From Library Journal
A powerful eyewitness account of the disastrous April 1980 attempt to rescue the American hostages in Tehran. Kyle, an expert in Special Operations and the officer in charge of the Air Force component, describes the mission from the earliest planning at the Pentagon through the subsequent rehearsals to the operation in Iran. Criticizing analyses by other participants, he offers his own diagnosis of five factors that contributed to the mission's failure: the weather forecast, poor communications equipment, pilot decision error, restrictions on tactics, and a poor flight plan. Comparable to Ken Follet's On Wings of Eagles ( LJ 8/83), which described Texas industrialist Ross Perot's successful rescue effort in Iran, Kyle's book contributes to our understanding of the hostage crisis and will add fuel to the controversy surrounding it. Recommended for a wide range of readers.- Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba Coll., Salisbury, N.C.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
The top-secret 1980 operation to rescue Americans held hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran failed, costing Jimmy Carter his presidential bid for reelection. The author, an Air Force colonel and courageous mission commander, has extensive experience in special operations. Fires, crashes, a blinding sandstorm, and military mix-ups multiply to produce nonstop action under insurmountable odds. L.J. Ganser amplifies the story's intensity as he shouts orders and blurts out excited radio transmissions, dramatizing the impending disaster. Men start dying; the intrusion is discovered. The audiobook's lesson is how poorly prepared our military and government were in those years to react to acts of terrorism. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From one of the highest ranking officers on the ground in Iran comes a no-holds-barred look at America’s brave mission against terrorism

Colonel James H. Kyle was involved in every stage of the Iran hostage rescue operation. As Desert-1 Commander, he alone bore responsibility for the courageous mission. Now Colonel Kyle spares no one, including himself, in this riveting account that takes readers from the initial brainstorming sessions and training camps to the desert rehearsals, the forward staging areas in Egypt and Oman, and finally to the desert refueling site, where he decided to abort.

Colonel Kyle provides honest answers to tough questions: Why were the pilots caught totally off guard by the weather? How did the CIA contribute to the mission’s breakdown? And could such a failure happen again? The Guts to Try is a thrilling true-life adventure story–exploring America’s ability to react quickly, forcefully, and effectively to acts of terrorism.

FROM THE CRITICS

AudioFile