The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics That Helped America Win the Cold War

by Antonio J. Méndez, Jonna Méndez

From the spymaster and inspiration for the movie Argo how a group of brilliant but under-supported CIA operatives developed breakthrough spy tactics that helped turn the tide of the Cold War
Antonio Mendez and his future wife Jonna were CIA operatives working to spy on Moscow in the late 1970s, at one of the most dangerous moments in the Cold War. Soviets kept files on all foreigners, studied their patterns, tapped their phones, and even planted listening devices within the US Embassy. In short, intelligence work was effectively impossible. The Soviet threat loomed larger than ever.

The Moscow Rules tells the story of the intelligence breakthroughs that turned the odds in America's favor. As experts in disguise, Antonio and Jonna were instrumental in creating and honing a series of tactics that allowed officers to finally get one step ahead of the KGB. These techniques included everything from elaborate, Hollywood-inspired identity swaps, to deception or evasion techniques, to more mundane document forgery. With these new guidelines in place, and with an armory of new gadgets perfected by the Office of Technical Services including miniature cameras, suitcase release body doubles, and wall rappelling mechanisms, the CIA managed to gain a foothold in Moscow and pull off some of the greatest intelligence operations in the history of espionage.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Espionage, Politics, Russia, Audiobook, Memoir

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 21, 2019

About the author

Antonio Joseph "Tony" Méndez was an American CIA technical operations officer who specialized in clandestine and covert CIA operations. He smuggled six State Department employees out of Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, an operation portrayed in the movie Argo. He wrote multiple memoirs about his CIA experiences.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version, and it was easy listening - mainly because there is no depth whatsoever. At least it's short.

I assume this book is coming out now because some random piece of content has hit a 30-year automatic declassification, but it doesn't feel like there's anything groundbreaking in here. Essentially, it's an overview of the basic "Moscow rules" for the behaviour of American CIA agents conducting Cold War espionage told through anecdotes.

There are some interesting tidbits tossed in, specifically about how chemists (lateral thinkers), artists (attention to detail - capable of recreating things without access to cameras or photocopiers), and magicians (sleight of hand, understanding of human attention and perspective) were heavily recruited, but the majority of the book was devoted to the most clichéd "spy moves" from Hollywood movies. More authoritative resources would say that most spycraft is really, really boring and the vast majority of intelligence-gathering activities aren't as clandestine as you'd think: more like moving in the same circles as folks and/or desk work.

Recommended for: middle graders looking for their First Grownup Nonfiction Book, people who want confirmation that espionage is exactly like what they see in the movies and aren't willing to consider otherwise, those entertaining dreams of being a professional magician.

[Johnny Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

First if you think your are going to enter into a world of intrigue and plots … put it down.
Moscow rules is a limited documentary with some insight into old spy craft and some outdated technologies. It is shallow in its story telling and jumps around with scarce detail. There is considerable name dropping in an effort to gain some legitimacy.
There is some entertainment in the short stories of how magicians helped invent some of the devices and some ( albeit limited ) in accounts of how our own officers turned to spy and ended in the loss of lives of both our officers and our Russian informants.
I know that the CIA requires its former officers to submit their manuscripts for approval if writing books and articles so don't expect much to be disclosed here.

[Vheissu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will appeal to those interested in spycraft, U.S.-Soviet relations, and the Cold War. It may also appeal to fans of Ian Fleming and John le Carré, but I cannot otherwise recommend it to the casual reader. For specialists in the field, the book is a strong argument in favor of human--as opposed to electronic--intelligence operations.

First, a couple of clarifications. Human intelligence (HUMINT) means information derived from a foreign "agent" and provided to an intelligence "case officer." CIA employees are "officers" and foreign sources are "agents." The agents are essentially traitors and are motivated by four things: money, ideology, compromise, and ego (pp. 97-100). American traitors are mostly interested in the money, although many traitors during and after World War II shared an ideological affinity for communism. Compromise, e.g., blackmail, is less common but not unknown (the case of U.S. Embassy-based Marine Clayton Lonetree). Soviet agents, by comparison, were singularly motivated by ego, which is to say, workplace disgruntlement, revenge, disappointment, anger, frustration, or alienation from the Soviet system.

