The Siege

A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World

By: Ben Macintyre

Narrated by: Ben Macintyre

“For six days, it was the Iranian Embassy on Princes Gate in London that riveted the world. . . . Macintyre’s superb reconstruction restores it to vivid, complex life.”—The Washington Post

A thrilling tick-tock recounting one of the most harrowing hostage situations and daring rescue attempts of our time—from the true-life espionage master and New York Times bestselling author of Operation Mincemeat and The Spy and the Traitor.

“[Ben Macintyre is] John le Carré’s nonfiction counterpart.”—The New York Times

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Minnesota Star Tribune, Parade

As the American hostage crisis in Iran boiled into its seventh month in the spring of 1980, six heavily armed gunman barged into the Iranian embassy in London, taking twenty-six hostages. What followed over the next six days was an increasingly tense standoff, one that threatened at any moment to spill into a bloodbath.

Policeman Trevor Lock was supposed to have gone to the theater that night. Instead, he found himself overpowered and whisked into the embassy. The terrorists never noticed the gun hidden in his jacket. The drama that ensued would force him to find reserves of courage he didn’t know he had. The gunmen themselves were hardly one-dimensional—all Arabs, some highly educated, who hoped to force Britain to take their side in their independence battle against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Behind the scenes lurked the brutal Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who had bankrolled the whole affair as a salvo against Iran.

As police negotiators pressed the gunmen, rival protestors clashed violently outside the embassy, and as MI6 and the CIA scrambled for intelligence, Britain’s special forces strike team, the SAS, laid plans for a dangerous rescue mission. Inside, Lock and his fellow hostages used all the cunning they possessed to outwit and outflank their captors. Finally, on the sixth day, after the terrorists executed the embassy press attaché and dumped his body on the front doorstep, the SAS raid began, sparking a deadly high-stakes climax.

A story of ordinary men and women under immense pressure, The Siege takes listeners minute-by-thrilling-minute through an event that would echo across the next two decades and provide a direct historical link to the tragedy on 9/11. Drawing on exclusive interviews and a wealth of never-before-seen files, Macintyre brilliantly reconstructs a week in which every day minted a new hero and every second spelled the potential for doom.

©2024 Ben Macintyre (P)2024 Random House Audio

Interesting history

I liked the Stories of the ongoing lives of survivors after the siege had taken place.

Excellent Recount of Something That Few Know Anything About

Author made the reader feel that he was in the room with the terrorists, police, SAS and hostages. Outstanding work in juggling all sides of this dysfunctional situation.

A unequivocal 10/10

The perfect book for both the casual listener as well as the seasoned professional. Highly recommended.

Another brilliant book by MacIntyre

Once again a thoroughly researched and wonderfully written account by this author. Fascinating beginning to end. Not just an action story but also an examination of people under stress and their range of reactions.

Absolutely riveting from the first chapter to the end credits!

Wonderful story telling. I almost had Stockholm syndrome just listing. portrayal of the site and characters did amazing justice to the magnitude of the event.

Very informative!

I learned a lot from this book about a crisis I had never heard of but impacted our political landscape of today.

Fascinating

Never knew the details of this event and the significance of it to our modern world…great story telling as always by Ben McIntyre!

Great story

BM is a great storyteller, so well written, so much more interesting then tons of useless fiction about terror, keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to the end. Writer pays a lot of respect to the real heroes, I so enjoyed this book!

outstanding!

Exciting and vivid writing, found myself holding my breath at points it was so engaging.

Gripping

This true story is full of amazing details.
The emotions of the captives and the gunman Are fascinating