Off the Radar: A Father's Secret, a Mother's Heroism, and a Son's Quest

by Cyrus Copeland

A spy story, a mystery, a father-son heartbreaker: Cyrus Copeland seeks the truth about his father, an American executive arrested in Iran for spying at the time of the 1979 hostage crisis, then put on trial for his life in a Revolutionary Court.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Book Club, Middle East, Iran, Biography

368 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2015

Reviews

[ambyr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Years ago, my father wrote a memoir about his parents as a gift to me. It recounts all the family legends and tales, some verifiable, some not, and some flatly untrue. (My grandfather liked to tell stories about his war service; he probably did serve in the Russian Army, but a quick look at a map and a chronology of WWII makes it clear that absent access to a time machine he could not possibly have personally fought in all the battles he recounted.) It's a precious document to me personally . . . but it's not a publishable document. It's not sourced or fact-checked, and it contains a lot of detail that would be tedious to anyone outside the family.

Copeland has written a similar memoir here, and I'm sure it's very meaningful to him. Unfortunately, I am not him or his relatives, and I found this painful and exasperating to read. Memoir always walks a blurry line between fact and fiction; this jumps headlong into fiction land, with page after page of reconstructed dialogue and internal monologue from the perspective of people dead before Copeland began this project. (Toward the very end we do learn that Copeland had access to some of his father's diaries and correspondence . . . but there is no indication that any of this material is a direct quote or even paraphrase, or in fact any mention of what years these diaries and correspondence cover.) The sections recounting his father and mother's exploits reads like a bad thriller, with movie-style breezy one-liners and cliche piled on cliche.

Other sections, recollecting his own childhood in Iran and Philadelphia, are more successful. If this were a longform magazine article about growing up as a child of two cultures and the impossibility of ever really knowing our parents, I think it would be worth reading. Unfortunately, it's not. It's an attempt to tell a story that can't be verified but that Copeland runs full steam ahead into asserting is true anyway.

[Sean Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery and quest for truth in a far off beautiful land that doesn’t have a happy ending but you know that from the beginning. Grab this book and you won’t put it down.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, excellent, excellent. One of the best memoirs I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Brilliantly written and easily read, I devoured every page of Cyrus M. Copeland’s personal adventure. Copeland combines his memories of his 15-year-old self in revolutionary Iran with his present day search to know and understand who is father really was. While we follow Copeland as he tries to put together all the pieces and attempts to reveal the truth about his father’s arrest, we also discover his mother’s heroic quest to save her husband and keep her family whole.

Told in three distinct voices, this story transcends the question of whether Max was a CIA agent by allowing us into the Copeland’s lives in such an intimate way that we feel part of the family—as if we’re going through the same struggle—asking the same questions. With rich detail expertly woven throughout, this vivid recollection let’s us experience not only the time and place—Iran in 1979, but also the feel of those terrifying days during the hostage crisis.

A great read and a terrific story—I highly recommended this book.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth five stars! I couldn't put it down once I started it! Cyrus Copeland recounted his life in Iran during the hostage crisis, which I remember well. His perspective was fascinating regarding the historical events between Iran and the U.S.A., as well as his search to know his father, and whether or not his dad was in the CIA. Current, and informative, giving the reader a taste of his duel heritage. I highly recommend this book!

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book after coming across it randomly on vacation. It was out on one of the recommended shelves and the cover caught my eye. As I age, I find history more and more fascinating and when it is told in the format of a personal story it is incredibly engaging. Cyrus Copeland does a wonderful job telling his story, taking you along with him on his journey and educating you about Iran, America, revolution and the ways we fit in the world along the way.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story of a son's search to learn more about his father and whether his father was CIA. I won't ruin anything but will just say it was interesting taking this journey with the author that led him to at least appreciate his father more than he had. He used an interesting structure for a memoir, where he told the story from the viewpoints of his child self, his current self, his mother and his father. It was a very effective way to tell this story.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story vividly told. It is a memoir of the author's family's experience when his (American) father was accused of being a spy in Iran at the dawn of the revolution in the late 1970s. It is also the story of his remarkable (Iranian) mother's efforts to save her husband and get him out of Iran. The third alternating part of the story is the author's quest to find out as much about what happened as he could.