Signals intelligence (SIGINT) means information derived from spy satellites, electronic eavesdropping, cryptography, and the like. A great many U.S. agencies engage in signals intelligence but only CIA practices human intelligence. The authors, long-time CIA officers, make the case here for HUMINT, arguing that human sources can provide things like schematics of enemy weapons systems and insights into the motivation of our enemies, whereas SIGNIT can do neither of these things.

The book's title refers to a set of practices and devices that the authors and others developed exclusively for use in the CIA Moscow Station, including ID transfer, street disguises, surveillance detection runs, the SRR-100 radio monitors [counter-surveillance devices], the JIB [or Jack-in-the-Box popup dummies], subminiature cameras, working in the gap [momentary evasion techniques], and deep-cover case officers" (p. 212). Astonishingly, many of these devices were developed with the aid of Hollywood magicians and film-industry special effects and make-up artists!

CIA's Moscow Station achieved startling successes using human intelligence during the period covered here but there were also disastrous failures. Some of those failures can be attributed to treachery in the U.S. intelligence community itself (Clayton Lonetree, Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen, Edward Lee Howard) and the irresponsible actions of a few journalists (Edward Jay Epstein). As Director of Central Intelligence, Admiral Stansfield Turner's hostile attitudes toward human intelligence set back HUMINT activities in Moscow for years and cost 820 loyal and competent officers their jobs (pp. 108-09). A suspicious fire almost destroyed the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in 1977 and similarly complicated the work of Agency case officers.

Notwithstanding these setbacks, the authors claim that human intelligence--and the Moscow Rules in particular--played a large role in the victory of the United States in the Cold War. It is difficult to refute this claim. Which brings me to the harassment and interference by the current U.S. administration toward America's law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Simply put, if foreign agents come to feel that the United States is unwilling or unable to protect their secrets, they will just stop talking to us. Human intelligence becomes more difficult if possible at all. That leaves the United States with signals intelligence as our only line of defense against foreign adversaries. That is not only frightening, it is a self-inflicted injury. As the authors note, "We are wading into a new and dangerous territory" (p. 214). Dangerous, indeed.

[Angela Boord · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable but mostly surface book focusing on the James Bond like tactics used by the CIA’s Moscow office during the Cold War - most interesting for how heavily the input of stage magicians has figured into the history of intelligence, at least in the US. The authors were trying to inject a level of fun and interest for a general readership, I think, but that meant breezing past controversial and illegal programs like MKUltra with absolutely no mention (for instance) and I don’t know that it enough justice to just how dangerous working in Moscow was, for both American agents and their Russian informants. (Especially their Russian informants, although some of that does come through the “aren’t these gadgets and disguises cool” tone.)

On the other hand - the gadgets and disguises *are* cool and it was really interesting to read about how they were developed and used in the cat and mouse spying game. I do think if you’re really interested in the history of spying or the Cold War, you’ll probably get more out of this book if you read it in concert with books that touch on some of the weirder stuff going on at the time, like Project Mind Control (about MKUltra) or Annie Jacobsen’s Phenomena. You’ll recognize names and events from both those books in this narrative.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you find spying and espionage interesting, you will find this book fascinating. It's about how the CIA developed new ways of spying during the 70s, 80s, and 90s because Americans were constantly tailed by KGB agents while in Moscow. It doesn't have a lot of depth, but that is something I actually liked about it. It was easy to listen to it fast. Each chapter would talk about a different "Moscow Rule" that was developed by the CIA using an anecdote. It felt like I was listening to Antonio Mendez tell cool stories from his and his friends' careers in the CIA (but if you know the story of Argo, then you know these aren't his craziest stories). I specifically found the stories of the developments he and his wife made in disguise so interesting. In this book, Mendez describes how he developed the idea to create disguises that agents can quickly change as they walk down a busy road. So cool!

