The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World
[A] masterly account ... It has never been recounted so pleasurably as it has been here. In Macintyre’s telling, the gunmen are sympathetic and deceived, idealists ensnared in a dark world of Middle Eastern trickery ... Threaded with complex side characters and sharp subplots.
Read Full Review >>
Macintyre adds real value to our understanding of what occurred in those six days with his deeply humane and encyclopedic book. He is particularly compelling in the portraits he puts together of the dramatis personae ... Macintyre’s portrait of Towfiq Ibrahim al-Rashidi, the leader of the terrorists, is exquisite ... The most original parts of Mr. Macintyre’s book are those in which the author explores the relationships that emerge between the captors and their hostages.
Read Full Review >>
Gripping ... Macintyre’s latest is a cracking procedural ... One of the strengths of The Siege is its three-dimensional portraits of the terrorists. Macintyre offers crucial background that both explains their commitment to their cause and demonstrates their wrongheadedness ... Given that most of those involved were men, the story is at times marked by period chauvinism ... But he’s also a clear-eyed narrator and knows when to offer notes of mild reproach.
Read Full Review >>
