"A memoir with the exciting elements of an espionage thriller. . . . This work of anthropological intrigue shows the author’s academic coming-of-age." — Karl Helicher, Foreword
"Fascinating, thoughtful and occasionally riveting." — James Ryerson, New York Times Book Review
"Coming from such a distinguished academic, Verdery’s brutally honest description of herself, including as a naive and careless young scholar, is stunning. Few books reflect so frankly and so powerfully on the nature and complications of an academic career." — Foreign Affairs
"This book raises provocative points about the effect of surveillance that will appeal to most readers." — Laurie Unger Skinner, Library Journal
"To read one’s police file is—suddenly—to have the curtain pulled open. The self you think you know becomes a mask, concealing a devious somebody else whose relationships are mere espionage fakes. . . . [An] unforgettable book." — Neal Ascherson, London Review of Books
"This book constitutes an excellent, detailed foray into the workings of a surveillance state in the Soviet bloc. But ultimately, this book’s strength emerges from its transparency concerning anthropological methodologies, an openness that comprises a foundational read for not only anthropology students but also for any social scientist working in post-socialist states." — Sabrina Papazian, EuropeNow
"Surely one of the finest and most thoughtful accounts of modern surveillance that we possess." — Mark Mazower, Times Literary Supplement
"Verdery’s My Life as a Spy offers an analysis of the documents one surveillance operation generated and the role played by both informers and officers. This postmodern approach is valuable, yet there are certain limits to this, as it is just one case and it would be quite difficult to generalise on her conclusions for all such documents. Verdery had the advantage of confronting some of the officers, which constitutes one of the most essential contributions of her book, as it helps us understand how the enemy of the regime was constructed during the second phase of communism and how the authorities dealt with them." — Vlad Onaciu, LSE Review of Books
"Joining a growing body of literature based on secret police archival documents, Verdery’s book stands out as she deploys her craft of anthropologist to examine the unexpected material. . . . By investigating one of its most elusive yet powerful apparatuses, the Securitate, Verdery creates an enthralling ethnography of the Communist state. . . . My Life as a Spy will teach anthropology, sociology, and history students much about methodology, and it is exemplary in exposing the dilemmas inherent in that methodology." — Irina Culic, American Ethnologist
"My Life as a Spy is Verdery’s masterpiece. . . . This is a book that should be read by all anthropologists and taught across the globe – a beautifully written, deeply engaged and engaging text that shows just what a wonderful and revelatory discipline anthropology can be when in the hands of committed and resourceful scholars." — Michael Stewart, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
"With fearless curiosity and a broken heart, Katherine Verdery takes us on a fraught journey into her secret police files, addressing issues of trust and betrayal in fieldwork with such vulnerability you want to hold her hand. A haunting and original mix of autoethnography and history, this book is certain to become a classic in anthropology." — Ruth Behar, author of Traveling Heavy: A Memoir in between Journeys
“This fascinating and important book should be compulsory reading for all anthropologists and oral historians. There is nothing quite like it.” — Sheila Fitzpatrick, author of A Spy in the Archives: A Memoir of Cold War Russia