[AliceC09 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It caught my eye because the author was the man behind the Argo story. This book, unsurprisingly, makes no mention of the Iran caper. Instead it focuses entirely on running operations in Russia/the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The stories/cases are well explained and very interesting. My main critique is the book becomes a bit repetitive, as it seems it's mostly the same small set of problems that must be confronted over and over. That said, if you are interested in Cold War espionage, the book is worth the read.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thought-provoking insider secrets of the CIA in dealing with Russia during the Cold War. It was fascinating to read about the espionage tactics that the U.S. employed during that time. Also, very disconcerting to read about the traitors that caused so much detriment to the U.S. government.

[Mary Montgomery H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting reading but only little snapshots of events...no real beginning, middle or end.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the various CIA spy tactics presented were interesting, this book didn't enthrall me like I had anticipated something on this topic would.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

TL;DR

The Moscow Rules is an excellent addition to the history of Cold War espionage. Recommended.

Review cross-posted at Primmlife.com

Review

In tales of espionage, the tension of whether the protagonist gets found out and captured drives the narrative. With one chance, does the agent succeed and save the world or fail and let democracy die? In reality, that agent had hundreds of hours of training and support before venturing onto the front lines to exhibit the bravery and skill needed to succeed. But skill acquisition and practice do not rise to the same level of tension that the actual act of spying achieves. In films, these moments get summarized in a montage (hopefully one with a 80s ballad playing over the top). The professionals who protect this nation – whether they’re the military, the police, the FBI, or CIA operatives – know that practice and dedication to honing one’s craft provides the best odds of not only mission success but survival. The ones on the front lines will be rightly glorified by history, but an expansive look away from those front lines shows large organizations of support. These organizations usually get overlooked until one gets back to the command tent and the person making the decisions. However, the truth is that the support personnel play important roles as well. The trainers, the equipment makers, the engineers, the strategists, cooks, cleaners, planners, quartermasters, all play an important role in keeping the people on the front lines free to do their job. Bringing the role of a support organization was firmly in Antonio and Jonna Mendez’s mind when they wrote "The Moscow Rules." These two former CIA agents recount the formation of the so-called Moscow Rules in a book filled with history and insight into one of the U.S.’s most secretive institutions.

Disclaimer: I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are mine alone.

The Moscow Rules

The Moscow Rules opens with the loss of one of the CIA’s Soviet informants, Oleg Penkovsky. Then, the authors start a journey through their productive career telling the tale of how the CIA rose from this failure. Moscow, at this time in the Cold War, was sealed up tight by Soviet intelligence units. Surveillance made contacting assets nearly impossible, and internal CIA paranoia stopped operations in the Soviet capital. But soon, an opportunity arose that the CIA could not afford to pass up. Operations needed new methods to free agents from surveillance, and this book describes the process of discovery for those methods.

Along the way, readers learn of the successes and failures that Antonio and Jonna witnessed during their time working for the CIA. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, and it’s no more present than in this history. The authors recount their methods of escaping into “the black,” their jargon for losing all surveillance tails. It’s all here from maneuvers, to masks, to pop-up decoys. It would all seem a bit silly if the authors didn’t soon remind the reader of the stakes. For the Soviets who betrayed their country, a happy ending of defection to the west was rare. While this book lists a number of successes, it also documents the Americans who betrayed their nation and the harm these traitors caused.

Tradecraft

In the Bond movies, James always visited Q for some lovely gadgets to complete the mission. Imagine if Q wrote a book, but instead of cars with oil slicks, the spy equipment were masks, decoys, and sleight of hand. That is "The Moscow Rules." It’s a book about the craft of shaking surveillance, of information retrieval. The gadgets in this book were infinitely more fascinating because of their practicality. The authors demonstrate that Cold War spies had more in common with stage magicians than action heroes. It’s fascinating to see the evolution of their craft to operate in one of the most dangerous peacetime environments.

There’s an excellent meditation on what causes people to resort to spying, and the authors differentiate the causes that drove Americans and Soviets to spy. These four motives each have an example to go with them, and it drives home how bad decisions and emotional reactions are ripe for exploitation. Attempting to discern motivations remains one of the difficulties of spying, and throughout, the agency worries about whether the Russians who contact them are real or “dangles” meant to draw out American agents in Moscow.

