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Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House: A Provocative History with Deep Political Revelations, ... the High-Stakes Political Games of the 1980s
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 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 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. Timely and provocative, with powerful echoes of 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.
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 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 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. Timely and provocative, with powerful echoes of 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.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2024
96 people are currently reading
670 people want to read
About the author
Craig Unger
13 books109 followersCraig Unger is an American journalist and writer. His most recent book is The Fall of the House of Bush, about the internal feud in the Bush family and the rise and collusion of the neoconservative and Christian right in Republican party politics, viewing each group's weltanschauung and efforts concerning present and potential future US policy through a distinctly negative prism. His previous work, House of Bush, House of Saud explored the relationship between the Bush family and the House of Saud. Craig Unger's work is featured in Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11. Unger has served as deputy editor of the New York Observer and was editor-in-chief of Boston Magazine. He has written about George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush for The New Yorker, Esquire Magazine and Vanity Fair.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 29, 2025
Political thriller from the 80s that laid the groundwork for future U.S. government protocols.
February 6, 2025
This book is not well written. But Unger makes an interesting case that Republicans, in the person of Bill Casey, made a deal with Khomeini that if he would delay releasing the American hostages until after the Reagan vs Carter election, then the US would supply weapons to Iran to combat Iraq. The Israelis acted as middlemen to disguise where the weapons came from.
This all came back to haunt both the US and Israel in the 21st Century.
This all came back to haunt both the US and Israel in the 21st Century.
December 15, 2024
I’m lukewarm in this one. It reads like the author (who apparently makes a living out of books attacking conservatives) is taking one last stab at a personal obsession of casting doubt of the legitimacy of Reagan’s overwhelming victory in 1980. The vast majority of evidence the author speaks about is evidence congressional committees evaluated for quite some time and ultimately found no cause to take action. His new evidence that inspired this book is flimsy as well. A disputed account of a person close to Gov. Connolly attesting to Connolly activities overseas during 1980 and a reference to a note of Director Casey’s meetings that he otherwise denied. This seems primarily that an effort for self-validation and a fairly unconvincing one at that. Three stars here.
June 26, 2025
Misdirection, as Unger points out, is the key to William Casey's success in engineering the "October Surprise", the release of the American hostages held by the new, repressive regime which replaced the Shah in exchange for arms and the promises of a "better deal" under a Reagan Presidency than what the Iranian mullahs would gain under Jimmy Carter.
A reader has to read more than 150 pages into Unger's treatment to see how the evidence connects the dots, and, sadly, as with much investigative reporting, assumptions are made in furtherance of the hypothesis. But, on balance, the evidence very clearly supports the conclusion that, under the direction of Reagan's campaign manager William Casey, the Reagan political team convinced the Ayattolshs to delay the release of the hostages (allowing Reagan to criticize Carter during the campaign for foreign policy weakness) and began the logistically nighmarish process of purchasing, transporting and delivering a vast and diverse array of arms, armour, and parts to Iran which then was under seige by Iraq through Israel and illegal arms dealers. The success of Casey's subterfuges essentially defeated Carter, although that, too, is subject to dispute, as in "who can say for certain?"
The problem with the Reagan initiative is that it was designed to circumvent official diplomatic and security efforts being made by the Carter administration to achieve the hostages' release AND that it was designed, mostly and overarachingly, to position Reagan to defeat Carter in the Presidential campaign by breaking laws and impeding the release of the hostages. Part of the effort was the explicit condition that hostages not be released until after the Presidential election. That is the treachery of any extra-judicial effort.
That Casey was able to engineer such treachery should be no surprise to anything who knew his provenance within the Republican Party and his work with the OSS. Even as Director of Central Intelligence, his work was memorable even if at times illegal, but he did not care. Like Donald Trump, he was totally transactional, but, unlike Donald Trump, he was smart and canny.
It's impossible to say whether Carter would have won the 1980 election had Reagan acted within the law, but there is one certainty. Reagan's election set the US on a course that changed the direction it was on in 1980, and we see the effects of that today.
A reader has to read more than 150 pages into Unger's treatment to see how the evidence connects the dots, and, sadly, as with much investigative reporting, assumptions are made in furtherance of the hypothesis. But, on balance, the evidence very clearly supports the conclusion that, under the direction of Reagan's campaign manager William Casey, the Reagan political team convinced the Ayattolshs to delay the release of the hostages (allowing Reagan to criticize Carter during the campaign for foreign policy weakness) and began the logistically nighmarish process of purchasing, transporting and delivering a vast and diverse array of arms, armour, and parts to Iran which then was under seige by Iraq through Israel and illegal arms dealers. The success of Casey's subterfuges essentially defeated Carter, although that, too, is subject to dispute, as in "who can say for certain?"
The problem with the Reagan initiative is that it was designed to circumvent official diplomatic and security efforts being made by the Carter administration to achieve the hostages' release AND that it was designed, mostly and overarachingly, to position Reagan to defeat Carter in the Presidential campaign by breaking laws and impeding the release of the hostages. Part of the effort was the explicit condition that hostages not be released until after the Presidential election. That is the treachery of any extra-judicial effort.
That Casey was able to engineer such treachery should be no surprise to anything who knew his provenance within the Republican Party and his work with the OSS. Even as Director of Central Intelligence, his work was memorable even if at times illegal, but he did not care. Like Donald Trump, he was totally transactional, but, unlike Donald Trump, he was smart and canny.
It's impossible to say whether Carter would have won the 1980 election had Reagan acted within the law, but there is one certainty. Reagan's election set the US on a course that changed the direction it was on in 1980, and we see the effects of that today.
July 6, 2025
3.5 stars. The book cover the October Surprise, the conspiracy that, prior to being elected, the Regan administration backchanneled with Iran to delay the hostage release until after the 1980 election. While the author is certainly biased and his investigation relies on many second hand accounts, overall he paints a convincing picture that at best the Regan administration meddled in foreign affairs to tip the scales and at worst treasonously arranged arms sales to a hostile and embargoed country for political victory; similar to the Iran-contra affairs under his administration. Over emphasis on the author’s life and a dry writing style detract from the investigation.
October 20, 2024
Craig Unger, an author who has spent a career chronicling Republican malfeasance, has performed a thankless task in writing Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of Treason that Stole the White House. After all, it is only those Americans over fifty who remember the Iranian hostage crisis and the cathartic freeing of the hostages who might still have a strong opinion concerning these events. There is a reason that the Freedom of Information Act only allows for documents to be released to the public—and only when a specific request was made—decades after the events occur. Passions have died down. The results of dubious and treasonous behavior are now entrenched in US culture and people are too busy with their lives or staring at their phones to care about a bygone era. To question the accepted narrative is to appear an aging crank.
I was just a high school sophomore when Reagan was elected, and the hostages released virtually simultaneously with his inauguration. Still naïve, I wondered why more Americans were not questioning this odd synchronicity. The mantra around my neighborhood was that Carter was “weak” and that the Iranians were terrified of Reagan. The deification of Reagan had already begun. Not even the Iran Contra scandals during the waning years of his administration could quell the ascendancy of Saint Ronald. I kept my long-held—and ultimately correct—suspicions largely to myself and ignored the revelations and “discredited” accusations when they first appeared in the early 90’s. Author Craig Unger has been obsessed with this project since the late 80’s, often shelving it to work on other books.
The U.S.A. is now a critical juncture of post-Truth with one party manifesting itself as utterly corrupt and dangerous. I chose to revisit the events leading up to the 1980 October Surprise, which was really not a surprise; it was a non-event because Republicans were working behind the scenes to sabotage President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to release the US hostages.* In sum, William Casey—who would end up heading the CIA under Reagan—hatched a plot to sell arms to Iran through Israel in exchange for the hostages being released only after Reagan was in power. This arms for something tangible scenario is eerily similar to the one which was uncovered late in Reagan’s presidency, the Iran Contra scandal. Well, it did work once. . .
As with our current “post truth” era, an examination of actual facts leads to the conclusion that Republicans are generally guilty of what they accuse others of. In the case of the hostages, Republican operatives—the “deep State” if you have to use that term—detested Reagan and wanted a return of Republican control. They sabotaged Carter’s negotiations by covertly meeting with Iranians representing the Ayatollah who was desperate for arms to fend off an imminent Iraqi invasion. Thus, Republicans--who purport to stand up against Islamic fundamentalism--were actually arming them in order to make the incumbent President look weak and unable to stand up to Islamic fundamentalism. They succeeded with such smashing success that they tried a similar move with Iran Contra and were caught. They’ve spent decades since trying to convince American’s—with ease that boggles the mind--that they were guilty of neither.
Sometimes you had to get your hands dirty, and that was for so long as no one found out. Keeping it secret was one of the defining aspects of American power in the twentieth century. The bottom line was that no one could ever know. (Unger, page 207).
One can certainly criticize Carter for not being sufficiently Machiavellian. I doubt he ever read The Prince. He was far too guided by religious principles to lead a nation of utterly dubious morality. Thus, he was foiled by Republican Machiavellians still fretting over Nixon being caught red-handed**--who thoroughly understood the concept of realpolitik. And here is the realpolitik:
So just five months into Bani-Sadr’s tenure as the president, it was becoming clear that as a covert operation, the October Surprise was a twofer: Both Carter and Bani-Sadr were being undermined from within. In effect, team Casey in the United States and the Islamic Republican Party were working together to make sure Ronald Reagan beat Carter in the US election. Their deal also had the effect of solidifying Ayatollah Khomeini’s position as the ruler of Iran and eliminating the pesky irritants of Bani-Sadr and secular democracy. (Pg. 221).
