2022-09-07
Debut author and veteran FBI operative Arismendi, with Cano, chronicles his Venezuelan boyhood and his career in American law enforcement.
The author’s story begins in the summer of 1991, as he, a rookie FBI agent, responded to a bank robbery in progress in Scottsdale, Arizona, in which a heavily armed, hostage-taking perpetrator stated that he was “prepared to die.” But before revealing how that situation turned out, Arismendi embarks on an account of his life before he became an agent, beginning with his early years in Caracas, Venezuela, which included an excursion to his great-great-great grandfather’s burial statue at “Paseo de Los Proceres—Walkway of the Founders.”(Gen. Juan Bautista Arismendi was Simón Bolívar’s chief of staff.) There, the author and his older brother, Eduardo, learned to honor the family legacy: “The same blood that ran through his veins,” their father told them, “is running through yours.” Arismendi received a well-rounded education at an excellent Catholic school and also learned lessons on the violent city streets; he eventually became a karate master under the tutelage of Shoko Sato, an international martial arts champion. Along the way, he pursued his interests in philosophy and spirituality. Although the book’s use of third-person point of view makes the memoir feel distant at times, it tells a credible and engaging story of one man’s pursuit of success. Arismendi shares a poignant lesson with readers, taught to him by his karate instructor, that would serve him throughout his life: “Always fight to win.” The book effectively shows how Arismendi later drew on such insights to survive poverty and homelessness after immigrating to the United States and, ultimately, to make it all the way to working for the FBI. His memoir offers readers clear lessons, as well, by revealing how integrity, initiative, mentorship, and hard work contributed to the author’s many accomplishments.
An empowering work about drawing on inner strength to overcome life’s difficulties.