A Reminder

This book comes at an important time in the US. The current president and his political party attack members of the Intelligence Community (IC) for political gain, and this book reminds readers that the IC serves the US as well. Antonio and Jonna put names and faces to agents that put their safety on the line to protect this nation. They tell of the Soviets who turned traitor and their fates. The Moscow Rules doesn’t spare the reader from the consequences of betraying one’s nation.

It’s also a timely reminder that Russia and the man who leads it, despite the current Republican party’s feelings, aren’t the US’s friends. From Lenin to Stalin to Putin, Russia views the United States, in particular, and democracy, in general, as existential threats. Reading The Moscow Rules one can’t help but be nostalgic for a time when the nation had a foreign policy that reflected an understanding of Russia’s threat. Republicans should read this book and remember.

Like a Conversation

The Moscow Rules read more like a conversation. It reminds of an older co-worker on a long digression about their career. This book is told in a stream-of-conscious manner with digressions into the future or the past. It took time to adjust, but it was worth it. This stream-of-conscious style moves back and forth through time in a way that made the book feel unorganized and rushed. This is unfortunately the pairs last book as Antonio passed away in January of 2019. The urgency to get the book done and published pervades the text. With all the stories, one can’t help but wonder what tales we’re missing out on with Antonio’s passing (may he rest in peace).

Jargon, like “in the black,” and technical devices that the authors are intimately familiar with pepper the book but receive little explanation. The reader is thrown in and expected to keep up. It can be daunting but it ultimately worth it.

Thank You

In the US, people thank military personnel for their service. But many, many people serve the country in one form or another. Both Antonio and Jonna served the US in their support roles, and the general public may never know just how much their contributions to the CIA helped protect this nation. So, to both of them, thank you. And ultimately that’s what this book is. It’s a thank you to the Office of Technical Services and their colleagues. Throughout the authors concern and care for their fellow agents is apparent, and by the end, one knows they both loved their work at the CIA.

Conclusion

Antonio and Jonna Mendez’s The Moscow Rules recounts a career serving the United States of America’s intelligence service. From the early 60s to the 90s, the Cold Warriors that ran assets in Moscow get their recognition here. Read it for the craft of spying; enjoy it for the tales of spies stalking the Moscow streets.

Available 5/21/2019 from Public Affairs Books.

7 out of 10!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading about spy craft and intelligence gathering and the Cold War has some amazing stories. The authors summarize a lot of what happened between the CIA and the KGB in Moscow during the Cold War and each story or operation could be its own book. Learning about the techniques used and technology employed by the CIA was really interesting and most of it new to me. Over all this book might not be as exciting as it could have been but it was a good audio listen. I’d definite like to read more about some of the specific operations and spies involved.

[Ashley Hentze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely interesting and informative. Almost too technical at some points which lost my interest but overall well written and a fun read with super interesting historical info.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Within the Intelligence Community, CIA is the keeper of the human intelligence mission. Technical forms of collection are vital, but a good human source is unique and can deliver decisive intelligence on our adversaries’ secrets—even their intent.” - Gina Haspel, CIA Director

MOSCOW WAS A ‘DENIED AREA’
- During the Cold War, Moscow was categorized as a “denied area.”...a denied area is “a country with such strict internal security that foreign intelligence agents dare not contact informants in person.”

- According to former KGB general Oleg Kalugin, during the 1970s, there were more than fifty thousand KGB officers in Moscow alone.

AN EVOLUTION IN STRATEGY
- A new generation of men and women would need to be trained specifically for posting to the Soviet capital, new techniques perfected, and new technologies and disguise scenarios created that would enable case officers to “go black” and evade the ever-present KGB surveillance teams. Over time, a particular phrase would come to symbolize this new approach: the Moscow Rules.

ORIGIN OF TERM ‘MOSCOW RULES’
- George Smiley, a fictional character in the espionage thrillers of John le Carré, was the first to invoke the term “Moscow Rules.”