In short, the Reagan administration did not stand tall against Islamic fundamentalism, they enabled it with treasonous negotiations by private citizens in order to gain power. Encouraged by their success they went on to try again but were caught leading to the Iran Contra hearings. Since Ronald Reagan was not implicated in either affair—the architect was William Casey in both cases, though George Bush was also involved in the October Surprise—Republicans could still deify Reagan.
While I generally shy away from conspiracy theories, the events of the October Surprise are far too obvious to ignore or deny. There are too many deathbed confessions. Too many documents have been uncovered and are slowly seeing the light of day. While Reagan may have ultimately been in the dark, the hands of his coterie are soiled. The Reagan Revolution’s foundation is based on treason. That the Republican party remains both emboldened and treasonous is far too obvious to Americans who still have the ability to critically reason. All that has changed is that the uber-competent nebulous architects of plans that ultimately destabilized the world are long dead, replaced—in the USA-- by incompetent opportunist sycophants hungry for power, propping up an unstable fascist. The Republican party denigrates the “Deep State” but benefits from it repeatedly. They prolong problems like a porous border in order to make an incumbent look weak. Republicans are utter fucking scumbags.
-------
*My review does not broach the dubious morality of using US hostages as pawns and increasing their isolation and confinement by months. As a retired mariner, those things happen. What’s an extra few months?
** There is also no space in this review to adequately address Henry Kissinger and Nixon sabotaging the Vietnam peace accords shortly before the 1968 election, an affair well documented and mentioned often by Unger: the Anna Chennault Affair. In sum, two Republican Presidents, Nixon and Reagan, were aided by operatives who engaged in treasonous behavior in order to win their elections. The entire façade of the current Republican party--in my lifetime--is built on treason.
I was just a high school sophomore when Reagan was elected, and the hostages released virtually simultaneously with his inauguration. Still naïve, I wondered why more Americans were not questioning this odd synchronicity. The mantra around my neighborhood was that Carter was “weak” and that the Iranians were terrified of Reagan. The deification of Reagan had already begun. Not even the Iran Contra scandals during the waning years of his administration could quell the ascendancy of Saint Ronald. I kept my long-held—and ultimately correct—suspicions largely to myself and ignored the revelations and “discredited” accusations when they first appeared in the early 90’s. Author Craig Unger has been obsessed with this project since the late 80’s, often shelving it to work on other books.
The U.S.A. is now a critical juncture of post-Truth with one party manifesting itself as utterly corrupt and dangerous. I chose to revisit the events leading up to the 1980 October Surprise, which was really not a surprise; it was a non-event because Republicans were working behind the scenes to sabotage President Jimmy Carter’s efforts to release the US hostages.* In sum, William Casey—who would end up heading the CIA under Reagan—hatched a plot to sell arms to Iran through Israel in exchange for the hostages being released only after Reagan was in power. This arms for something tangible scenario is eerily similar to the one which was uncovered late in Reagan’s presidency, the Iran Contra scandal. Well, it did work once. . .
As with our current “post truth” era, an examination of actual facts leads to the conclusion that Republicans are generally guilty of what they accuse others of. In the case of the hostages, Republican operatives—the “deep State” if you have to use that term—detested Reagan and wanted a return of Republican control. They sabotaged Carter’s negotiations by covertly meeting with Iranians representing the Ayatollah who was desperate for arms to fend off an imminent Iraqi invasion. Thus, Republicans--who purport to stand up against Islamic fundamentalism--were actually arming them in order to make the incumbent President look weak and unable to stand up to Islamic fundamentalism. They succeeded with such smashing success that they tried a similar move with Iran Contra and were caught. They’ve spent decades since trying to convince American’s—with ease that boggles the mind--that they were guilty of neither.
Sometimes you had to get your hands dirty, and that was for so long as no one found out. Keeping it secret was one of the defining aspects of American power in the twentieth century. The bottom line was that no one could ever know. (Unger, page 207).
One can certainly criticize Carter for not being sufficiently Machiavellian. I doubt he ever read The Prince. He was far too guided by religious principles to lead a nation of utterly dubious morality. Thus, he was foiled by Republican Machiavellians still fretting over Nixon being caught red-handed**--who thoroughly understood the concept of realpolitik. And here is the realpolitik:
So just five months into Bani-Sadr’s tenure as the president, it was becoming clear that as a covert operation, the October Surprise was a twofer: Both Carter and Bani-Sadr were being undermined from within. In effect, team Casey in the United States and the Islamic Republican Party were working together to make sure Ronald Reagan beat Carter in the US election. Their deal also had the effect of solidifying Ayatollah Khomeini’s position as the ruler of Iran and eliminating the pesky irritants of Bani-Sadr and secular democracy. (Pg. 221).
