them have been captured overseas and unfortunately she was one of them abducted and held hostage. She escaped against impossible odds. This is her unbelievable story.
October 11, 2024
The author takes you on adventures only few have had the “pleasure” of experiencing. So glad to have read this and be given an opportunity to see behind the scenes of people who go unnoticed for the work they do without the rest of the world knowing.
Thank you for everything.
Thank you for everything.
May 31, 2025
Thank you @katerockbooktours for my complementary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱!
This captivating memoir offers an intriguing glimpse into the everyday life of a female counter-intelligence agent. It was fascinating to learn about how the agency first reached out to her and her gradual immersion into the world of counterintelligence. What struck me the most was the fact that her family had little understanding of her true involvement! The writing is engaging and truly “unputdownable.” I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs and stories of espionage.
𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱!
This captivating memoir offers an intriguing glimpse into the everyday life of a female counter-intelligence agent. It was fascinating to learn about how the agency first reached out to her and her gradual immersion into the world of counterintelligence. What struck me the most was the fact that her family had little understanding of her true involvement! The writing is engaging and truly “unputdownable.” I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs and stories of espionage.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews