Relates the true story of a Green Beret colonel who came out of retirement to lead a secret raid to get two Americans out of an Iranian jail and home to America.

A chronicle of the Iran hostage crisis, America's first battle with militant Islam. On November 4, 1979, a group of radical Islamist students, inspired by the revolutionary Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini, stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran. They took 52 Americans hostage, and kept nearly all of them hostage for 444 days. Journalist Bowden tells the story through the eyes of the hostages, the soldiers in a new special forces unit sent to free them,...

The critical moment of the Iran-United States crisis highlighted the vulnerability of even the so-called "superpower" United States in the modern world of international blackmail and terrorism. The long-playing "crisis" became a major driving force and momentum in United States-mid-East relations during that moment and ever since, and this book describes it all.

Describes how extremist groups and governments have resorted to hostage taking in recent years, and shows how both the Carter and Reagan administrations have dealt with such crises.

Contains primary source material.