In short, the Reagan administration did not stand tall against Islamic fundamentalism, they enabled it with treasonous negotiations by private citizens in order to gain power. Encouraged by their success they went on to try again but were caught leading to the Iran Contra hearings. Since Ronald Reagan was not implicated in either affair—the architect was William Casey in both cases, though George Bush was also involved in the October Surprise—Republicans could still deify Reagan.
While I generally shy away from conspiracy theories, the events of the October Surprise are far too obvious to ignore or deny. There are too many deathbed confessions. Too many documents have been uncovered and are slowly seeing the light of day. While Reagan may have ultimately been in the dark, the hands of his coterie are soiled. The Reagan Revolution’s foundation is based on treason. That the Republican party remains both emboldened and treasonous is far too obvious to Americans who still have the ability to critically reason. All that has changed is that the uber-competent nebulous architects of plans that ultimately destabilized the world are long dead, replaced—in the USA-- by incompetent opportunist sycophants hungry for power, propping up an unstable fascist. The Republican party denigrates the “Deep State” but benefits from it repeatedly. They prolong problems like a porous border in order to make an incumbent look weak. Republicans are utter fucking scumbags.
-------
*My review does not broach the dubious morality of using US hostages as pawns and increasing their isolation and confinement by months. As a retired mariner, those things happen. What’s an extra few months?
** There is also no space in this review to adequately address Henry Kissinger and Nixon sabotaging the Vietnam peace accords shortly before the 1968 election, an affair well documented and mentioned often by Unger: the Anna Chennault Affair. In sum, two Republican Presidents, Nixon and Reagan, were aided by operatives who engaged in treasonous behavior in order to win their elections. The entire façade of the current Republican party--in my lifetime--is built on treason.
February 2, 2025
The author proves Bill Casey’s October Surprise is real and stained Carter’s legacy. While the book was hard to follow, the author comes with recipes and links all involved parties together. The author additionally provides thoughts on access journalism, how the story was perceived at the time, and further insight into why it took so long to get to the bottom of it.
September 4, 2025
Listened on Audible
A jaw-dropping account of the chicanery behind Reagan's 1980 election, with receipts. Ever wondered why the hostages were released within hours of inauguration? A careful and persistent journalist, Unger combines his own years of interviews and legwork with recently declassified documents to expose the truth.
A jaw-dropping account of the chicanery behind Reagan's 1980 election, with receipts. Ever wondered why the hostages were released within hours of inauguration? A careful and persistent journalist, Unger combines his own years of interviews and legwork with recently declassified documents to expose the truth.
November 9, 2024
A very professional update of the October Surprise story. I wrote an earlier version that was published in the early 1990s, and my research features frequently here, esp Ch. 2.
December 28, 2024
A lot of interesting facts but really imo not tied together well.
December 30, 2024
Not the easiest read but way illuminating.
January 3, 2025
Broken record but Reagan was a conniving asshole and he shouldn't be venerated but we live in a society so
February 7, 2025
This is a very relevant book, as Unger's epilogue will show. There's a direct line from the lies then to the disaster unfolding now.
February 9, 2025
This book could have been done differently, and be more in. What happens writers itself, but how he makes it out got a bit boring. Overall it really makes you think about how politics goes.
February 15, 2025
Very interesting book. Hard to follow and read though.
May 29, 2025
Conservative Republicans dance with Islamic fundamentalists with the shared goal of defeating Jimmy Carter.
March 27, 2025
I’m always one to dive into real conspiracies and espionage. I had heard about the events detailed in this book only at a high level. The author has taken his own interviews and the documents of other journalists and put together a compelling story of what took place.
Essentially what Reagan’s campaign did was treason, negotiating with Iran to hold the hostages until after the election of 1980. ie treason of the highest level just to get elected. They were willing to work with the enemy and the lives of US citizens to further their goals. Through numerous interviews and extensive first source documents, what transpired is written here.
When reading about the conspiracy, it reminded me of what Nixon did to get elected in 1968. It has been proven, via first sources, that Nixon used his influence to derail the Vietnam peace talks. The author does link the two events together, as Bill Casey learned it from Nixon & had met with Anna Chennault, per his own papers. In both cases, the Democrates were playing Go Fish and the Republicans poker with cards hidden up their sleeves.
When the Democrates investigated both the October Surprise & Iran/Contra, they were also outclassed. Hamilton was so in over his head, he couldn’t accept that Americans would actually do what they were accused of doing.
page 164:
Ultimately, Bani-Sadr told me, Hamilton found the story so chilling that he didn’t know what to do. “It would be very dangerous if we accept such a thing,” Hamilton told Bani-Sadr. “If we say such a thing happened, that means the last three presidential elections were not legitimate. The cost of accepting that is too heavy.”
“Yes,” replied Bani-Sadr. “But the price is much heavier if you don’t tell the truth to Americans. Then, you really endanger democracy.”
That is it in a nutshell. Its so explosive, that the investigators were worried about the blowback. But at the same time, by letting it slide, it simply encouraged more efforts in the future. Instead of proving Reagan & Bush should have been impeached & imprisoned for treason, that those administrations were doing illegal deals, they were not held accountable.
