I imagined little dark offices with stiffened necks and growing alertness before I came across this read. Meticulous wording and phrasing in this book did not make this biography seem inferior to the beauty of the truth - of what really happened. Here you have friends, brothers, daughters, mothers and fathers - but at times you really have no one but yourself - Hadi Atallah, author of 'Rosemary Bluebell.'

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

I don't usually read non fiction but the description of this book had me immediately.

A woman joins the FBI, the CIA and succeeds. You don't hear that every day.

The story of this woman's experience is colorful, full of details and emotional. I feel as if I have sat down and had a glass of wine with Tracy Walder and spent an evening reminiscing with a friend.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in moving beyond how our nation's security is portrayed on film - educational, absorbing and insightful.

The Unexpected Spy is an engaging, serious and good read.
Fine! It is about spying, tracking terrorists who would like to commit massive attacks and many other topics about security matters. It is also about secrets services CIA and FBI.

Besides that, there is also a real story. The story of a woman, Tracy Shandler, which makes the Gordian knot of the book.Tracy is a young and very ambitious woman full of good will and who wants to protect her country and the world from terrorism. She was conscientious and very serious in her work. However, she suffered from sexisme and the misogyny from her colleagues and the system put in place which did not allow her to fully express her talents. She also faced the misappropriation of her work and its faking by politicians. Despite all that, she never gave up.

Something not usual and in certain way really weird. The text of the book has been reviewed and some aspects of the story have been reformulated or cut by the CIA, what the author has reported in her introduction. She decided then to keep blank the cut parts of the text and not rewrite them. Despite that "control" measures, the text remains good and pleasant to read.

I highly recommend this book.

Tracy Walder attended the University of Southern California, subsequently worked as a staff operations officer in counterterrorism for the CIA, and later joined the FBI as a special agent. She is now teaching history at an all-girls high school. In "The Unexpected Spy," Walder (assisted by Jessica Anya Blau) describes her challenging childhood. Tracy was an introvert who, for years, endured bullying by classmates who taunted and excluded her. She retreated into her own world, read voraciously, and developed a special interest in political science, geography, and current events.

Some of Walder's tasks for the CIA are classified, and a number of passages in this book are redacted. It is disconcerting to read paragraphs in which thick black lines cover parts of the text. It might have been better had Walder edited her manuscript in order to eliminate the redacted material. In any event, during her stint at the CIA, Tracy identified and tracked terrorist leaders, their followers, and the camps in which they trained. The author name-drops, pointing out that George Tenet, President George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Colin Powell dropped by regularly to receive updates. Walder is incensed that, although she and her colleagues found no proof that Saddam Hussain had weapons of mass destruction, the president decided to send American troops into Iraq anyway. This invasion likely led to needless deaths, horrendous injuries, emotional trauma, and greater instability in the Middle East. Tracy traveled to far-flung locations to interrogate persons of interest and coordinate the CIA's efforts with members of foreign intelligence services. When she left the CIA to join the FBI, she was elated that she survived their grueling version of boot camp, but denounces the blatant sexism to which she was subjected.

"The Unexpected Spy" is marred by heavy-handed writing ("There was a pulsing in my limbs and my heart pounded steadily."), self-serving statements, and a distractingly choppy prose style. Nevertheless, most people will agree that Walder has grit and determination, and that she joined the CIA and FBI to help keep Americans safe. Furthermore, she is correct in her belief that no woman should have to tolerate humiliation and disrespect from arrogant supervisors who expect female employees to put up with abuse or leave their jobs. Today, Tracy Walder is a happily married mother of a little girl, and she inspires her students to aim high and stand up for their principles. Although this memoir has its weaknesses, Walder makes important points about the failures of incompetent and short-sighted government officials, and the challenges that some women face when they try to succeed in traditionally male professions.

CIA spy, FBI agent, history teacher/influencer. This is the story of Tracy Walder, born with floppy baby syndrome and the target of childhood bullying that stays with her all her life, despite her professional success. It is also the story of the mysogyny rampant in government agencies and one woman’s desire to educate girls to change that environment. It is a fascinating, engrossing read.

