Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter and the Secret History of the Treason that Stole the White House

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Argo meets Spotlight, as New York Times bestselling author Craig Unger reveals his thirty-year investigation into the secret collusion between Ronald Reagans 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.

In April 1991, the New York Times ran an op-ed alleging that Ronald Reagans 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 Carters 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 operationplanned and executed by Reagans campaign manager Bill Caseyamounted to a shadow foreign policy run by private citizens that ensured Reagans victory.

Investigative journalist Craig Unger was one of the first reporters covering the October Surpriseinitially for Esquire and then Newsweekand 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. Now Unger finally reveals the definitive story 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 Trump-era political scandals, Den of Spies demonstrates the stakes of allowing the politics of the moment to obscure the writing of our history.

Author Bio

Craig Unger is the New York Times bestselling author of five books on the Republican Partys assault on democracy. The former editor in chief of Boston Magazine, he was also a contributing editor for Vanity Fair where he covered national security and foreign affairs. His work has appeared in many other publications including New York Magazine, The New Yorker, Esquire, The Guardian, The New York Times, Washington Post, and The New Republic. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.