It shows that USA history is rife with real conspiracies, with leaders who only care about power, not the people they govern. The book also shows how stories are spiked or distorted by editors at major news outlets to satisfy the demands of an administration to hide the truth. Only by knowing our history can we understand ourselves and do better to hold those committing treason accountable for their actions.
Essentially what Reagan’s campaign did was treason, negotiating with Iran to hold the hostages until after the election of 1980. ie treason of the highest level just to get elected. They were willing to work with the enemy and the lives of US citizens to further their goals. Through numerous interviews and extensive first source documents, what transpired is written here.
When reading about the conspiracy, it reminded me of what Nixon did to get elected in 1968. It has been proven, via first sources, that Nixon used his influence to derail the Vietnam peace talks. The author does link the two events together, as Bill Casey learned it from Nixon & had met with Anna Chennault, per his own papers. In both cases, the Democrates were playing Go Fish and the Republicans poker with cards hidden up their sleeves.
When the Democrates investigated both the October Surprise & Iran/Contra, they were also outclassed. Hamilton was so in over his head, he couldn’t accept that Americans would actually do what they were accused of doing.
page 164:
Ultimately, Bani-Sadr told me, Hamilton found the story so chilling that he didn’t know what to do. “It would be very dangerous if we accept such a thing,” Hamilton told Bani-Sadr. “If we say such a thing happened, that means the last three presidential elections were not legitimate. The cost of accepting that is too heavy.”
“Yes,” replied Bani-Sadr. “But the price is much heavier if you don’t tell the truth to Americans. Then, you really endanger democracy.”
That is it in a nutshell. Its so explosive, that the investigators were worried about the blowback. But at the same time, by letting it slide, it simply encouraged more efforts in the future. Instead of proving Reagan & Bush should have been impeached & imprisoned for treason, that those administrations were doing illegal deals, they were not held accountable.
It shows that USA history is rife with real conspiracies, with leaders who only care about power, not the people they govern. The book also shows how stories are spiked or distorted by editors at major news outlets to satisfy the demands of an administration to hide the truth. Only by knowing our history can we understand ourselves and do better to hold those committing treason accountable for their actions.
December 30, 2024
Jimmy Carter died today (Dec. 29 2024), the same day that I'm finishing Craig Unger's thoroughly-researched book on Ron Reagan and Bill Casey (mumbler extraordinaire who influenced global events to varying degrees over a +40 year career in public and private spaces) machinations to use the Iran hostage crisis to skew the outcome of the 1980 presidential election.
I'm not sharp enough on the conditions of the 1980 election to have a confident point of view on the if and how Carter freeing the 52 hostages from Iran may have changed the outcome of the election, but Unger is sharp enough. He cites polls and first person accounts to point out it likely could've influenced the outcome but given that Reagan won 489 electoral votes to Carter's paltry 49 (holy shit that's a landslide), I'm not sure much could've saved Carter.
That said, Unger's case that Casey orchestrated a delay in releasing the hostages in order to improve Reagan's chance of winning the election is close to air tight even if it took him nearly 40 years to build the case.
Somehow though, it just doesn't seem that there's a will beyond Unger and a handful of other indefatigable investigative reporters and politicos, to actually give a damn. There was a House committee, countless journalistic accounts, TV news segments, etc on the topic and despite the presence of evidence connecting the dots, people in positions of power (Newsweek editors, Rep (Dem) Lee Hamilton who chaired the special committee to look into the "October Surprise) consistently exhibited a lack of fortitude to do their duty.
Unger comes with receipts, copious amounts, and while the cast of characters is long enough to warrant an entire Cast of Characters section, the narrative keeps out of the weeds for the most part. At times, the amount of detail required to make the point does bog down, but those times are few and far between. The story moves in and out of decades with hundreds of notes for the reader interested in pursuing a thread further.
I picked this up on a whim from my local library (shout out Franklin Library) and while it was interesting, unless someone is familiar with the October Surprise or one of its many characters, I'm not sure it'd recommend it to the uninitiated.
I'm not sharp enough on the conditions of the 1980 election to have a confident point of view on the if and how Carter freeing the 52 hostages from Iran may have changed the outcome of the election, but Unger is sharp enough. He cites polls and first person accounts to point out it likely could've influenced the outcome but given that Reagan won 489 electoral votes to Carter's paltry 49 (holy shit that's a landslide), I'm not sure much could've saved Carter.
That said, Unger's case that Casey orchestrated a delay in releasing the hostages in order to improve Reagan's chance of winning the election is close to air tight even if it took him nearly 40 years to build the case.
