Four hundred forty-four days. Think back to what you were doing 444 days ago. Think about everything you've seen and done, the people you've met, fallen in love with, fallen out of favor with during this time. Now imagine being held against your will for that long. Imagine being locked away, forced to not speak to anyone, the fear of brutality and execution hanging over your head for those 444 days. Can't do it? I bet neither could the 50+ US diplomats held hostage by radical Iranian students over the entire year of 1980 (plus a little on either side). Mark Bowden's "Guests of the Ayatollah" does an outstanding job of conveying just what such an experience would be like.

While Bowden's tone is journalistic and fairly neutral, he pulls no punches. The good, the bad, and the ugly on all sides are on full display throughout the book. The ignorance of the Iranian students, fueled by dogma and naivety, feeds their brutality and kindness alike. The stoic individualism of the American hostages feeds their capitulation, as well as their defiance. The utter insanity of the situation as a whole hamstrings the US administration and greatly contributes to the failure of the inevitable rescue mission. In the end, though, the book illustrates that there were no winners and nothing but losers from this dark time.

On November 4, 1979, Islamic students overtook the US embassy in Tehran, taking most of the diplomats and staff hostage. What should have been a brief outburst of violence quickly devolved into a standoff between the West and a new breed of government that placed God ahead of all else. Bowden makes it abundantly clear that both sides could have ended the siege with simple actions: On the Iranian side, all it would have taken was for the Ayatollah Khomeini to proclaim the freedom of the hostages, while on the American side, extradition of the less-than-squeaky-clean shah back to Iran would have sealed the deal. Unfortunately, as Bowden also clearly explains, neither action was feasible given the intricacies of both domestic and international politics at the time. The entire situation was a fiasco from the start, and only ever got resolved by the outside factors of the Iraq-Iran War and the election of Ronald Reagan.

"Guests of the Ayatollah" is told from three interweaving perspectives. The hostages are a blob of characters, difficult to keep track of with only a handful being instantly recognizable upon their mention. But this is a good thing, for it really hits home the dehumanization that occurred to them during their captivity. The range of actions and emotions by this blob assists the reader in empathizing with the plight of the captives. One can alternately understand both the defiance of Michael Metrinko and the outright capitulation of Joe Subic. On the other side, the most striking aspect of the hostage takers is their naive ignorance. Whether this was due to youth, religious brainwashing, or some other factor isn't 100% clear; Bowden only manages to track down a handful of them to get their stories in the book's epilogue. Paranoia, however, clearly played a part; the repeated references to the embassy as a "den of spies" shows this. In the end, one can't help but come away with the impression that the hostage takers were nothing more than children being strung along and played by the puppet masters of the Iranian regime. On that front, as well as the parallel one of the Carter administration, the overwhelming impression is one of futility. Both sides essentially had their hands tied by the events of the day. The purges taking place in Iran kept the moderates there from speaking out, leaving the handful of individuals willing to negotiate having to do so in secret. Also, their novice diplomatic skills kept them shifting the conditions of release, even right up until the end. Khomeini, on the other hand, is strangely absent from all negotiations; but, as stated earlier, Bowden clearly shows that the cleric was the true puppet master with the ability to end the incident with but a wave of his hand. Why he never did this is sadly unexplored. In America, Carter was fighting challengers from both parties, causing him to tread lightly. But, more importantly, it was ultimately the sheer lack of options available to the president that caused the situation to go on for as long as it did. The communication breakdown between the two states combined with the infancy of the uber-military team, Delta Force, left Carter holding the bag in what turned out to be a deciding factor in his downfall.

All in all, "Guests of the Ayatollah" does an excellent job of conveying the intricate horrors involved in the Iranian hostage crisis. From the president down through the military men involved in the rescue mission to the hostages themselves, Bowden paints a vivid picture of life during these 444 days. He's got another winner on his hand.

Reads like a thriller novel, but is 100% true. If you are completely unfamiliar with the history of Iran from about 1945-1979 you should probably spend at least a few minutes learning about that before reading this book. The book jumps right into the drama of the hostage crisis without providing much background.

I listened to the audiobook. The pros of the audiobook version are that it is skillfully read by the author of the book. The con is that the audiobook is abridged.

Reads like a thriller novel, but is 100% true. If you are completely unfamiliar with the history of Iran from about 1945-1979 you should probably spend at least a few minutes learning about that before reading this book. The book jumps right into the drama of the hostage crisis without providing much background.

