The Unexpected Spy: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World's Most Notorious Terrorists

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!

The Unexpected Spy is an interesting book about a young woman who is recruited by the CIA right out of college. Imagine a Southern California sorority girl, young, blond, and introverted working for the CIA - pretty unbelievable, but you need to believe it, because that is exactly what Tracy Schandler Walder did. Not only did she work for the CIA, but she did it masterfully, interrogating terrorists, mapping terrorist cells around the world, and protecting thousands of lives in the process. When the travelling challenged her desire to have a family, she left her beloved CIA for the FBI, where sadly, the experience of the treatment of women there was so bad that Tracy had to leave. Turning her sights to teaching young women and sharing show more her experiences with them was the next part of her career.
I enjoyed the way Tracy was portrayed in the book - at times, self-conscious and not sure of her herself, and at other times, strong and confident - usually in the performance of her duties. She also described herself as blond, liking lipstick, fashion, the color pink, and getting her hair highlighted. I think these descriptions made her more human and down-to-earth, letting us know that she still wanted normalcy in her life, in the midst of the hard war-torn world in which she operated. It made her real to me. Also, she was under 25 years old and facing some of the worst situations you could imagine, and facing it with professionalism.
There are parts of the book where we see Tracy having fun (during various training experiences), or walking / running alone in a foreign city. Again, these instances show us a different side of Tracy than what we might think of when we think of a CIA operative.
After reading this book, I was fortunate to hear Tracy and Jessica speak at The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore. What an amazing experience hearing about their process in writing this story, and hearing Jessica discuss her next chapter in life. I am privileged that I was able to hear them discuss this book.
This book is not only about Tracy's life as a spy, but also about the empowerment of women - and how we still must fight to be accepted in certain areas where men still treat women as less than equal, as happened to Tracy at the FBI. I know I will be thinking about Tracy's bravery and her work to make us all safer for a long time.
All opinions are my own.
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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 show more 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. show less

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this review copy!

This is the story of how a sorority girl who was bullied at school found her calling working for the CIA. At a job fair at college, the author filled out a job application on a whim…and the rest is history. She started her job immediately after she graduated.

Shortly after starting work, Walder was promoted to The Vault, under kindly Director Tenet, who made her feel like a part of the team. She was respected by the other team members and everyone worked together well, thanks to Tenet. He was always doing thoughtful things, such as bringing Thanksgiving dinner to the Vault’s hardworking members.

A few months later, she was moved to Counterterrorism to work under Graham show more Andersson. This continued to bolster her confidence and erase the “loser” mindset she had, because she constantly received compliments and encouragement from her superiors. Some of the missions she worked on dealt with poison and other weapons of mass destruction. Despite being an introvert, she gave apresentation on a poisoning plot she and two other coworkers discovered. Due to their hard work, the people of interest were captured, and the poisoning plot was exposed and neutralized. The book continues with more stories like this, including some that highlight intelligence operatives that don’t work on Sunday, despite the terrorists that lurk nearby.

Walder remains positive, despite being minimalized by the men in other cultures. About 60% of the way through she meets some male counterparts after a bombing in Africa, and they are less than thrilled to be working with her. She remains professional and focused on the task at hand. This strength is one of her main characteristics – it shines through on almost every page. Her writing is full of her eagerness to fight the terrorists before they get a chance to perform their insidious tasks. She also writes about her feelings of personal failure regarding the March 11, 2004 bombing in Madrid. She wondered what scrap of information she had missed and felt personally responsible for all those dead and wounded. It was this final straw that cause her to fill out an application for the FBI and send it in. They accepted her immediately, and so Walder embarked on a new career. However, for the first time in her professional career she felt bullied during her training at Quantico. She kept moving forward and never let the constant criticism get her down – another display of her incredible mental strength.