Somehow though, it just doesn't seem that there's a will beyond Unger and a handful of other indefatigable investigative reporters and politicos, to actually give a damn. There was a House committee, countless journalistic accounts, TV news segments, etc on the topic and despite the presence of evidence connecting the dots, people in positions of power (Newsweek editors, Rep (Dem) Lee Hamilton who chaired the special committee to look into the "October Surprise) consistently exhibited a lack of fortitude to do their duty.
Unger comes with receipts, copious amounts, and while the cast of characters is long enough to warrant an entire Cast of Characters section, the narrative keeps out of the weeds for the most part. At times, the amount of detail required to make the point does bog down, but those times are few and far between. The story moves in and out of decades with hundreds of notes for the reader interested in pursuing a thread further.
I picked this up on a whim from my local library (shout out Franklin Library) and while it was interesting, unless someone is familiar with the October Surprise or one of its many characters, I'm not sure it'd recommend it to the uninitiated.
October 13, 2025
Highly Recommend - This is an excellent example of the underbelly of our political system and expose of those who operate in the fringes and shadows without viable public scrutiny by or accountability to our elected Congressional delegates, the American press or voters. The author pursued his investigative reporting off and on over the course of nearly 40 years, uncovering documents and files overlooked with apparent intent by two Congressional committees, and connecting leads and information developed by other reporters who ran either into brick walls or out of time. It is a story of espionage by one political party in the US against another and clear acts of what most people would call treason. It is also just a recent example of how our governmental system fails to hold elected politicians and their unelected lieutenants accountable. Buy the time all the documents, people and events were connected to reveal what actually happened, most of the original participants had passed away. Some will say, 'it's over, why resurrect stuff that's long forgotten.' The issue is that this cycle is as old as this country and has led to the "whitewashing" of our history and the belief that people in power can get away with anything and not pay the price called for in our body of law - consider the Civil War and reconstruction, "Jim Crow", clearly identified collusion and support of Naziism by some Congressmen up to and during WWII, McCarthyism, etc. Some of the actors in this scenario were also involved in planning and executing the Watergate break-in. It leads to questioning the legitimacy of the presidency from 1980 to 1992 and all political and governmental activity put in motion during those 12 years. The lack of accountability here is an example of what causes the frustration in voters, what another author has called the "elongated reason cycle", and the current political polarization. As a counter-example, consider post WWII Germany and how they, and the rest of the world, have handled the history of Nazism. It also sets the stage for the authoritarianism we are now seeing in 2025.
April 3, 2025
"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." I remember as the kidnapped Americans landed on U.S. soil that I thought the timing after the election of Reagan was somehow suspicious... I, of course, had no facts to back up my suspicions. Craig Unger does an excellent job of explaining how treason on the part of the CIA, Israel and certain Republicans stole the election from Jimmy Carter. In fact he almost does his job too well, as you need a score card and timeline to follow all the people in the plot. I found it disturbing that Begin and the Israelis would help to arm Iran in order to time the release of the embassy hostages. Despite the fact that Carter negotiated the treaty where the main features were mutual recognition, cessation of the state of war that had existed since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, normalization of relations and the withdrawal by Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had captured during the Six-Day War in 1967. One of the reasons that Israel was willing to arm Iran was resentment over the loss of the Sinai. I do not think that Reagan was in anyway sophisticated enough to create or perhaps even understand all the machinations that got him elected. He was not, however, averse to efforts to engineer his election. It is sad for me, and perhaps I should have known all along, to realize that American elections were not free of espionage and treason for many years. I recommend the book. Kristi & Abby Tabby Childless Cat Lady
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2024
Unger's argument is that Reagan/Bush campaign undermined Carter's negotiations to free hostages before 1980 election. Doing this as private citizens is an act of treason. The main driver of this is William Casey. His evidence is overwhelming when it comes to Casey's involvement, very strong with Bush, Reagan himself does not seem to have been a player. Not surprising in the Bush--as former CIA director--would have the connections.
In order to prove this complicated conspiracy, Unger goes deep into the weeds. His doggedness is remarkable. Without reporters like him we'd never know. The book tries to dot as many i's as it can, so the detail is more than a general reader like me needs (or wants), but it's clear he is writing for history, not for today. In 100 years, if someone wants to know what happened, this book has all the characters laid out. Some unusual "villains" also. New Republic and Newsweek were quick to ridicule the possibility of Republicans cutting a deal with Iran. New Republic article was written by (unknown to them) an operative of Republican politics. This was during the New Republic's ne0-con days. 30 years later, New Republic apologized.
Well worth reading.
In order to prove this complicated conspiracy, Unger goes deep into the weeds. His doggedness is remarkable. Without reporters like him we'd never know. The book tries to dot as many i's as it can, so the detail is more than a general reader like me needs (or wants), but it's clear he is writing for history, not for today. In 100 years, if someone wants to know what happened, this book has all the characters laid out. Some unusual "villains" also. New Republic and Newsweek were quick to ridicule the possibility of Republicans cutting a deal with Iran. New Republic article was written by (unknown to them) an operative of Republican politics. This was during the New Republic's ne0-con days. 30 years later, New Republic apologized.