SOME OF THE ‘MOSCOW RULES’
- • Murphy is right. • Never go against your gut. • Always listen to your gut; it is your operational antenna. • Everyone is potentially under opposition control. • Don’t look back; you are never completely alone. Use your gut. • Go with the flow; use the terrain. • Take the natural break of traffic. • Maintain a natural pace. • Establish a distinctive and dynamic profile and pattern. • Stay consistent over time.

RATIONALIZING THE TRUTH
- There is no limit to a human being’s ability to rationalize the truth. This, incidentally, became one of the most important rules.

PARANOIA WAS AN OBSTACLE
- Angleton’s tendency to see danger around every corner, and it wasn’t long before his paranoia began to infiltrate the Soviet and East European (SE) Division,...The result was a complete shutdown of all operations against the Soviet Union throughout the decade of the 1960s.

- “The KGB referred to Angleton as one of their better assets, not in the sense of being an agent but of being a big help to them.”

USE OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES IS ESSENTIAL
- Often graduates of state universities and military academies, these hardworking and self-motivated officers brought an increased sense of determination and professionalism to the Agency, in contrast with the earlier preparatory-school elitism that had permeated the ranks of the OSS.

MIND ‘THE GAP’
- Then, once he had his surveillance team lulled into a zone of comfort where they would begin anticipating his next destination, he began experimenting with their training and their reactions.

- Smith’s discovery of this hidden opportunity became known as “working in the gap.”

- the gap was one of the most powerful tools that the CIA developed for use against the suffocating surveillance that they experienced in places like Moscow.

USE LARGER MOTIONS TO HIDE SMALLER ONES
- “the larger motion would hide the smaller motion.” For instance, if you looked at your watch with one hand, it would be easier to pass a package into a colleague’s hand with the other without being noticed.

- And, as with all good sleight-of-hand performances, it relied heavily on the point of view of the surveillants, or audience.

THE WORLD IS A STAGE
- “What you call an operation? We call it a performance. It is up to you, as the performer, to define both your stage and your audience. If you fail to do this, your performance will be a failure.”

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
- Essentially what Smith had done was to prove that there were no such things as denied areas; it was simply a question of methods. If the right techniques were used, anything was possible.

DO THE UNEXPECTED
- Since the Soviet Union was such a difficult environment to operate in, conventional wisdom required that the job should fall to our most experienced officers. But wouldn’t the KGB expect that?...Those with more experience tended to come from other postings and as such had more baggage; they were easier to identify...For this reason, the CIA decided to turn to a younger and newer generation for assignments to denied areas.

- Since we knew that the KGB did not use women operatives in their work, we figured that the KGB would probably identify Marti as a clerk or a secretary.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL
- We had a full staff of press operators and, at a separate facility, a papermaking site where we could duplicate any paper in the world, starting with the pulp—handy when making another country’s identity documents.

‘MICE’
- A former KGB officer, Major Stanislav Levchenko, who defected to the United States in 1979, suggested the use of the acronym MICE as a mnemonic for categorizing the four basic motives for espionage: money, ideology, compromise, and ego. Ergo, MICE.

FIRE AT THE MOSCOW EMBASSY
- On August 26, 1977, ABC Evening News reported that there was a major fire at the American embassy in Moscow.

- The suspicious second crew of “firefighters” was, as it turned out, from the KGB.

- he barred arriving firefighters from entering the CIA station, his station, located the floor below the blaze...Gus was later awarded the Intelligence Star by the CIA for his actions, with a citation noting that he had protected sensitive areas from penetration “at great personal risk.”

RISK-AVERSE LEADERSHIP
- Turner’s demands were quite simple: risk-free operations and guarantees of no more “incidents” on his watch.

- It was as if Turner did not trust the CIA, the very agency he’d been tasked to lead, and it didn’t take long for the feeling to become mutual.

PUTTING THE WRONG PEOPLE IN SENSITIVE POSITIONS
- In 1983, [Aldrich Ames] was made chief of the Counterintelligence Branch for Soviet operations, which meant that he had essentially taken over James Angleton’s old job of ferreting out moles. It was a highly sensitive assignment that, in the wrong hands, could also prove to be very lucrative.