Mark Bowden is a genius at bringing intensive historical events to life and Guests of the Ayatollah doesn't disappoint. While easy enough to step back and look at the boiling pot of the clash of cultures and paranoia that led to the takeover. However, his ability to bring to light the individual stories, including tracking down the hostage takers gave an incredible insight into the mindset of the key players. I was particularly fascinated by his ability to not just focus on the takeover and Desert One pieces, but also highlight the more interesting vignettes from the 444 days.

Bowden is a great reader for his own material, which only makes the audio book more interesting. If you're a fan of Bowden or want to understand more about militant Isalam, this is a can't-miss.

When the American Embassy in Iran was overrun by radical students, I like most Americans followed the story very closely. This book was an eye opening experience as to what happened on the inside. How the hostages were mistreated, starved, and beaten by radicals. But, they were also treated with kindness by some of the radicals, which I had never heard before. The only fault that I have with the book is that it seemed to finish up much more quickly than it started and you feel a little cheated. Overall a good book. I admire how the hostages handled themselves and how they were able to continue on with their lives when they got released.

Guests of the Ayatollah presents the extensively researched, impelling non-fiction style for which Bowden has become widely acclaimed through his other best sellers. As someone who has read other Bowden books, I felt Guests of the Ayatollah is his best book to date.

In this book, Bowden provides the intense, all-inclusive details from start to finish of the 444 day Iranian Hostage Crisis. The reader is taken inside the holding cell of each hostage and witnesses in vivid detail the daily routines, abuse, and emotions each hostage endured during their stay. I quickly became a fan of certain hostages such as diplomat Michael Metrinko, who so adamantly despised his captivity and insulted his captors for which he suffered solitary confinement and severe beatings up to the 444th day. While Bowden shares the heroic stories of the hostages, he doesn't disregard certain hostages who fellow captives felt were cowards and swine.

Bowden has become widely acclaimed for his ability to investigate the subject of each book and then transpose his research into dramatic details for readers, and Guests of the Ayatollah is no exception to his method. Where Guests of the Ayatollah differs from other Bowden books is in its significant focus on the Iranian and American political environments during the hostage crisis. Bowden provides an in depth summary of the Carter administrations options and its secretive negotiations with what still existed of the volatile Iranian government. Rather than provide his opinion on the performance of the Carter administration, Bowden does a fine job of avoiding personal bias, and allows the reader to reach an informed conclusion in regard to the politics surrounding the Hostage Crisis.

Some reviewers seem to feel that Bowden provides justification for the actions of the hostage takers. I don't believe this is accurate given that Bowden spends very little time examining the Shah's government other then to acknowledge America's continued support for the Pahlavi government up to the revolution. I found that on the controversial issues Bowden provides the facts and allows the reader draw his/her own conclusions. However, Bowden offers one prevailing conclusion that the Iranian Hostage Crisis established the power of the mullahocrasy in Iran, which runs the government to this day. The epilogue goes on to examine whether or not the hostage crisis benefited Iran, and concludes the establishment of the mullahocracy has done more harm to the country.

If you enjoyed Killing Pablo, you will definitely enjoy Guests of the Ayatollah. If you liked Black Hawk Down you will also enjoy this book, though it doesn't assert the amount of focus to military operations given in Black Hawk Down. If you have not read anything by Bowden, you should, and Guests of the Ayatollah is a wonderful starting point.

Bowden does a superb job of putting together a story as exciting as any spy novel I've ever read. He intertwines the experiences of the various characters involved so smoothly that you think he must have created the entire plot himself. And the fact that it's nonfiction makes the book that much more gripping. I found myself learning a great deal about the politics of the Middle East without having to wade through another standard, heavy historical text. Great book!

Mark Bowden's "Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam" is an excellent account of one of the lowpoints in American foreign policy: the taking of American hostages by Iranian students in 1979. Bowden's meticulously researched narrative is the definitive story of the ordeals that the hostages went through, although he does not cover the diplomatic (and other) aspects of the story as well.

Bowden's story is based heavily on interviews with the hostages and he gives personal, detailed accounts of the hostage-taking and their daily lives. Most of Bowden's book focuses on the first few months of the captivity, and he spends a lot of time on the events on the day they were taken captive and the immediate days afterward. He also does a good job describing the military's training for and execution of the failed rescues mission.

Although this is a very good book, I do have a couple of criticisms: Bowden's narrative, while detailed and flowing, is short on "historical details." For example, Bowden never tells us in his text the date of the initial hostage-taking (you have to read the caption to one of the pictures to find out that it was November 4, 1979). He is also quick to defend Carter's inaction during the crisis by saying that Carter did everything that he could, which I found unconvincing.