Well worth reading.
January 27, 2026
In a well researched and clearly written book, journalist author lays out the facts for the original "October Surprise" that got Reagan elected and damned the country to the path we are living today. For those of us who remember Jimmy Carter's loss and the inauguration of Ronald Reagan and we all thought it was a little fishy that he was sharing the split screen with the hostages being released by Iran, this book will tell you why you weren't crazy if you suspected the Reagan camp had cut a deal in the back channels. This book is far less about Reagan per se than it is about Bill Casey and his guile and will as the Director of Central Intelligence. Reagan was a useful idiot straight out of Central Casting: Bill Casey was the superspy who infiltrated the Nazi's in Germany and rose to the pinnacle of spy-craft and power. And for all those of you who thought Georgr HW Bush was "a nice man", think again and try to remember that he was once head of the CIA. The Democrats don't get a pass here - they were naive and inept. But damn, this explains a whole lot about the path that led to MAGA.
52BookClub 2026 Challenge
Prompt #5: Involves a conspiracy
52BookClub 2026 Challenge
Prompt #5: Involves a conspiracy
March 6, 2025
I was excited to read Den of Spies. The Cold War, high-stakes political intrigue, and covert operations are exactly the kind of history that captivates me. With such a complex and compelling subject, I expected a tightly woven, well-structured narrative.
Instead, what I got felt less like a historical deep dive and more like a book about the author writing a book. Craig Unger inserts himself into the story so frequently that it overshadows the actual events. Rather than uncovering a gripping political thriller, I found myself sifting through Unger’s personal reflections, his challenges, and his thought process. Unfortunately, that was not what I came for.
Beneath the self-indulgence, there is meaningful content—but you have to work for it. If you can get past Unger’s tendency to center himself, there are valuable insights and revelations. However, if you were hoping for a sharp, focused account of a critical moment in late 20th-century politics, be prepared for frustration.
2/5 stars—a fascinating subject weighed down by too much Unger and not enough history.
Instead, what I got felt less like a historical deep dive and more like a book about the author writing a book. Craig Unger inserts himself into the story so frequently that it overshadows the actual events. Rather than uncovering a gripping political thriller, I found myself sifting through Unger’s personal reflections, his challenges, and his thought process. Unfortunately, that was not what I came for.
Beneath the self-indulgence, there is meaningful content—but you have to work for it. If you can get past Unger’s tendency to center himself, there are valuable insights and revelations. However, if you were hoping for a sharp, focused account of a critical moment in late 20th-century politics, be prepared for frustration.
2/5 stars—a fascinating subject weighed down by too much Unger and not enough history.
October 7, 2024
Author/reporter Craig Unger fills in the blanks of the 1980s "October Surprise" that catapulted The Deified Reagan into the White House. Even back then it was apparent that the Republicans had engineered something to embarrass President Jimmy Carter leading up to the presidential election and the denouement of the Iran hostage crisis. Unger cites the investigative reporting of the late Robert Parry, whose Consortium News was a favorite alternative to the mainstream media for me, until it seemingly took Putin's side in the lead up to the Russian military's Ukrainian incursion.
This book also delineates the collusion between the Republican Party and the so-called "liberal" media. Even the most casual reader of recent history has to question why leading newspapers and news magazines, especially the Katherine Graham-owned Washington Post and Newsweek, discredited and buried new revelations of Reagan's 1980 October Surprise and Iran-Contra in the early 1990s.
This book also delineates the collusion between the Republican Party and the so-called "liberal" media. Even the most casual reader of recent history has to question why leading newspapers and news magazines, especially the Katherine Graham-owned Washington Post and Newsweek, discredited and buried new revelations of Reagan's 1980 October Surprise and Iran-Contra in the early 1990s.
July 2, 2025
Craig Unger's "Den of Spies" is an eye-opening deep dive into a political scandal I didn’t fully understand until now,the infamous “October Surprise.” Unger peels back decades of secrecy to expose how election year deals, partisan ambitions, and backdoor diplomacy may have changed the course of history. I went in with no background on the issue, but the investigative storytelling made it both accessible and chilling.
What’s most unsettling is how the consequences still echo today, from judicial appointments to foreign entanglements. The idea that American hostages may have been deliberately kept in harm’s way for political gain is infuriating, and the fact that weapons ended up in sanctioned hands only adds to the moral fallout. Unger doesn’t hold back, and while some conclusions may be debated, the weight of evidence he presents makes a compelling case.
What’s most unsettling is how the consequences still echo today, from judicial appointments to foreign entanglements. The idea that American hostages may have been deliberately kept in harm’s way for political gain is infuriating, and the fact that weapons ended up in sanctioned hands only adds to the moral fallout. Unger doesn’t hold back, and while some conclusions may be debated, the weight of evidence he presents makes a compelling case.
