Matt Baglio
Author of Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History
About the Author
Matt Baglio, a reporter living in Rome, has written for the Associate Press and the International Herald Tribune.
Works by Matt Baglio
Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History (2012) — Author — 862 copies, 47 reviews
Rituál 1 copy
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Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
- Short biography
- MATT BAGLIO is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist, which was published by Doubleday in 2009. The book has been translated into over eighteen languages, and adapted into a feature film in 2010, starring Anthony Hopkins. Baglio also served as a technical consultant on the film, which grossed nearly $100 million worldwide.
A tenacious researcher, Baglio strives to inhabit the worlds he documents in his books. In the process of working on The Rite, he interviewed close to 20 exorcists and sat in on more than 30 official Catholic exorcisms, one of only a handful of outsiders ever to do so.
Baglio's interests are varied and over the years he has worked as an editor and contributor for a variety of magazines and news organizations including COLORS and the Associated Press. His newest book, ARGO: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled off the Most Audacious Rescue in History—co-written with retired CIA officer Antonio Mendez—will be released by Viking in September 2012. ARGO details the true story behind the previously classified operation to rescue six escaped Americans from revolutionary Iran in 1980. The ARGO operation is also the basis for a major motion picture starring and directed by Ben Affleck, in theaters in October 2012.
Currently Baglio is at work on a variety of projects, including a novel, as well as a graphic novel that is being illustrated by an artist who has worked for Marvel and DC.
Born and raised in southern California, Baglio divides his time between California and Italy. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Southern California, USA
- Places of residence
- California, USA
Italy - Associated Place (for map)
- USA
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Reviews
Argo : cómo la CIA y Holliwood llevaron a cabo el rescate más audaz de la historia by Antonio Mendez
No es muy común que lea un libro después de haber visto la película, al final por más diferente que resulte no puedo evitar el sentimiento de que ya me spoilee a mi misma, sin embargo, tenía este libro por ahí desde hace mucho y básicamente lo he comenzado sin ningunas ganas y más por no encontrar otra cosa que me atrajera para leer.
Ha sido una verdadera maravilla su lectura, debo decir que la película me gustó mucho, pero como siempre, resulta que el libro no solo es superior si show more no que además he podido conocer esta historia sin todo el histrionismo y dramatismo hollywoodense, lo que la hace no solo mucho mas interesante sino también mucho más realista.
Por supuesto el libro nos cuenta este rescate o “extracción” como lo dice Mendez de estos seis diplomáticos estadounidenses que quedan varados en Irán después de la toma de la embajada de EEUU en ese país, logran escapar por pura buena suerte y después de pasar por varias embajadas entre ellas la Inglesa que si bien les da cobijo al principio termina por evitar el riesgo y sacarlos de su terreno, por lo que terminan escondidos en varias casas hasta que logran la ayuda de la embajada Canadiense.
La cosa es que Mendez quien fue especialista en disfraces y falsificación de documentos para los espías norteamericanos en la CIA durante la Guerra Fría, no solo nos relata lo que para él fue una de las extracciones más impactantes y extrañas no sólo de su carrera si no de la CIA al completo, también nos va relatando algunas de sus batallitas durante su carrera de espionaje.
A veces uno piensa que esos espías que se pintan en libros como de Le Carré o en películas como James Bond no son más que ficción y mientras que Mendez nos relata situaciones que bien podrían estar en una película no puedo evitar imaginarme todo lo que no sabemos y que los espías llegaron a hacer durante todos los años que duró la Guerra Fría y que seguramente hoy en día se siga haciendo aunque de manera diferente.
Me ha encantado este libro, muy recomendable show less
Ha sido una verdadera maravilla su lectura, debo decir que la película me gustó mucho, pero como siempre, resulta que el libro no solo es superior si show more no que además he podido conocer esta historia sin todo el histrionismo y dramatismo hollywoodense, lo que la hace no solo mucho mas interesante sino también mucho más realista.
Por supuesto el libro nos cuenta este rescate o “extracción” como lo dice Mendez de estos seis diplomáticos estadounidenses que quedan varados en Irán después de la toma de la embajada de EEUU en ese país, logran escapar por pura buena suerte y después de pasar por varias embajadas entre ellas la Inglesa que si bien les da cobijo al principio termina por evitar el riesgo y sacarlos de su terreno, por lo que terminan escondidos en varias casas hasta que logran la ayuda de la embajada Canadiense.
La cosa es que Mendez quien fue especialista en disfraces y falsificación de documentos para los espías norteamericanos en la CIA durante la Guerra Fría, no solo nos relata lo que para él fue una de las extracciones más impactantes y extrañas no sólo de su carrera si no de la CIA al completo, también nos va relatando algunas de sus batallitas durante su carrera de espionaje.
