Den of Spies

Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House

By: Craig Unger

Narrated by: Jason Culp

“A persuasive affirmation of a shocking conspiracy theory.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Unger has pursued the story of the October surprise for more than 30 years, often to his own cost. …peppered with amazing details… Den of Spies comes out in a world where dark machinations to win power no longer seem so unthinkable as in the days of Carter, Reagan and Bush.""—The Guardian

The explosive inside story of the October Surprise conspiracy, a stunning act of treason that changed American history. New York Times bestselling author Craig Unger reveals his thirty-year investigation into the secret collusion between Ronald Reagan’s 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.

It was a tinderbox of an accusation. In April 1991, the New York Times ran an op-ed alleging that Ronald Reagan’s 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 Carter’s 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 operation—planned and executed by Reagan’s campaign manager Bill Casey—amounted to a shadow foreign policy run by private citizens that ensured Reagan’s victory.

Investigative journalist Craig Unger was one of the first reporters covering the October Surprise—initially for Esquire and then Newsweek—and 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. Though Unger later recovered his name and became a bestselling author on Republican abuses of power, the October Surprise remained his white whale, the project he—as well as legendary investigative journalist, the late Robert Parry—worked on late at night and between assignments.

In Den of Spies, Unger reveals the definitive story of the October Surprise, going inside his three-decade reporting odyssey, along with Parry’s never-before-seen archives, 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. A timely and provocative history that presages our Trump-era political scandals, Den of Spies demonstrates the stakes of allowing the politics of the moment to obscure the writing of our history.

I only thought that I knew the depth of Republican treachery

Mind blowing. Many threads, bits and pieces tied together. A direct through line from Bill Casey to Trump. Many our current problems can be traced to Bill Casey's treasonous act leading up to the 1980 election.

If the GOP is in power, it’s PRETTY safe to say they cheated

The GOP has no scruples about themselves and this book yet again cements that fact for me. With this book, I constantly found myself putting my hands up and shaking my head like the Obama gif at how hard the Dirty Reds played Carter with no accountability. His passing at 100 reinvigorated my interest in the October Surprise. Bless his heart. He fell for it hook, line and sinker. He never thought they would stoop so low to do such a thing and he was oh so wrong. Their economic policies are so deeply unpopular and disastrous for the United States, it’s safe to say that if the GOP won an election for dog catcher, they cheated like the devil. We have been dealing with this since 1980. I was born that year, so basically my entire life. I wonder when we as a people will wake up and stop taking the high road for these dirty cheaters and their shenanigans? It’s… “A Republic…if you can keep it”, INDEED!

Great research

The research for this spans decades, but the story keeps you going. Thanks for sticking with this story for so long. Echos of more recent events. Unfortunately.

Treasonous collusion is nothing new for the GOP

We like to think we are living in times that are uniquely corrupt, but in my 50+ years on this planet, Republicans have always engaged in treason in order to grasp and maintain power. Whether it's Anna Chennault, and sabotaging peace talks in Vietnam, essentially extending the war 5+ years to get Nixon elected. Or the Hashemi brothers under William Casey, sabotaging the release of American hostages in Iran to get Reagan and George H.W. Bust elected. Or the treason in the past several years from the orange putrescence. Every single Republican President has engaged in disqualifying and felonious behavior for the sake of power. Which is not to say Democrats have been angels, but even they have to stand in awe of the sheer audacious scope of GOP corruption.

decades of cause and effect

I'll have to read this one again. There's so much to process. The details help to unpack decades of cause and effect. I appreciate his relentless search for truth and bringing it to light.