Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and author Christina Hillsberg for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

There were many things that surprised me about the book Agents of Change. Probably the biggest was that the book was written at all. How do you write a book about the CIA, one of the most secretive organizations in the world, without revealing too much? Author Christina Hillsberg is herself a former operative and was given unprecedented access to other former agents and history. The CIA also signed off on the final product, making sure that no big secrets were given away. Valerie Plame, one of the most famous female CIA operatives, writes the introduction, which will draw attention to the book due to her name when it might have been overlooked.

Agents of Change should not be overlooked. It’s a tale of dragging the intelligence world into modern times. Even before there were government agencies dealing with intelligence, women have always made great spies because they were underestimated. This is true throughout history. Once gathering intelligence became a more organized endeavor, it was considered “a man’s world” for many reasons, not the least of which was the idea that women couldn’t perform in this arena as well as men could, despite history telling us otherwise.

Hillsberg details the history of women in the CIA, going back to its formation. At that time, women were mostly secretaries in the organization working for men. A few here and there pushed their way through and showed that women were as good as – if not better – than men at recruiting informants and running operations. Their styles were different, and potential informants usually let their guard down more easily with women than men.

For the most part, the names are unfamiliar to most of us civilians, as they should be. Initially seen as only support to the male operatives, many women ended up running operations without credit when they jumped in as needed. Eventually, the wives of operatives also became agents since they were stationed with their spouses. Their training helped them gather intelligence while being dismissed as little more than bored housewives. Married couples working together was a short phenomenon, as once there were more female operatives, there were worries about nepotism.

If you’re thinking there had to be a dark side to this, there was. Hillsberg reveals numerous cases of sexual harassment and outright sexual assault of female operatives. Sometimes it involved targets, more often than not it involved fellow operatives. The women she interviewed detail how they dealt with it and still had successful careers. For some, though, this atmosphere left a bad taste in their mouth, and they left the agency before retirement age to make more money in the private sector without the problems.

Hillsberg knows the CIA can still do better. Despite a larger percentage of female operatives currently, there are still problems recruiting and retaining minority women. Women have finally cracked the glass ceiling and garnered leadership positions in the CIA, but the percentages aren’t where they should be.

I found Agents of Change to be fascinating and informative. Having grown up through a time when women were breaking out of traditional roles, this was inspirational. Hillsberg makes it clear she believes that life is made of choices, and women are more often penalized when they choose to put their personal life and mental health in the forefront. Still, many of the women she speaks with have incredible careers while striking a balance they can live with. I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.