describing their churning emotions and harrowing experiences. Fans of the author of
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“An impressive piece of narrative journalism.”
“A refreshingly lively account…Bowden’s skill turns bad news into good reading.”
“Bowden’s mammoth feat of reportage is essential reading…. Bowden shows unparalleled skill in constructing an omniscient and engrossing narrative based on an almost daily account of the plight of the hostages, behind-the-scenes political machinations, and the planning of a rescue mission. A.”
“Bowden is a courageous and methodical journalist and gifted storyteller…. He weaves a maddeningly complicated heap of recollections, emotions, and facts into a coherent, credible, and engaging account.”
“Mark Bowden is a master of calamity, and he will have readers chewing their nails like teenagers as they read
“A prodigious achievement in reporting…Compelling.”
“A very good book…A complex story full of cruelty, heroism, foolishness, and tragic misunderstandings.”
“Readers may wonder why they should read a blow-by-blow account of an event so widely reported so long ago. But as the story unfolds, illuminated by journalist Mark Bowden’s meticulous reporting and measured prose, what seems familiar is suddenly fresh. The significance crystallizes. Uncannily, the events prefigure those of the post-Sept. 11 era: the initial ‘why do they hate us?’ shock; the impotent outrage; the sense that we suddenly faced a baffling and unexpected threat, and that harsh—even reckless—measures were needed to confront it. It was, in retrospect, a defining moment for the United States.”
“Americans are told over and over that 9/11 changed everything and, in important ways, it did. But as Mark Bowden points out in this monumental piece of research, writing, and reasoning, they might give 11/4 some consideration, too. On that date, Nov. 4, 1979, a ragtag band of Iranian militants, most of them students, invaded the sprawling U.S. embassy in downtown Tehran and seized everyone inside as hostages…. Bowden does a prodigious job, telling an important story…and barring the unlikely, nobody will ever tell it better.”
“Daring and masterful…Bowden has accomplished a monumental task. [A] masterpiece.”
“Bowden’s account excels at describing the unfolding drama of the individual hostages…. This is a powerful and probably definitive history that deserves a large audience.”
“Riveting drama and telling detail…[
“This is history as tragedy, written as a thriller by a master storyteller.”
“A riveting account…Bowden’s latest will tempt readers to keep turning the pages.
“Written like a novel and shot through with page-turning suspense…The amount of research and reporting that must have gone into it are awe-inspiring.”
“A good and important book.”
“Bowden mixed his newspaperman’s skills…with his gift for novel-like narrative. The resulting story is not only suspenseful but revelatory as well.”
