Edward Shirley served as an Iranian specialist in the CIA's Directorate of Operations. He has published articles in The Atlantic Monthly and Foreign Affairs. In order to protect himself and others, the author chose to have this book published under a pseudonym.
Developments in U.S.-Iranian relations since the overthrow of the pro-Western monarchy in 1979 have made it increasingly difficult for the two erstwhile allies to maintain a working relationship. Consequently, official American views of Iran are heavily influenced by misperceptions about the political and social forces operating in Iran today. This fascinating and entertaining book by a former member of the CIA's clandestine service is part travelog, part analysis of the dynamics of contemporary Iranian society. Shirley (a pseudonym) was smuggled into Iran by a native, and he here chronicles his clandestine journey, including his encounters and candid discussions with ordinary Iranians. The reader gets a different picture of Iranians than the distorted portrayals routinely found in the mass media and official pronouncements. Recommended for both general and informed lay readers.‘Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, Ala.
Something of a doppelgänger for John Le Carré's Smiley, Shirley was a nine-year case officer for the CIA, recruiting and managing Iranian agents. The only Persian-speaking officer and one with a strong background in Persian history and politics, he became disaffected with what he considered the ignorance, arrogance and ineffectiveness of the agency and resigned. But his longtime intrigue with Iran persisted, and he determined to visit it for the first time. Discarding thoughts of traveling as a tourist and aware that as a journalist he would be automatically suspect as a CIA agent, he decided, with what seems fictional spy dramatics, to be smuggled into the country by Hosein, a trustworthy Iranian trucker. Though separated from the service, Shirley assesses the people and events in this adventure with a paranoid air. He crossed the Turkish border to Teheran hidden in a box in the truck and fearing discovery at every stop. But Hosein was canny and protective, and, through him, Shirley met more truckers, Hosein's radical sister and many other citizens with whom he conducted guarded but extended conversations. His revelations about Persian character and post-Khomeini Iran and his analysis of U.S. policy failures are a revelation. (June)
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