A veces uno piensa que esos espías que se pintan en libros como de Le Carré o en películas como James Bond no son más que ficción y mientras que Mendez nos relata situaciones que bien podrían estar en una película no puedo evitar imaginarme todo lo que no sabemos y que los espías llegaron a hacer durante todos los años que duró la Guerra Fría y que seguramente hoy en día se siga haciendo aunque de manera diferente.
Me ha encantado este libro, muy recomendable show less
I was surprised I enjoyed this book as much as I did. The author is sensitive to those who believe in demonic possession without coming off as a true believer. The book follows Father Gary Thomas as he embarks on a journey to become his diocese's appointed exorcist.
The author does an excellent job balancing fact-delivery with snapshots of priestly life. I was most impressed by his portrayal of the inner struggle these priests go through as they attempt to work exorcism into their show more worldview.
Regardless of your religious views, this book is a well-written peek into a secret world many of us would never see. show less
The author does an excellent job balancing fact-delivery with snapshots of priestly life. I was most impressed by his portrayal of the inner struggle these priests go through as they attempt to work exorcism into their show more worldview.
Regardless of your religious views, this book is a well-written peek into a secret world many of us would never see. show less
I wanted to read this because of all the controversy over who gets the glory but didn't want to spend money - so this is my first "read at work" book. Basically, if it's slow at work, I pick up a book that looks interesting but not interesting enough to own and read whenever I have a few minutes! Yes, I work at a bookstore!
So, to sum it up, we're all glory-hogs. Smuggling six Americans out of Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis was huge and made for a great story. But Antonio Mendez show more suggests that the only reason Canada got the accolades was because the CIA is not allowed to brag. Yeah, right.
Put aside for a moment that the book mostly talks about how Mendez used disguises in OTHER situations. Then, forget about the fact that the Americans escaped from the embassy on November 4, 1979 but Mendez didn't hear about them until the middle of December (he says in the book). And add on top that he and his cohort were only in Iran for a couple of days. Do you see why I sort of laughed to myself when Ben Affleck called him "An American Hero" at the Oscars?
The Canadians were the ones who put themselves in danger for months and caught mistakes on the "houseguests" visas that would have caused problems for them when they left. If Ken Taylor and the Canadian government had said "NO", Antonio Mendez never would have heard about them. But because we are all glory-hogs, all of this is glossed over.
The most exciting parts of the movie "Argo" didn't happen. There was no test-run of walking through the Iranian market acting like a film crew and the flight out of Iran was not almost thwarted by soldiers. The idea was cool and I suppose keeping the houseguests calm on the day they left was worthy of some attention but the true heroes, in my opinion, were the Canadians. Not that I'm biased or anything. show less
So, to sum it up, we're all glory-hogs. Smuggling six Americans out of Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis was huge and made for a great story. But Antonio Mendez show more suggests that the only reason Canada got the accolades was because the CIA is not allowed to brag. Yeah, right.
Put aside for a moment that the book mostly talks about how Mendez used disguises in OTHER situations. Then, forget about the fact that the Americans escaped from the embassy on November 4, 1979 but Mendez didn't hear about them until the middle of December (he says in the book). And add on top that he and his cohort were only in Iran for a couple of days. Do you see why I sort of laughed to myself when Ben Affleck called him "An American Hero" at the Oscars?
The Canadians were the ones who put themselves in danger for months and caught mistakes on the "houseguests" visas that would have caused problems for them when they left. If Ken Taylor and the Canadian government had said "NO", Antonio Mendez never would have heard about them. But because we are all glory-hogs, all of this is glossed over.
The most exciting parts of the movie "Argo" didn't happen. There was no test-run of walking through the Iranian market acting like a film crew and the flight out of Iran was not almost thwarted by soldiers. The idea was cool and I suppose keeping the houseguests calm on the day they left was worthy of some attention but the true heroes, in my opinion, were the Canadians. Not that I'm biased or anything. show less
So much better than the movie. The hollywood crap that they tacked on to the end of the film really spoiled it for me. Reading about the CIA's 'forgery & decept' department made me squeamish but was also terribly interesting in a voyeuristic way. The book starts with a clear explaination of why the Iranians were so enraged by what America had done in their country. Middle Eastern politics is always so convoluted that it usually mystifies me but This I understood.
What I will never understand show more is why the guy who wrote 'No Easy Day' got so much flack and this book didn't. show less
What I will never understand show more is why the guy who wrote 'No Easy Day' got so much flack and this book didn't. show less
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