- he identified over ten Soviet agents working for the CIA, leading to a virtual collapse of the CIA’s Soviet operations and gutting Moscow Station’s stable of resources and technical operations.

- In addition, he compromised more than a hundred Western intelligence operations. He gave the Soviets everything: anybody and everybody working for the CIA, the FBI, and other countries’ intelligence services.

ALDRICH AMES IS TRASH
- Ames subsequently sent a message to his masters in Moscow, begging them to slow down. He did not ask them to stop the killing; he asked them not to kill them all so fast, concerned that it would lead back to him.

THE NEW MOSCOW EMBASSY
- the fiasco that resulted over the construction of the new US embassy in Moscow. Recall that the United States and the Soviet Union had come to an agreement in 1969; however, the materials for the project didn’t begin arriving on site until 1979.

- the Soviets had embedded listening devices into the precast concrete that was to be used for the building’s foundation.

THINGS BEGIN TO IMPROVE
- the CIA was able to meet with the Russian engineer nearly twenty times over the course of a five-year period. Such a thing would have been considered impossible during the Penkovsky era, but it showed just how much had changed since the early days of the Moscow Rules.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
- What the station needed now were innovators, men and women who were not afraid to think outside the box.

THE KGB ADAPTED TO CHANGING TIMES TOO
- As it turned out, the KGB hadn’t tried to fight the new openness that was making headway through Russia at that time but instead used it to their advantage by flooding the Moscow Station with double agents.

- The concept was simple: overwhelm the CIA with so many new volunteers that they couldn’t possibly have enough time to properly vet them all, let alone run them. This would also have the added effect of prompting the CIA to turn away legitimate volunteers.

IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE A MOSTLY ALL AMERICAN EMBASSY STAFF
- a firm was hired in Los Angeles to help “Americanize” the workforce at our embassy,

- The first batch of US citizens began to arrive in Moscow in mid-January 1987, and by March, the new staffing was complete.

MORAL OF THE STORY
- We saw how the CIA was able to rise to the occasion, tackling each new operational situation with innovation and positive energy, with officers who didn’t back down, even though they were confronted by nearly impossible conditions and a determined enemy.

*** *** *** *** ***

FACTOIDS
- KGB rezident, the highest-ranking Soviet spy in the country.

- embassy typewriters, particularly IBM Selectric typewriters, were bugged with devices that would monitor what had been typed and transmit it to listening posts.

HAHA
- initial idea was for Penkovsky to throw his intelligence packages over the twelve-foot wall of America House, the American bachelor living quarters, and hope to God that the Soviets didn’t observe him doing it. That was it. That was the plan.

- A few months later, a KGB shed located on a nearby rooftop went up in flames. When the US Marines, who had heroically fought the blaze at their embassy, saw that conflagration, they opened their bar on the second floor and played “Disco Inferno” by the Tramps (“Burn, baby, burn”) at top volume out the windows of the embassy. The ambassador got a protest note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

- He said he knew that his chauffeur worked for the KGB but kept him on because “he knows how to drive.”

BONUS
- (2019) PBS Newshour feature on Tony and Jonna Mendez: https://youtu.be/XJjVy8n42Kc

- Oleg Penkovsky (spied for US): https://youtu.be/YyUNSsj3xo0

- Interview (1976) with CIA counterespionage chief James Angleton: https://youtu.be/vTgneJQxCts

- Episode of ‘Declassified’ about TRIGON and Marti Peterson: https://youtu.be/_AZvIOTVhCA

- Movie ‘The List of Adrian Messenger’ (Hollywood use of disguises): https://youtu.be/AhfLxzzH0yc

- (1976) Russian MiG-25 pilot Victor Belenko defects to US by flying his plane to Japan: https://youtu.be/9_Q8J9liF4M

- (2013) ABC ‘Nightline’ piece on Aldrich Ames: https://youtu.be/YwK_CjswdRY

- Story of Robert Hanssen: https://youtu.be/v40HN6dNaAk

[Joanna S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing stories of spycraft in the cold war. If you have any interest in spy tactics/ intelligence operations, this is worthwhile.

