The Siege by Ben Macintyre – Hardcover
Step into the heart-pounding reality of one of history's most electrifying hostage crises, meticulously unravelled by master storyteller Ben Macintyre, the acclaimed author of Operation Mincemeat and The Spy and the Traitor. The Siege isn’t just a book—it’s a front-row seat to six days that changed the world.
In the spring of 1980, the unthinkable unfolded at the Iranian Embassy in London. Twenty-six hostages. Six armed gunmen. A city on edge. As the world watched in suspense, a quiet theatre outing for policeman Trevor Lock transformed into a battle for survival. Overpowered and imprisoned inside the embassy, Lock carried a hidden secret—a gun in his jacket—and a steely resolve that would redefine courage.
With tensions mounting, the fate of the hostages hung by a thread. Outside, Britain’s elite SAS forces meticulously prepared for a daring rescue, while political intrigue simmered beneath the surface, involving the infamous Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini. Inside the embassy, an extraordinary game of wits unfolded as captives and captors alike revealed their humanity and their limits.
Drawing from exclusive interviews and previously unseen files, Macintyre reconstructs every nail-biting moment with cinematic clarity. From the charged confrontations on Princes Gate to the explosive SAS raid that gripped a global audience, The Siege captures the bravery, fear, and resilience of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
This is more than a recount of a historical event—it's a pulse-quickening narrative of heroism and peril that echoes into the modern age. The Siege is an unmissable chronicle for fans of real-life espionage, dramatic rescues, and gripping true stories that define history.
The Siege by Ben Macintyre - Hardcover
Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (UK) and the bestselling author of Agent Sonya, The Spy and the Traitor, A Spy Among Friends, Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, Rogue Heroes, and Prisoners of the Castle, among other books. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.