by Craig Unger
First published 2024
Investigative journalist Craig Unger chronicles his three-decade quest to expose a conspiracy that changed American history. In 1980, Ronald Reagan's campaign allegedly struck a secret deal with Iran to keep 52 American hostages captive until after the election, ensuring Jimmy Carter's defeat. Reagan's campaign manager Bill Casey orchestrated this shadow foreign policy, promising weapons to Iran in exchange for delaying the hostage release. When Unger first reported on this October Surprise for Esquire and Newsweek, he faced career destruction. He was fired, sued, and shunned by Washington journalists who embraced the counter narrative that the story was fabricated. Working alongside the late Robert Parry, Unger continued investigating for decades, gathering evidence from CIA operatives, double agents, KGB documents, and Republican insiders. This book reveals his complete findings, drawing from Parry's previously unseen archives to reconstruct the full scope of the 1980 conspiracy. Unger demonstrates how this unpunished act of foreign election interference set precedents that echo in contemporary political scandals.
Genres: 20th-century, political-science, 21st-century, investigative-journalism, political-thriller, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: conspiracy-theory, cover-up
Setting: America, Iran, Washington
Period: 1980
368 pages · Kindle Edition · Mariner Books