Mission Iran, James Stejskal
Mission Iran, James Stejskal
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
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Mission Iran
Special Forces Berlin & Operation Eagle Claw, JTF 1-79

Author: James Stejskal

Narrator: Jim Seybert

Unabridged: 4 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/30/2024


Synopsis

On November 4, 1979, "student" supporters of the Ayatollah seized the U.S. Embassy with over sixty hostages. Although the Cold War was in full swing, the Iran hostage crisis was a watershed for the United States.

Detachment A had been established in Berlin early in the Cold War to harass and delay any Soviet military advance west. This Special unit trained relentlessly for every aspect of unconventional warfare, and was later assigned a second mission of counterterrorism.

The plan for Operation Eagle Claw, as it became known, was extremely complex. The first stage was intelligence gathering—no mean feat as most of the CIA's capabilities in the country had been eliminated. With operatives trained in intelligence work, fluent in many languages, and adept at blending in, Det A took on the advanced recon of the targets. Then, when Delta Force admitted that it could only manage the assault of the Embassy, Det A volunteered to rescue the three Americans at the Foreign Ministry.

Veteran and historian James Stejskal details Det A's unique and integral role in Operation Eagle Claw, based upon firsthand accounts of the operatives involved.

About James Stejskal

James Stejskal, after thirty-five years of service with United States Army Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency, is a uniquely qualified historian and novelist. He is the author of Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956-1990; Masters of Mayhem: Lawrence of Arabia and the British Military Mission to the Hejaz; No Moon as Witness; and The Snake Eater Chronicles.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Joan on July 30, 2024

Stejskal is an excellent historian and this 153-page book about Special Forces Berlin & Operation Eagle Claw, a rescue mission to free the sixty hostages in Tehran, is an extremely well-written, page-turner. He deftly immerses the reader into the story and is one of the best books I’ve read about a......more

Goodreads review by Richard on January 26, 2025

Thoroughly enjoyed this insider account of Army Special Forces planning, tradecraft, and operations to free the American hostages in Iran. Stejskal applies a historian's craftsmanship to bring out the depth of knowledge and the personal stories that only come with living and working in a high-stakes......more

Goodreads review by Mattster on July 12, 2024

The book tells the story before only known as “Det A had the duty to get those at the MFA/Chancellery.” It also goes into how Det A became a CT asset and told the to me, previously untold story of the plan for the follow on to Eagle Claw. A teaser about Orange’s founding is in there for those that k......more