Quite a bit is redacted (the reader is warned about this in the beginning). In most places, it doesn’t interfere. In fact, I found myself playing a form of Mad Libs, making up my own terms for the missing words. However, in some instances, there were full paragraphs redacted and that made me very curious about what I was missing!

This is a most interesting and compelling telling of one person’s journey from being a wallflower as a child through sorority years, training and overseas work for the CIA, a change of speeds and countries by going through FBI training and finally currently teaching you girls at an all girls school. This peek inside her life is at once exhilarating and incredible.
This is an easy read and should be on your reading list.
I was provided a copy of this for review purposes by the publisher and NetGalley.

I enjoyed Tracy Walder’s personal inside look at the CIA and the FBI, although I suspect there’s more to the story that she told us in her book, “The Unepected Spy.”
I say that because there’s no shortage to the redacted sections in her narrative, some of which, based on the surrounding information that wasn’t erased, seemed totally irrelevant. But, whatever, what remained was handled in a straightforward narrative that was newsy and easy to follow.

What seemed strange to me was the dearth of training she received, or at least that she reported. She seemed to jump from being a sorority sister at USC to a frontline assignment with the CIA, moving to the FBI where, without much additional training, she uncovered some major terrorist activity that received much attention until her dislike for the sexism she experienced in the FBI led to her resignation and a job teaching other women how to become federal agents, something I didn’t notice she had much experience in.

Nonetheless, her story was interesting and informational and well presented. So my pessimism will continue and, if I take her story to be factual, and I have no valid reason to not believe it, I found it quite readable and engaging. I have no qualms about recommending it for a read, suggesting that if you choose to do so, look hard at the training issue and determine if you think she was trained and qualified to do the jobs she was assigned to.

I absolutely loved this book. Tracy Walder's story telling ability is phenomenal, even with the redacted parts. While I knew I was missing "juicy details," the redacted parts did not detract from the overall readability of the story. You were given enough before to understand what was probably being said in those crossed out bits, and when the tale picked back up it was not mid-sentence that left you going "wait, what?" The differences in her careers with the CIA and the FBI were astounding. While both are predominately male arenas - her struggles with male dominance at the FBI was especially saddening. Her dedication now to empowering young girls to be "that girl" that she was, unapologetic in her abilities and skills, is simply fantastic. I loved every part of this story. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book prior it's publication!

There are lots of helpful reviews by smarter people out there, so I'll just recommend this to spy memoir fans. Recommended.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

An Unexpected Spy was an intriguing book and a decent autobiography, but I have a couple of emphatic caveats for a certain kind of reader. If you expect your stories (fiction or non-fiction, historical or contemporary, serious lit or genre) to have a strong narrative flow, this may not be for you.

Tracy (Schandler) Walder was a California sorority woman who had overcome serious childhood obstacles, to be hired right out of university by the Central Intelligence Agency. She tells us at the outset that her book has been vetted by the CIA and that significant portions of the book had been redacted for security reasons. So far, so good.

Readers understand. You can't tell us everything you know, and we're thankful for your necessary discretion and discipline. But when we are in the middle of reading an anecdote which is interrupted (often mid-sentence) by a page or more of lines like this ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~, and then the text is resumed with simply no reference to what is missing (frequently on a different topic altogether), it is not merely distracting and annoying. It feels ostentatious and self-important.

There were at least 60 of these interruptions in the book, with some of them more than 50 lines long. Treating the redactions in this way was a judgment call. Another author would have made the call in the readers' favor and recast the missing passages, so they made some sense while still protecting national security.

What I liked about the book was how balanced Walder was in in her evaluation of some very well-known, often vilified, people. Walder was a Democrat, but expressed her admiration of President George W. Bush in the days after 9/11 -- and her disappointment in his administration's mis-use (even falsification) of intelligence data in the run-up to the war in Iraq.

Also, she depicts the contrast in corporate culture between the CIA and the FBI. Pretty darn interesting!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance reader's copy of this book.