Reading this book made me mad - mad at the Iranians, mad at our government's inability to do anything, mad at the couple of hostages who cooperated with their captors, mad at the minority of family members who worked against our interests during the crisis. Some of my earliest memories of "current events" were of this crisis, and failed rescue attempt, and the announcement of their release during Reagan's inauguration. This book is a reminded of what many of us have forgotten. For this reason, if no other, this book should be read by every American. Thankfully, Bowden has written an excellent book to give us all even more reasons to read it.

Mark Bowden, best known as the author of "Black Hawk Down," has written another powerful book. This time his attention is turned towards the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-1981. Many readers will find his account moving, troubling, and a little thought provoking...all at the same time.

For better or for worse, the bulk of this book focuses on experiences of those on the "front lines" of this crisis. Much of his text focuses on the experiences of the hostages. It gets a little repetitive, not too much, but it also serves a purpose of communicating that the tedium of being a hostage. Much of this material is fairly standard stuff, available in other books. What makes his book new, is that he has visited Iran and interviewed many of the Iranians involved in this incident and presents their perspective ill-informed, strange and slightly wacky as it may be. He gives them an honest airing, but uses a rather restrained presentation of the evidence to shoot down their arguments when these offer themselves to investigation.

He also discusses the efforts of the military to put together a rescue mission. He does such a good job of telling this story and at times it looks like the mission might work. Despite his background writing "Blackhawk Down," Bowden is not in his element discussing military issues. There are some important nuances he misses, like the differences between flying over land and water, and why Marine pilots flying Navy helicopters had different approaches than the U.S. Army to this mission. Military professionals might be disappointed, but the general public will probably not even notice.

What is more noticeable is Bowden limited description of "big picture" issues. He draws all his information from interviews with participants, memoirs, and contemporary news accounts. As a result, he offers no description of geopolitical issues in the Middle East, and his coverage of the rather weak, inept diplomacy of the Carter Administration is quite limited, giving the President to a large extent, a pass on this incident. His argument that this crisis was America's first confrontation with extremist elements of Islam seems weak and in any case is not particularly well developed.

Finally, and this is no small thing, this book reads well...very well. The organization and the quality of his prose make it so easy to read. Chapters are often only a few pages long. The end result is a compelling book that is difficult to put down.

Fascinating book! Really hard to put it down. Lots of behind the scene stories of the hostages, hostage takers, President Carter, Delta team and many others. Helps you understand why Iran is in the state it's in today.

This book provides an excellent explanation of the crisis, which partly cost Jimmy Carter the election and where America should have conducted its first "War On Terror" (perhaps, that would have dealt with the current "president" of Iran and the others with him sooner, rather than later, and he wouldn't have come to the U.S.). True, the U.S. shouldn't have let the Shah in, but it wasn't right for the "students", including the current "president" of Iran to take people hostage. I applaud all those who stood up to these thugs, and Bowden gives great detail. He also provides excellent notes and descriptions of what happened to the hostages, after their release. I have my own thoughts about what should have happened, after our people arrived safely in the U.S., but I won't go into them here. Suffice it to say that if anyone wants to understand why we are having the troubles we are with Iran, read this. I wouldn't have wanted to have been in former President Carter's position. I think it was a betrayal, after what the hostages went through, that the U.S., in the succeeding administration, did "deals" with these people, and admitting this "terrorist thug" [Ahmenejad] into our country recently; a former hostage taker, but this is an example how our political system works. [Sometimes, we're our own worst enemy.] Anyway, an important book.

The author is correct in his use of the term "inapt" for the phrase "war on terror." It was indeed inapt prior to 9/11 and certainly was not in use in 1979. But it's appropriate use since 9/11 means that finally after nearly 30 years we are taking the threat seriously and have finally begun to wage this necessary war.

An excellent blow by blow account of the Iranian hostage crisis. Bowden's bias knocks a star off. He basically sides with the hostage takers--describing them as just a bunch of goofy misguided kids engaged in mere horseplay. The hostages weren't tortued and beaten that bad, and plus they "mistakenly" referred to their captors as "ragheads." How ignorant! Perhaps Bowden thinks they should have stayed there a little longer just to make up for such transgressions?