[Sabeeha Rehman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was riveted. This book should be required reading for summer, fall, and spring. And specially the winter, when we feel cold and forlorn. Son of an American father, Iranian mother, who lived in Iran during the revolution, where the father was arrested for espionage, and convicted. Was he indeed a CIA agent? I won't give it away. It is touching, and beautifully written.

[Mojgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Off The Radar, re-lived some historical and factual events as well as a family's life under the radar! A five star for me.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read about Iran pre and post Revolution

[Brumaire Bodbyl-Mast · Rating 5 out of 5]

An rather enlightening biography/investigation into the author, Cyrus Copeland’s father and an exploration of his life as a half-Iranian/half-American in the 70s and 80s, though with greater focus given to the investigation. He seeks to see as to whether his American father was involved with the CIA, since his involvement in the smuggling of radar equipment seems to suggest some sort of deeper intelligence connection. The chapters are divided in focus between himself, his father and his mother, and the style is slightly different between each. The chapters on himself are mostly regarding his contemporary research on his father’s life, and prove an interesting addition to the rest of the narrative of his family. Copeland portrays his father as an incredibly stoic man, though with a deeper interior, including his possible affiliation with the CIA. His mother is also an incredibly interesting character- a devoutly Shahist Iranian, (but also an unflinching nationalist, preferring Mossadegh over the Alternative of British rule) and also a feminist, willing even to stand up to the Islamic republic in defense of her husband. I am not by any means pro-Shah, and the epilogue shows Copeland’s willingness to hear out the possibility that the Shah is not a necessarily component of Iranian identity, but it is very interesting to read the revolution from a more ostensibly Shahist perspective, compared with other accounts which have tended to be secular leftist opposition. The writing style is also fascinating, and very engaging to read, Cyrus holds a certain dry humor and his prose is full of wry observations about his life and the environment he was raised in. As well, there are deeper explorations of issues of fatherhood and mixed nationality, as well as brief hints at Copeland’s sexuality, the book proves rather valuable on multiple levels.

[Paul Brandel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Off The Radar, Copeland's memoir about growing-up in Iran and America. In Iran he felt as an American and when in America,he was proud to be Iranian. Cyrus wasn't close to his dad, Max. Later in the life he will go searching for his father. Was he a CIA spy,as the Iranian government accused him of being,or an innocent American caught at the height of the Iran Hostage crisis?!
Just as pivotal is his mother, Shahin, who would do anything to get her husband out of prison.
She's Iranian,but a modern or liberal woman. A real pleasure getting to know Max,Shahin,Cyrus
and Cyrus' sister,Katayoun.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book club selection for June, 2017.

I particularly enjoy books that teach the reader a differing point of view. This one fit the bill nicely, as it told the story of Iran and the time period of the Shah's downfall/hostage crisis, from the perspective of the author's mother, an Iranian native as well as his own, an American born "half-breed"--as he put it--"I am one half Great Satan and one half Axis of Evil."

The CIA and its involvement in Iran and other places makes for fascinating reading as well.

Recommended.

[Sheila Pace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title isn't great but loved this book.
This is a memoir & mystery; as an adult son tells the story of finding out about his father, who was accused of being a CIA operative in Tehran, Iran during the Iran hostage crisis and during the time of the regime change from the Shah to the Ayatollah.
I learned a lot about Iran, Persian culture and this guys mother was a force to behold. Worthwhile read, for sure.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was more like a 3.5 but I decided to round up for some reason. I like the overall concept of the book and the narrative was intriguing. The mom was a great character and the Dad grew on me. I had some issues following the story because there was rarely dates and the chapters were not remotely chronological. Also random names were thrown in and I kept having to backtrack to figure out who they were. I enjoyed it but not sure I would actively recommend to others.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked the concept and the author was a decent story teller. The chapters on him mom were very interesting. And I liked the authors examination of his feelings towards his father. That being said, parts of the book moved very slowly and I felt like the author never provided clear answers or closure.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The son of a man imprisoned after the 1971 Iran coup, where the Shah was forced to leave the country, tells the story of his father who was an American married to a Iranian woman and living in Iran. Cyrus Copeland searches records and interviews people, trying to find out if his father was in the CIA at the time.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was only 14 during the Iran Hostages Crisis. This gave me a great insight of what was really going on, and if the author's father was a spy or not. A great story!