Actual rating 3.5 ⭐

The Unexpected Spy by Tracy Walder

Such an interesting book, and there are so many facets to it as well. On one hand you have the story about being in the CIA and FBI. Then you add in the fact that she is a woman in the CIA and FBI and then you sprinkle in the history lessons that come with her time in both of those jobs and you have yourself a great book!

I enjoyed reading this from her point of view. Being a woman in both of these agencies is tough enough, but adding on the places where had to go and the people she had to work with and that job becomes tougher.

I knew going into this book, that there would be parts that were redacted because of who she worked for. I know those agencies don't like their stories being told, and though it made it hard at times, I think it kind of added to the story.

As a woman, she made me proud... And as an American, I was even more proud. Thank you for your service to our country and thank you always for your part in protecting us!

I received this digital review copy from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my honest review.

A fascinating read that makes you see a behind-the-scene of FBI/CIA.
I liked the style of writing and the storytelling.
It was a good read, gripping and entertaining.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I received an ARC of this true story. It's surprising to hear an account of a service woman in the Middle East and her experiences there.

The Unexpected Spy by Tracy Walder tells of a USC sorority girl's first job out of college with the CIA and later with the FBI. It is a fast-moving, riveting memoir giving some behind the scenes glimpses into two of our most famous security agencies. The redacted sections were not disruptive, though I'm most curious about what was redacted in the section just after her fight about USC with a colleague overseas!

It was very frustrating to hear of Ms. Walder's treatment during her time at the FBI; I can't even imagine how awful it would have been to actually live it. It is a shame that neither agency could offer Ms. Walder a way to continue to use her valuable skills and analytical mind while offering a little more stability state-side. However, her post-agency life teaching young women about global politics and foreign affairs sounds equally fascinating. I hope that this book helps push forward those efforts and I wish Ms. Walder a lot of success. Perhaps a partnership with Girl Scouts, too, on foreign affairs?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loved The Unexpected Spy! Was so disappointed by the ending but since it's based on Tracy Walder's true story, that can't be helped!

The Unexpected Spy: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World's Most Notorious Terrorists is a fascinating five star read. I enjoyed it.

THE UNEXPECTED SPY

This was a nice memoir written by Tracy Walder about her early life and then her time later serving in the CIA and the FBI.

As a youngster, Tracy Walder had some challenging issues to overcome. She was diagnosed as having droopy baby syndrome and as a teenager she was bullied. Although not very socially involved, she was quite studious, participated on the dance team, and was interested in current events. Upon entering college at University of Southern California she began to find her way into adulthood initially through becoming a member of Delta Gamma sorority. Although she visualized her goal to become a teacher, on a whim she applied for a position with the CIA.

Much to Tracy’s surprise, she was accepted into the CIA and began her training in Langley, Virginia. Her descriptions of the time spent in training and her subsequent positions within the CIA, involving analysis and travel throughout the world trying to identify patterns of extremist terrorist behavior, was fascinating. Unfortunately the exact locations of the places she went were redacted in this memoir due to security concerns. It would have been fascinating to learn more specific details on the countries she visited. Upon deciding she would like to stay closer to home and start a family of her own, she applied and was accepted with the FBI. Her insights on the training at Quantico were vivid and I admire her for tolerating many intense personal and employment situations.

I would have liked to learn more about political issues and specifics of the missions she performed in addition to the daily operational and personal challenges she described so well. The challenges of being a young white woman in some extremely rough situations was thoroughly examined, but additional information on the work she was doing would have provided greater depth and interest.

Overall this was an enjoyable memoir, and I would like to thank Net Galley, Tracy Walder, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

For someone barely north of 40, Tracy Walder has had an interesting and eventful life. While I knew that working for the CIA and FBI would be different experiences, I was surprised by how drastically different the experiences were for the author. Mrs. Walder (Ms. Schandler at the time) did mention some less than stellar coworkers at the CIA, but overall her description of her time as a counterterrorism operative indicated that the CIA was a good place to work -- hard-working, dedicated employees; pride in the job they were doing; meritocratic; strong camaraderie; effective utilization of skills and opportunities to enhance existing skills and learn new skills. As she was in war zones at times and she was tracking down terrorists, there was certainly plenty of risk and danger, but also support from fellow CIA operatives, US military personnel when in war zones, and, at times, foreign intelligence operatives. She left the CIA because it was a highly stressful job and she wanted a more stable lifestyle.

