A thrilling, page-turning account, drawing on new never-before-reported information, of one of the most dramatic and important episodes in recent history: the 444-day Iran Hostage Crisis. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students seized the American embassy in Tehran and took hostage some five dozen Americans. Those Americans would remain hostage for over one year. This is the story of how, in a heretofore unimaginable sequence of events, a seemingly ragtag mob of students inspired by a barely known Muslim cleric named Khomeini eventually undid an American president. It is a story that spans a century, full of famous characters--like Carter, Khomeini, and the Shah--and those who worked in the shadows. Cross-cutting between Washington, Tehran, Paris, and training centers for the doomed Desert One rescue mission, THE CRISIS is a work of history that reads like a thriller. Full of never-before-reported details, and drawing for the first time on comprehensive interviews with the Iranians involved, as well as fresh discussions with the central American players, this book is David Harriss masterpiece--what hes been building up to for decades.