In an attempt to make Jimmy Carter look competent, he wisely spends little time on the President's futile attempts to resolve the crisis--keeping the focus on the hostages themselves. But it's still a factual account--and the facts don't lie; Carter was a horrible negotiator. It was only a year into the crisis he figured out what "contingency" meant. Bowden's sly parallel of Ronald Reagan with the Ayatollah at the end of the book is also not lost.

What more could there be to say about a crisis that happened a quarter century ago? As it turns out, there are some very important things to say about it, and Mark Bowden's masterful history of that crisis says them.

First, this is an absolutely first-rate "you are there" account of what the American hostages went through as Iran descended into chaos and near madness after the ouster of the shah. You will literally feel their anger, fear, and depression, and you will feel their pride when they can defy or denigrate their captors, even fleetingly. However, you will feel the smugness and religious certainty of their captors, too. Make no mistake: Bowden clearly sees the American diplomats as victims of an outrageous act; there is no moral relativity here.

Second, the book is thought-provoking in ways I didn't expect. The ostensible trigger for the crisis was the decision by the US to admit the shah to this country for treatment of the cancer that would eventually kill him. However, that decision was sold to President Carter by his Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, who in turn was sold on it by Henry Kissinger and David Rockefeller. As the years roll on, it's interesting how many disastrous US foreign policy decisions come back to Kissinger.

Further, the CIA was no better then at understanding and predicting events in the Islamic world than they are now. Shortly before the crisis erupted, the agency reported that the religious radicals would soon be relegated to the background there, so the US could deal with an emerging secular state with confidence. In reality, the country degenerated into a hurricane of religious nuttiness that soon swept aside all of the secular leaders. Quite literally, no one at all was really in charge of anything in Iran, and that's the reason the crisis dragged on for over a year.

This brings us to the role of President Carter. Nearly everyone felt at the time that he was too weak and vacillating to resolve the crisis. Not so; he tirelessly attempted to find a way to deal with the situation, but every attempt failed when the connection at the Iranian end fell apart. No one could have done much more, which is why presidential candidate Ronald Reagan continually criticized Carter, but never offered a word of explanation about what he would do.

The failed rescue attempt was blamed on Carter, too, but as Bowden makes clear, it had little chance of succeeding, mostly because the equipment available at the time was inadequate, and the situation was impossible. Even if Delta Force had made it to Tehran, it's likely that most or all of the hostages and rescuers would have died in the operation. Carter and the troops deserve credit for daring the attempt, even in the face of near-certain failure.

This book is must reading as the authoritative account of the first battle in the war with the "Islamofascists." And it's worth reading as a rich account of the courage that the hostages and their would-be rescuers displayed in very trying circumstances.

What more could there be to say about a crisis that happened a quarter century ago? As it turns out, there are some very important things to say about it, and Mark Bowden's masterful history of that crisis says them.

First, this is an absolutely first-rate "you are there" account of what the American hostages went through as Iran descended into chaos and near madness after the ouster of the shah. You will literally feel their anger, fear, and depression, and you will feel their pride when they can defy or denigrate their captors, even fleetingly. However, you will feel the smugness and religious certainty of their captors, too. Make no mistake: Bowden clearly sees the American diplomats as victims of an outrageous act; there is no moral relativity here.

Second, the book is thought-provoking in ways I didn't expect. The ostensible trigger for the crisis was the decision by the US to admit the shah to this country for treatment of the cancer that would eventually kill him. However, that decision was sold to President Carter by his Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, who in turn was sold on it by Henry Kissinger and David Rockefeller. As the years roll on, it's interesting how many disastrous US foreign policy decisions come back to Kissinger.

Further, the CIA was no better then at understanding and predicting events in the Islamic world than they are now. Shortly before the crisis erupted, the agency reported that the religious radicals would soon be relegated to the background there, so the US could deal with an emerging secular state with confidence. In reality, the country degenerated into a hurricane of religious nuttiness that soon swept aside all of the secular leaders. Quite literally, no one at all was really in charge of anything in Iran, and that's the reason the crisis dragged on for over a year.

This brings us to the role of President Carter. Nearly everyone felt at the time that he was too weak and vacillating to resolve the crisis. Not so; he tirelessly attempted to find a way to deal with the situation, but every attempt failed when the connection at the Iranian end fell apart. No one could have done much more, which is why presidential candidate Ronald Reagan continually criticized Carter, but never offered a word of explanation about what he would do.

The failed rescue attempt was blamed on Carter, too, but as Bowden makes clear, it had little chance of succeeding, mostly because the equipment available at the time was inadequate, and the situation was impossible. Even if Delta Force had made it to Tehran, it's likely that most or all of the hostages and rescuers would have died in the operation. Carter and the troops deserve credit for daring the attempt, even in the face of near-certain failure.