February 27, 2025
The writing, on a technical level is fine. I see some Reaganites trying to defend his historic election, who seem to have completely missed the point or didn't actually finish the book, but that is indeed the goal of brainwashing anyhow. I do think Carter wasn't quite the paragon the book makes him out to be, but his election was obviously sabotaged. It's nothing new for any election in American history, but is treated in a bizarre duality that is simultaneously the biggest fraud in election history and business as usual. Overall it's not a bad read, but will sound like yet another drop in the bucket for those familiar with the dark side of cold war political maneuvering.
August 20, 2025
I'm conflicted about this book because the information is so important and it's so thoroughly researched and presented... but it's boring. First let me say if you're looking for a spy craft book you're not getting it. You're getting an investigative journalism book. Secondly, Unger is so committed to not having anything he says misconstrued that each fact and how he got them takes pages and pages of justification and explanation. I left this book completely convinced but also with my eyes glossed over.
October 10, 2024
You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.
Thank you, Mariner Books and William Morrow Group, for providing this book for review consideration in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book will be released on October 1, 2024.
Mr. Book just finished Den Of Spies: Reagan, Carter And The Secret History Of The Treason That Stole The White House, by Craig Unger.
This was an excellent look at how the Reagan campaign team, led by William Casey, orchestrated the October Surprise that sabotaged Carter’s efforts to release the hostages and keep them in Iran until Reagan’s inauguration in order to guarantee his victory. As the book shows, until the final days of the campaign, the polls showed the race was too close to call and the release of the hostages would have led to a Carter reelection.
The first part of the book shows the extent of the coverup and the sabotaging of the reporting of the story. The final few chapters contain explosive smoking guns, including the fact that FBI wiretaps prove Casey’s conversations with the Iranians discussing holding the hostages in exchange for weapons, both immediately (via Israel) and later once Reagan was in office.
1980 was the second of the three elections in the past 60 years that Republican candidates have resorted to treasonous actions to win. The book also discusses Nixon’s sabotage of the 1968 peace talks in order to win the presidency and then briefly mentions Trump’s help from the Russians in 2016.
This is the sixth book of Unger’s that I have read. I previously gave House Of Trump, House Of Putin an A+ and gave both Boss Rove and American Kompromat A’s. I also read both House Of Bush, House Of Saud and Fall Of The House Of Bush, but don’t have recorded grades since that was prior to the time I started recording grades. I will be adding each of these to my very long reading list, so I will be able to post reviews here.
I give this book an A+, which means it is immediately inducted into the Hall of Fame. Goodreads require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on September 19, 2024.
Thank you, Mariner Books and William Morrow Group, for providing this book for review consideration in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book will be released on October 1, 2024.
Mr. Book just finished Den Of Spies: Reagan, Carter And The Secret History Of The Treason That Stole The White House, by Craig Unger.
This was an excellent look at how the Reagan campaign team, led by William Casey, orchestrated the October Surprise that sabotaged Carter’s efforts to release the hostages and keep them in Iran until Reagan’s inauguration in order to guarantee his victory. As the book shows, until the final days of the campaign, the polls showed the race was too close to call and the release of the hostages would have led to a Carter reelection.
The first part of the book shows the extent of the coverup and the sabotaging of the reporting of the story. The final few chapters contain explosive smoking guns, including the fact that FBI wiretaps prove Casey’s conversations with the Iranians discussing holding the hostages in exchange for weapons, both immediately (via Israel) and later once Reagan was in office.
1980 was the second of the three elections in the past 60 years that Republican candidates have resorted to treasonous actions to win. The book also discusses Nixon’s sabotage of the 1968 peace talks in order to win the presidency and then briefly mentions Trump’s help from the Russians in 2016.
This is the sixth book of Unger’s that I have read. I previously gave House Of Trump, House Of Putin an A+ and gave both Boss Rove and American Kompromat A’s. I also read both House Of Bush, House Of Saud and Fall Of The House Of Bush, but don’t have recorded grades since that was prior to the time I started recording grades. I will be adding each of these to my very long reading list, so I will be able to post reviews here.
I give this book an A+, which means it is immediately inducted into the Hall of Fame. Goodreads require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on September 19, 2024.
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December 10, 2024A complicated story of political intrigue, dirty tricks, and grabbing for power. Surprise, surprise it has been done by the Republican party for the past 50 years to grab the reins of power and secure the presidency by the Republican candidate. Some will say so what, that's history. But it is history that continues to influence our politics and lives today. Ungers epilogue sums up why it is important to acknowledge the truth and tell it to every generation.
February 10, 2026
While an interesting and important topic regarding the 1980 election and the secret foreign policy that occured. It is written in a way that can come off as convulted and confusing. It also felt more of a personal journey of the author and his pursuit of the truth rather than fully letting some of the truth to speak for itself. I found it alright but missed some aspects to really knock it out of the park.
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