In contrast, Mrs. Walder's experience with the FBI appears to have been overall negative. During her training at Quantico, she dealt with multiple trainers who were sexist and/or engaged in discriminatory and unprofessional behavior. In the office where she was assigned, her skills and talents were underutilized or ignored. For example, she was involved in a case involving a Chinese immigrant who had been in the US for decades and was spying for China, providing them with classified Navy documents. Mrs. Walder minored in Chinese history in college and was the most knowledgeable employee in the office regarding Chinese history and politics, but yet her job was to sort the weekly trash produced by the suspect and his wife. Someone has to do that job and I certainly do not think the author believed the work was beneath her, but she certainly could have been given more responsibility and greater involvement.

The portions of her memoir that deal with her time in the CIA were reviewed by the CIA. Even though she was deliberately vague about the nature of her work at times and she changed names and sometimes personal details about people with whom she worked, the CIA required her to redact certain information that it deemed threats to national security. Instead of rewriting those portions, Mrs. Walder chose to leave the redactions in place, represented as black lines. At times, this makes it somewhat disjointed to read; but I understand and respect her reasons for not removing the evidence of redactions or rewriting portions to eliminate the need for redactions.

While the various work she did, the different types of training she received, the executive branch officials she interacted with at times (including President George W. Bush) when they stopped by the office of her CIA team for updates or information on the search for particular terrorists, and her experience in war zones was quite interesting, I think one of the more valuable aspects of the memoir is Mrs. Walder's observations or thoughts regarding CIA actions such as enhanced interrogation techniques, the decision to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein, the cooperation or lack thereof of foreign intelligence agencies, and other insights that only an insider could provide. Mrs. Walder stated she was absolutely opposed to torture as a means to gather information and, in her experience, did not think it was an effective way to gather information, but she defended the use of enhance interrogation techniques (EIT) post 9-11, noting that obtaining information from high-level detainees was a matter of life or death, use of EIT was a last resort (and only used on a small number of detainees), and the goal was always to save lives. She discussed how CIA Director Tenet, prior to 9-11, had tried to get the Bush Administration to understand that Al-Qaeda planned to attack America directly and that more proactive steps to defend the country were needed, even though the nature and location of any planned attack was unknown. She explained why the effort to capture Bin Laden at Tora Bora failed. She explained how certain officials in the Bush Administration misrepresented CIA intelligence information to support the invasion of Iraq and she discussed how the CIA had the opportunity to capture the terrorist Abu Masub al-Zarqawi and take out Ansar al-Islam chemical weapons labs, but was denied approval, leaving al-Zarqawi free to continue his reign of terror.

In addition to missed opportunities to capture terrorists due to flawed policy choices by the US government, one of the most disheartening things Mrs. Walder describes in her memoir is missed opportunities to detain suspected or known terrorists and disrupt plots in the earlier stages because intelligence agencies in various unnamed European countries refused to proactively respond to actionable intelligence above terrorists or suspected terrorists in their countries or, at times, refused to assist the CIA with keeping track of suspected or known terrorists who were entering or passing through their countries because it was Sunday and nobody was in the office on Sunday; preventing terrorism should be 24/7/365. However, Mrs. Walder also described numerous occasions where the CIA and foreign intelligence agencies worked quite well together, sharing intelligence, stopping terrorist plots, etc.

"The Unexpected Spy" is well worth reading. I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Unexpected Spy wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. I think I went into this expecting a high action spy novel and it just didn't pan out that way for me. The book is an interesting narrative giving some insight into the investigation of terrorist activity by a female CIA operative. It talks about some of the cases she was part of and the difficulty of being a woman in this field. I think part of my issue with this book is that there were large parts that had been redacted and it left me feeling a certain level of disconnect with the narrative. This is a very quick read but lacked the adrenalin rush I was expecting.