Unfortunately, there is no greater narrative, there are just a couple of snapshots covered. The author generally sticks to the timeline in which stories happened but sometimes he jumps around a but to create suspense. I think this is unnecessary and adds to confusion / results in repetition (like in the jack-in-the-box story we see the first deployment in moscow but backtrack and then cover that first deployment again. As a result, JIB info is repeated. Things like spy dust however are mentioned with the expectation you know what they are/ how they work).

I am interested in reading the books by Tony and Jonna (and learning more about spy dust).

[KT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely could have used another pass by an editor; simple things like typos (Columbia instead of Colombia for the country, for example) and using inconsistent names for people were distracting. But overall, an interesting book and good inspiration for creativity for this current round with Russia.

[Brad B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Moscow Rules is a little too choppy chronologically and weighted down by a bit too much uber-patriotism, but it provides fascinating detail about intelligence techniques used by the CIA in Moscow, including real-life devices more outlandish than anything Q devised for 007.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was far less excited than I had hoped. There were some great examples of disguising oneself to lose KGB followers, but the author(s) were overly interested in providing details for the relationships and bureaucracy among organizations which ought to have been collaborating. It also appeared that no one went for a final proof-reading and both author's told some of the same stories and the latter version still used the result as a surprise, even though we already knew the outcome.

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Moscow Rules is the story of a real world Q Branch, the CIA's Office of Technical Services, where authors Tony and Jonna Mendez devised the devices and techniques that made some impressive intelligence breakthroughs possible.

Soviet Moscow was as hostile an environment for intelligence tradecraft as could be produced, short of an actual prison. Americans were tailed whenever they left diplomatic compounds, all contacts between Russians and foreigners was logged, and the embassy buildings themselves were riddled with bugs and Russian servants working for the KGB. A simple matter of getting intelligence back from an agent, let alone making a meeting, seemed impossible.

Mendez found ways to elude surveillance, using the techniques of stage magic and some Hollywood special effects. The trick was to be able "go into the black", to evade KGB surveillance using misdirection such that the KGB didn't know they'd been tricked. Tactics included a device called the jack-in-the-box, which mimicked a passenger in a car, allowing an officer to bail out, and quick change disguises to turn CIA officers into Moscow civilians. Mendez and his team could perform miracles, swapping everything including race and gender.

This is a breezy and quick read through spycraft. It's a lot of fun, though not particularly deep. Recommended for fans of The Americans, and the Jennings' wig game.

[Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Desperation is indeed the mother of invention."

This personal memoir by Antonio Mendez compiles the series of events that took place during his time with the CIA through the agency's counter intelligence efforts against the USSR during the cold war. It details the work of Russian agents working on behalf of the United States who paid the ultimate price after their capture.

The term "Moscow Rules" refers to a special set of guidelines CIA personnel used to evade the KGB or FSB and manipulate Russian surveillance. Thus, the book details a series of ways that the CIA would evade Russian surveillance In order to communicate and conduct spycraft and espionage. It discusses the technology restrictions during the cold war era and 'The Monster Plot'- a USSR attempt to plant a mole inside the CIA. Also, the work and contributions of turncoat Soviet Colonel Oleg Penkovsky, a former GRU intelligence official who worked as a spy in Moscow for the CIA until his arrest and execution in Russia in 1963.

M.I.C.E - An acronym for the 4 most common motives people betray or spy on their own country.

Money- The most common motive.

Ideology- During World War II more than 200 Americans became Soviet agents.

Compromise- or coercion, such as blackmail through compromise.

Ego- Revenge or disgruntlement in the workplace.

[Johann Lilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

My curiosity is piqued to read the Soviet perspective on their successes and failures during the same time period.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the height of the Cold War, the CIA developed tactics to use against the KGB known as The Moscow Rules. Author Tony Mendez used his unique skills to help agents in Moscow lose KGB tails, meet with spies, and collect sensitive information. He often used illusionist’s methods to outwit KGB surveillance including slight-of-hand, misdirection, and disguises. It’s the history of how these techniques were used in the 70’s and 80’s by CIA agents stationed in Moscow that Mendez presents here.

