Den of Spies - by Craig Unger

About the Book

"ARGO meets SPOTLIGHT, as journalist Craig Unger, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of AMERICAN KOMPROMAT and HOUSE OF BUSH, HOUSE OF SAUD, reveals his thirty-year investigation into the secret collusion between Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign and Iran, raising urgent questions about what happens when foreign meddling in our elections goes unpunished and what gets remembered when the political price for treason is victory. It was a tinderbox of an accusation. In April 1991, the NEW YORK TIMES ran an op-ed alleging that Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign had conspired with the Iranian government to delay the release of 52 American hostages until after the 1980 election. The Iranian hostage crisis was President Jimmy Carter's largest political vulnerability, and his lack of success freeing them ultimately sealed his fate at the ballot box. In return for keeping Americans in captivity until Reagan assumed the oath of office, the Republicans had secretly funneled arms to Iran. Treasonous and illegal, the operation-planned and executed by Reagan's campaign manager Bill Casey-amounted to a shadow foreign policy run by private citizens that ensured Reagan's victory. Investigative journalist Craig Unger was one of the first reporters covering the October Surprise-initially for ESQUIRE and then NEWSWEEK-and while attempting to unravel the mystery, he was fired, sued, and ostracized by the Washington press corps, as a counter narrative took hold: The October Surprise was a hoax. Though Unger later recovered his name and became a bestselling author on Republican abuses of power, the October Surprise remained his white whale, the project he-as well as legendary investigative journalist, the late Robert Parry-worked on late at night and between assignments. In DEN OF SPIES, Unger reveals the definitive story of the October Surprise, going inside his three-decade reporting odyssey, along with Parry's never-before-seen archives, and sharing startling truths about what really happened in 1980. The result is a real-life political thriller filled with double agents, CIA operatives, slippery politicians, KGB documents, wealthy Republicans, and dogged journalists. A timely and provocative history that presages our Trump-era political scandals, DEN OF SPIES demonstrates the stakes of allowing the politics of the moment to obscure the writing of our history"--

Book Synopsis

"A persuasive affirmation of a shocking conspiracy theory." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Unger has pursued the story of the October surprise for more than 30 years, often to his own cost. ...peppered with amazing details... Den of Spies comes out in a world where dark machinations to win power no longer seem so unthinkable as in the days of Carter, Reagan and Bush."--The Guardian

The explosive inside story of the October Surprise conspiracy, a stunning act of treason that changed American history. New York Times bestselling author Craig Unger reveals his thirty-year investigation into the secret collusion between Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign and Iran, raising urgent questions about what happens when foreign meddling in our elections goes unpunished and what gets remembered when the political price for treason is victory.

It was a tinderbox of an accusation. In April 1991, the New York Times ran an op-ed alleging that Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign had conspired with the Iranian government to delay the release of 52 American hostages until after the 1980 election. The Iranian hostage crisis was President Jimmy Carter's largest political vulnerability, and his lack of success freeing them ultimately sealed his fate at the ballot box. In return for keeping Americans in captivity until Reagan assumed the oath of office, the Republicans had secretly funneled arms to Iran. Treasonous and illegal, the operation--planned and executed by Reagan's campaign manager Bill Casey--amounted to a shadow foreign policy run by private citizens that ensured Reagan's victory.

Investigative journalist Craig Unger was one of the first reporters covering the October Surprise--initially for Esquire and then Newsweek--and while attempting to unravel the mystery, he was fired, sued, and ostracized by the Washington press corps, as a counter narrative took hold: The October Surprise was a hoax. Though Unger later recovered his name and became a bestselling author on Republican abuses of power, the October Surprise remained his white whale, the project he--as well as legendary investigative journalist, the late Robert Parry--worked on late at night and between assignments.

In Den of Spies, Unger reveals the definitive story of the October Surprise, going inside his three-decade reporting odyssey, along with Parry's never-before-seen archives, and sharing startling truths about what really happened in 1980. The result is a real-life political thriller filled with double agents, CIA operatives, slippery politicians, KGB documents, wealthy Republicans, and dogged journalists. A timely and provocative history that presages our Trump-era political scandals, Den of Spies demonstrates the stakes of allowing the politics of the moment to obscure the writing of our history.

Review Quotes

"What if the scariest political thriller you ever read were a true story?...After decades of investigation, [Unger's] finally collected all the receipts and laid them out for the world to see. He brings a stunning amount of research to the table, but he also constructs his narrative like an expert thriller. This perversion of justice will chill you, especially because it still resonates today." -- Apple Books, Monthly Staff Pick

"Unger's narrative paints a colorful panorama of a multinational private intelligence network run by the shambolic spymaster Casey, who later became CIA director...The result is a persuasive affirmation of a shocking conspiracy theory." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[Unger] argues that Jan. 6, 2021, wasn't the first instance of Republican treason...A compelling account of political wrongdoing." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Den of Spies is not just a summation of his years of steady research into the plot, and not even just a play for redemption; it's a referendum of sorts on a style of journalism that once ruled the day...the once-debunked October surprise has shifted over the same decades into the realm of high plausibility (though nothing close to agreed-upon history). And Unger and a few other reporters of his generation are responsible. They think that what actually happened still matters."
-- The Atlantic

"Craig Unger's latest investigative book, Den of Spies, is important, and not only for its dogged detailing of what one can now reasonably conclude was the stealing of the 1980 presidential election by Republican Ronald Reagan's campaign team...Does he make the case? I think he does--because he has the receipts." -- SpyTalk

"[Unger] has painstakingly investigated the concept of the October surprise through secretive contacts in 1980 between Iranian operatives and William J. Casey, President Reagan's campaign manager . . . A valuable book in which Unger reveals the long lasting repercussions of this October surprise on American and Iranian public life." -- Library Journal