In the Shadow of the Ayatollah: A CIA Hostage in Iran

From Publishers Weekly
Daugherty was a fledgling CIA agent posted to Iran in September 1979, just in time for the embassy takeover on November 4th of that year. He spent the next 444 days as a prisoner (mostly in solitary confinement) of Ayatollah Khomeini's student radicals. To set the background for the Ayatollah's revolution, the author devotes the first half of his book to analysis of Iranian-U.S. relations during the cold war, when successive U.S. administrations focused on the shah as a bulwark against Soviet expansionism. Believing the shah invulnerable, Daugherty says, American policymakers turned a blind eye to the brewing threat of Islamic fundamentalism. That threat became a reality when the shah abdicated and was ultimately admitted to the U.S. In the ensuing chaos, Daugherty and 52 others were seized, relentlessly interrogated and moved from one prison to another to prevent rescue. Daugherty's account of his captivity (the book's second half) weaves together his personal experiences with developments in Washington, as the Carter administration struggled with an unappetizing array of political and military responses. The author presents a remarkably objective view of events in the U.S. Even when he vehemently disagrees with a step taken by President Carter, Daugherty explains the policies that impelled the president to act as he did. The weakness of the book is the author's admitted lack of specialized knowledge about the language or culture of Iran or the tenets of Islam. Daugherty offers stereotyping more than informed analysis of fundamentalist Islam, and this seems especially unfortunate after the catastrophes of Sept. 10. B&w photos. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Choice, May 2002
"A master storyteller. Perhaps the best, most revealing assessment of one of the major failures of American foreign policy."

The Middle East Journal, Summer 2002
"...enthralling firsthand account...a concise yet comprehensive discussion of events in American-Iranian relations leading up to the seizure..."

Book Description
Still vivid in many Americans' memories are the 444 days of 1979 when Islamic militants held U.S. diplomatic personnel hostage in Iran. Though their story has been told before, never has it been related from such a perspective. Unique among the hostages, the author was an officer for the Central Intelligence Agency serving at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Once his CIA connection was discovered, Bill Daugherty became a special target of his captors and was subjected to extraordinarily harsh treatment. He managed to survive the ordeal by relying upon his Marine Corps training and combat experience and his remarkable inner reserve of fortitude. Ultimately he was awarded the State Department Medal of Valor and the CIA Exceptional Service Medal. Drawing on intelligence information not readily available to previous writers, recently declassified materials, interviews with such key government officials as former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and former CIA director and ambassador to Iran Richard Helms, and to his own firsthand knowledge, Daugherty sheds light on this disturbing event, particularly with respect to the decision-making process in the White House. Among his revelations is the involvement of the Soviet Union. Despite his personal involvement, Daugherty has produced an impressively objective account of the tragedies and triumphs that marked this black time in U.S. history. It is both a harrowing adventure story and a serious look at U.S.-Iran relations. The pivotal event continues to evoke emotions and begs careful analysis for potential lessons learned.

From the Publisher
Choice, January 2003Selected as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2002.

About the Author
William J. Daugherty served in the U.S. Marine Corps as both an enlisted man and as a naval flight officer before beginning his career in the CIA. He currently teaches American government and foreign policy at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia.


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Daugherty was a fledgling CIA agent posted to Iran in September 1979, just in time for the embassy takeover on November 4th of that year. He spent the next 444 days as a prisoner (mostly in solitary confinement) of Ayatollah Khomeini's student radicals. To set the background for the Ayatollah's revolution, the author devotes the first half of his book to analysis of Iranian-U.S. relations during the cold war, when successive U.S. administrations focused on the shah as a bulwark against Soviet expansionism. Believing the shah invulnerable, Daugherty says, American policymakers turned a blind eye to the brewing threat of Islamic fundamentalism. That threat became a reality when the shah abdicated and was ultimately admitted to the U.S. In the ensuing chaos, Daugherty and 52 others were seized, relentlessly interrogated and moved from one prison to another to prevent rescue. Daugherty's account of his captivity (the book's second half) weaves together his personal experiences with developments in Washington, as the Carter administration struggled with an unappetizing array of political and military responses. The author presents a remarkably objective view of events in the U.S. Even when he vehemently disagrees with a step taken by President Carter, Daugherty explains the policies that impelled the president to act as he did. The weakness of the book is the author's admitted lack of specialized knowledge about the language or culture of Iran or the tenets of Islam. Daugherty offers stereotyping more than informed analysis of fundamentalist Islam, and this seems especially unfortunate after the catastrophes of Sept. 10. B&w photos. (Oct. 29) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.


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