I found it shocking that despite their best tactics and careful maneuverings, so many of the CIA’s Russian agents were discovered and executed by the KGB. Yes, the U.S. gained priceless intelligence from their spies, but at a cost. Mendez and company had to constantly rethink how to make contact with Russians willing to spy against their country without compromising them, which was never simple or straightforward. This was spy against spy in a ruthless and dangerous environment, and Mendez presents his involvement in an engaging (if somewhat acronym-heavy) way.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is mainly about how to make contact with sources and spies in a heavily surveilled country. Tricks of the trade, some from movie special effects experts are described. Cultivating and managing sources, many being defectors unsatisfied with the regime. Very entertaining until you remember the numerous victims of those spy vs spy games. Hi tech is a tool but basic low tech is still very valuable. There is no real debate within the intelligence community about using technical or human sources, both are seen as essential. But when a CIA chief with no knowledge or experience in the field is named he is bound to underestimate valuable possibilities or even act as destructive force as shown by the author. It obviously applies today. Makes you wonder how the intel community survived under the Trump administration when the head of state acted as a tool for a direct adversary. Publicly sided with a foreign dictator against his own intel community in Helsinki. It is quite a dilemma when the head of state is a threat to national security; let's hope that this story gets to be told some day.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version after seeing a video with Ionna Mendez. I have always been interested in CIA material in regard to special disguise and deception tactics. I am not a huge fan of audiobooks as I find my mind wanders or I get distracted easier than actually reading a book. So therefore even though I liked the material I often had to rewind to Relisten so I could get a better understanding of what I just heard. It was an interesting read but I found there was a lot of filler that didn’t really need to be there as it made the scenario described sound or appear more complicated than it needed to be. At least that’s how it came across on the audiobook. Perhaps it would be different in the actual book.


Lots of cool tails were included about disguise and how certain devices were used and manufactured to be used. It was like James Bond’s Q in real time.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and interesting look at spycraft in a particular place and a particular time. It's been long enough, and the technology was all discovered by the Soviets, so the authors could reveal many of the tricks the CIA used to move around undiscovered within Moscow. The prose isn't anything special but it gets the job done and the content holds up.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I attended a Tulsa Town Hall where Jonna Mendez was speaking on her years in the CIA in the area of disguise. The Moscow Rules is one of the books that were for sale at the talk. It was fascinating to learn that the CIA had close connections with magicians in Hollywood who would help them with disguise and obfuscation.

[Stephanie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recognize others are critical of the content however i enjoyed it and appreciate the timeline connecting to what was happening in the news as i was in my 20s and engaged in what was happening in the news at that time. The effort to complete tasks and spy in the Cold War time seems so far removed as technology has advanced. It was a quick and fairly simple read

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The real life spy stories were really cool. And the way they incorporated professional illusionists into the CIA was sweet! If you're into that stuff, this reads like a novel, but it's all true. No profound life insight, just fun to read. :)

[Generally Unpopular Opinion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard decision for 4 stars. Overall: 6.5 out of 10. The book is more worth it to read than it is to not, however, there is no central storyline and the historical context is a little lost in the pseudo self aggrandizement of the authors. If the writing style was married with the stories of an actual case officer instead of head of disguise, this book would have been much more interesting.

Cool read, definitely wouldn't read it again, but I'm glad I did.

[Kyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super interesting. I didn't mind the lack of narrative or chronology, it worked just fine for what this was. The authors tried to address misogyny but are still very sold to the patriotic capitalist patriarchy. This wasn't bad enough to make it hard to read but it was there enough to knock off a star from my rating.

[Poppy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about boys' toys and the shed they used to build them. Being a girl, I spent my time looking over their shoulders while sipping coffee. I understood very little of what they were doing in their shed; it was incredibly interesting and I couldn't take my eyes of what they were doing.