Unfortunately, the FBI’s mentality was to pair her up with a more experienced partner and marginalize her, never making her the lead when they picked up criminals. She learned that she wasn’t the only female being discriminated against, but she kept going, hoping things would change. It didn’t, and she quit the FBI after working there only 15 months. Currently she is a history teacher at an all-girls school, her mission empowering and educating girls against the bullies and terrorists of the world. Walder puts as much determination into her teaching as she did in her career, and that is refreshing. She is a role model who still cares about eliminating hatred, embracing all walks of life, and giving girls their voice. I am glad that she chose to write her story to illuminate these causes! Her voice is clear and strong, the writing style will pull you in and make you laugh at times, while other times you will be incredulous, such as when you read about the mistreatment the FBI puts forth. It is also very interesting to be “behind the scenes” at the CIA, as much as they would allow. This unforgettable book would be great for any college age girl to read, for it may spark interest in a career such as Walder’s. Her experiences are powerful and empowering. show less

This is an interesting, at times fascinating, look at the author's career as an analyst (in the U.S.) and then as a field operative (overseas) for the CIA and later, her work with the FBI. It was interesting to read how a blonde, Jewish sorority girl from California got her start in the counterterrorism field. Also of interest was the obstacles she faced in a male-dominated field.

She brings a lot of knowledge to the topic, of course, and talks of successes, failures, and frustrations. All told in a matter of fact, straightforward way.

It was a good read. I could see room for improvement in how it was told but it was an interesting read. I'd recommend it.

(I received a copy from the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and show more honest review.) show less

In Unexpected Spy, Tracy Walder takes us inside what life is like for a young woman working in the male dominated world of the CIA and the FBI. This is a fascinating insider telling of life inside the CIA in the days before and following 9/11. Tracy gives us intimate details of her early life and the path that led her to pursue careers with the CIA, FBI and eventually to a career as a teacher in an all girl school in Texas where she uses her experiences to empower the next generation of young women to break down barriers and reach for their dreams. This story is both remarkable for the achievements chronicled and appalling and disheartening for the misogynistic culture described in leading law enforcement agencies like the FBI. Given show more Tracy’s background as a so called floppy child who was relentlessly teased throughout her school years, her achievements are nothing short of remarkable. There are several pages that include redactions, and while they are annoying, I don’t think it takes much away from the main meat of this story. This story is appealing as a tale of empowerment and as a insider viewpoint of events of important historical significance. Definitely a recommended read. Especially for all the women out there who are told they can’t make it because of their gender. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy. show less

The Unexpected Spy: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World's Most Notorious Terrorists by Tracy Walder is a highly recommended memoir about the author's experiences in the CIA and FBI.

Tracy went from being a student at the University of Southern California and in a Delta Gamma sorority house in 2000 to a special agent in the CIA. She was in the CIA when 9/11 occurred and she soon found herself looking for WMD, tracking chemical terrorists, and identifying and watching al-Qaeda members with drones. She felt compelled to help stop further attacks and left the relative safety of a job at CIA headquarters to go undercover in the Middle East as a counterterrorism specialist tracking al-Qaeda.

Then, wanting to be show more closer to her family, she went into the FBI where she worked in counterintelligence. The FBI was very different that the CIA. There she encountered blatant sexism and bullying behavior from both trainers and recruits. Walder left the FBI to become a teacher at an all-girls school where she can encourage young women to find a place in the FBI, CIA, State Department or the Senate.
Walder has to describe her job at the CIA in general terms due to national security. During the vetting of the book, the CIA actually redacted many large blocks of her original text. She chose to leave these portions of the text as blacked-out lines rather than rewriting the accounts. While seeing the extent of the redacted blocks of text is mildly interesting, perhaps a better approach would have been to insert a [redacted text] and then continue the story or do a rewrite.

Walder has a lot to be proud of so why not tell her story with a look at being an inspiration to young women. While I do see that a case could be made that there is a hint of bragging look-at-me-and-what-I-did, I also felt like this is her story and it is amazing. She was a young woman working in the CIA during a trying time. If she also needs to talk about her blond hair, makeup, etc., it's okay with me because it is a part of her personality and shows that she can be a special agent at the CIA and care about little frivolous things too. I would encourage young women to read this, especially if they are interested in a career in the CIA or FBI.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Publishing Group.
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