[Dori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reads like fiction. A fast paced, mystery, spy novel, but it's true!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of a grown son’s quest to discover the man his father really was.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed by this book which won the 2016 Chautauqua prize. The true story was interesting - the son of an American man and an Iranian woman pieces together clues to figure out, 35 years after the fact, if his late father, Max Copeland, was a CIA operative at the time of the 1979 revolution in Iran. His father was working for Westinghouse on a contract basis to ship boxes from the Westinghouse storehouse in Iran back to the US right around the time of the revolution and his father was arrested and tried for espionage in a revolutionary court. Most people were shot summarily after a revolutionary "trial" but the author's mother acted as her husband's lawyer and outfoxed the prosecutor. The author experienced great childhood trauma associated with their escape from Iran and due to his mixed heritage not really understanding where he fit in the world. This book tried to explore too many themes while telling the story. In the end, the author concludes his father was a CIA operative but that conclusion is anticlimactic because the author has lost his way in the book.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Chautauqua prize winner for 2016 so I wanted to read it before the season started. It was an interesting memoir about an American family (Mom Iranian) and their experiences as a result of the fall of the Shah and the accompanying rise of the Ayatollah in Iran. It shed light on the whole situation from a historical point of view and certainly made me sensitive to the plight of a country's citizenry when major political upheavals take place. The movie Argo takes on a whole new identity as does the CIA and Westinghouse...a child's understanding of his parent's life's work can be mysterious and unfathomable as the author finds out. I recommend it, but it's a rather specific topic that unless you have an interest in (or you're going to hear the author in CHQ) I'm not so sure you'd want to spend time reading when there's other "summer beach reads".

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author was actually in the shop in Chautauqua when I bought this book which has a lot to do with why I purchased it. I did not enjoy the writing style as much as others. The story was interesting and the telling from multiple points of view effective, but his prose style just isn't for me. Also the arc of the story was unsatisfyingly presented. I'm interested in several reviews that say none of this ever happened. Does this mean the hostages we heard so much about were a fabrication or that the biographies of Mr. Copeland's parents are untrue? This is not belligerence on my part. I am honestly interested. I would have no reason to doubt what was written and he is writing a memoir, not a nonfiction account of the period.

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cyrus Copeland's "Off the Radar: A Father's Secret, a Mother's Heroism, and a Son's Quest" is a story about a seldom explored chapter in history - revolutionary-era Iran. Copeland seeks to uncover the truth about his father, an American Westinghouse executive arrested in Iran for allegedly spying at the time of the 1979 hostage crisis.
Interesting and well-written, it is a must read for those who want to learn more about the late 1970's, revolutionary-era Iran, the hostage crisis and the Iranian-American experience. My copy of this book was won from Goodreads First Reads.

[Snidely · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a book you're sure to enjoy. A very engrossing tale told expertly with just enough humor and irony to lighten otherwise heavy elements of the story. Copeland's mother, whose co-starring role is central to the story, is depicted as an unbelievably clever and brave woman functioning in a culture where most womens' public rights had been removed by the revolution.

It ended too soon, but I enjoyed it immensely.

[Marianne Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid 3 1/2, a fascinating story. It begins with him as an adult trying to discover if his father was in the CIA, would that explain why he had such a horrible time getting out of Iran in 1979. As always, it is a puzzle he pieces together, in the meantime his brilliant mother's bravery is amazing. This is a great story and one that isn't entirely solved but he comes close. His memories of growing up in Iran are quite beautiful at times.

[Marija · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wrote a pretty long review in which I pointed out why this book is non-sense, but then, right before I hit save, my Internet connection went off, and I lost the review.
I will not rewrite it, because this book does not deserve that much of my attention. I already regret all the time I spent reading it, thinking about it, writing two reviews.
It is supposed to be a true story, but sounds like a fiction, a bad fiction, a horrible fiction with way too many surrealistic events.

[Barbara]

I heard Cyrus Copeland speak on NPR and his story caught my attention. I did enjoy reading his story, learning about Iran and it's history. When I finished reading the book I felt like I was missing part of the story.

[Honey Jimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through good reads giveaways.

[Brenda Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read and a terrific and easy to read story. I received this book through Good Reads.