This book is must reading as the authoritative account of the first battle in the war with the "Islamofascists." And it's worth reading as a rich account of the courage that the hostages and their would-be rescuers displayed in very trying circumstances.

For those interested in history and especially the history of the relationship between Iran and the U.S., this book is essential. This book is well written, fine storytelling, and appropriately detailed without belaboring the point. Probably the best one source history of the hostage crisis. Some may find it a little too charitable to President Carter, but it appears to be a fair portrayal.

I have read several of Mr. Bowden's books but I'd say this is his best one to date. I was expecting something along the lines of Black Hawk Down with a minute-by-minute account of the action. But the hostage crisis in Iran really wasn't the same type of situation. What I wasn't expecting was a personal account of what it was like to be a hostage in Tehran in 1979. I was only 10 at the time and all I really remember is Ted Koppel, the Nightline count of days in captivity and America's "inability" or "unwillingness" to strike back (and its impact on the 1980 Presidential election). In my mind I kept thinking "What type of hostage would I be"? Would I become docile and unemotional? Would I give up hope? Would I relish in harassing the guards (plenty of hilarious accounts of this in the book!), even if it meant brutal physical attacks and other physical discomforts? Mr. Bowden takes you much deeper into the people in this book than any other of his I have read. There's not the constant adrenaline-pumping action as in Black Hawk Down but still plenty, from the taking of the embassy to the aborted rescue mission. You are really taken into the minds of the hostages, their captors and President Carter and Co. This book gave me an appreciation for the delicate situation in which the US was in. Not striking back seemed weak, but who and what could we strike? A lethal response seemed very likely to result in the hostages being executed. I am fully aware of the sacrifices our Armed Forces members bear in defense America, of freedom and democracy, but the actions of Delta Force and others in the daring rescue mission make me love 'em even more. The author also provides a glimpse into what some of the captors were trying to accomplish and why. A thoroughly researched book which offers a rich and comprehensive view of a major event in our (and the world's) history. Don't let that put you off, it's highly readable and I found it difficult to put down.

A number of other reviews of Guests of the Ayatollah, by Mark Bowden, have commented on the repetitive nature of the day in, day out activities of the 51 American Embassy hostages In Iran. I don't know if this is true on not, but it definitely is NOT in the 10 hour abridged CD, narrated by... Mark Bowden. Bowden and his editors have pulled together enough of the individual stories of the hostages to make this an exciting "page" (or CD) turner. From the initial take-over of the US Embassy, to the daily grind and trials of the hostages, to the efforts of the political and military branches of Carter's administration, Bowden puts together a whale of a tale... and it's all true.

On the (slightly) negative side, I really wanted to hear about what the former hostages are doing now. How has this experience changed their lives? I suspect this is in the book, and I will look it up. There was, in the CD version, a follow-up for many of the hostage-takers. In particular, I wanted to know more about "Screaming Mary." Unfortunately, her successes in the current Iranian government leave me rattled.

So thank you, Mark Bowden, for condensing this disturbing chapter of American-Iranian history into a shocking and sad tale.

I read the book a year ago and purchased the book on CD just recently. I found the CD set informative and well read by the author. This period in American history is so relevant to our international missions. The story should be shared with American adolescents to understand what happened and why. It could help them understand why we do not have a mission in Iran and the interactions of the U.S, Algeria, Iran, and even Iraq to some degree. It also better identifies the issues with the Carter Administration and how nightly news evolved.

Yes, it is a very thick book, but it needed to be because the Iranian Hostage Crisis had so many plots and sub-plots, not to mention rumors and spins, that anthing shorter would not have done the subject justice. Bowden explains in great detail how internal Iranian power-struggles influenced the Hostage Crisis more then 20 years ago. What is more, these struggles continue to the present day. The book made that clear and gave me a good foundation to understand present day Iran, its civilian government, the ayathollahs and the West's difficulty dealing with it. I read it in one setting, shortly before the most recent Iranian hostage-taking incident. It helped me understand the latest hostage crisis, in fact, I was not surprised by the way it played out at all.

Another interesting, informative and well written book by Mark Bowden. He is able to gather reams and reams of ino and put it into an easy to read format.

I couldn't put it down. I think it really sets the reader up with a better understanding of Iran in the 20th century, and how things have gotten so out of hand there now 26 years after the ordeal ended.