The Siege

The Remarkable Story of the Greatest SAS Hostage Drama

Ben Macintyre

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Penguin Books Ltd
13 May 2025

British & Irish history; Military history; International relations; Terrorism, armed struggle; Special & elite forces

Britain's best-selling historian writes the first definitive account of the famous televised SAS storming of the Iranian embassy in London in 1980

On April 30, 1980, six heavily armed gunmen burst into the Iranian embassy on Princes Gate, overlooking Hyde Park in London. There they took 26 hostages, including embassy staff, visitors, and three British citizens. A tense six-day siege ensued as millions gathered around screens across the country to witness the longest news flash in British television history, in which police negotiators and psychiatrists sought a bloodless end to the standoff, while the SAS - hitherto an organisation shrouded in secrecy - laid plans for a daring rescue mission- Operation Nimrod.

Drawing on unpublished source material, exclusive interviews with the SAS, and testimony from witnesses including hostages, negotiators, intelligence officers and the on-site psychiatrist, bestselling historian Ben Macintyre takes readers on a gripping journey from the years and weeks of build-up on both sides, to the minute-by-minute account of the siege and rescue.

Recreating the dramatic conversations between negotiators and hostages, the cutting-edge intelligence work happening behind-the-scenes, and the media frenzy around this moment of international significance, The Siege is the remarkable story of what really happened on those fateful six days, and the first full account of a moment that forever changed the way the nation thought about the SAS - and itself.

By: Ben Macintyre
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 35mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9781405961745
ISBN 10: 1405961740
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 13 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Ben Macintyre is the multimillion-copy bestselling author of books including Colditz, Agent Sonya, SAS- Rogue Heroes, The Spy and the Traitor, Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends. He is a columnist and Associate Editor at The Times, and has worked as the newspaper's correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. Several of his books have been made into films and television series, including Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS- Rogue Heroes.

Reviews for The Siege: The Remarkable Story of the Greatest SAS Hostage Drama

Ben Macintyre has established himself as the pre-eminent historian of the secret world, his work opening doors most of us didn’t know were there. His books have set the gold standard for accurate historical reporting, but read like heart-pounding thrillers. * Mick Herron * Macintyre has a knack for finding the most fascinating storylines in history -- David Grann * author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon * Macintyre writes with the diligence and insight of a journalist, and the panache of a born storyteller. -- John Banville * The Guardian *