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The Siege

The Remarkable Story of the Greatest SAS Hostage Drama

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The Siege

By: Ben Macintyre
Narrated by: Ben Macintyre
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the author of Sunday Times #1 bestsellers COLDITZ, SAS: ROGUE HEROES and THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR . . .

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Drawing on unpublished source material, exclusive interviews with the SAS, and testimony from witnesses including hostages, negotiators, intelligence officers and the on-site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.

‘Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else’ John Preston

'The pre-eminent historian of the secret world . . . His books have set the gold standard for accurate historical reporting, but read like heart-pounding thrillers' Mick Herron

'Masterly . . . it has never been recounted so pleasurably as it has been here' New York Times

© Ben Macintyre 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

 Armed Forces Europe Freedom & Security Great Britain Middle East Military Politics & Government Special & Elite Forces True Crime War & Crisis Espionage Exciting Siege

Critic Reviews

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.
Macintyre has a knack for finding the most fascinating storylines in history (David Grann)
Macintyre writes with the diligence and insight of a journalist, and the panache of a born storyteller. (John Banville)
The definitive account of what happened . . . so gripping that I literally could not put the book down. (Jack Straw)
Unforgettable (Robert McCrum)
A fresh and gripping read . . . A masterful big-picture narrative, drawing on interviews, news archives and unpublished personal memoirs by those who survived. Macintyre preserves the hostages’ story in magnificent, humane style – and offers another swashbuckling tribute to their rescuers (Colin Freeman)
There have been plenty of books written in the aftermath and intervening years, most claiming to be the "true story", but none as exhaustive or gripping as Ben Macintyre's The Siege
In The Siege Macintyre has access to SAS sources including, in one of his customary coups, Major Hector Gullan, who planned the raid. Yet he gives greater room to the feelings of the hostages, the shifting emotions of their captors and the interplay between the two groups. Macintyre’s achievement is that his account is the more gripping for it.
Gripping…a cracking procedural...it’s another hit for [Macintyre]…a remarkably immersive account of what happened…Macintyre’s superb reconstruction restores it to vivid, complex life
A master storyteller…Macintyre adds real value to our understanding of what occurred in those six days with his deeply humane book. He is particularly compelling in the portraits he puts together of the dramatis personae
All stars
Most relevant
This incident happened before I was born and I only had a slight knowledge of it and even less interest. However after listening to Ben’s SAS Rogue Heroes which I also thoroughly enjoyed I felt compelled to listen to this and I am so glad I did.

It would be an incredible read, and I can tell you that it’s a fantastic listen. Bens narrating is so engaging and his depth of knowledge on subject matter is sensational. Highly, highly recommend this. I will be listening to another of Bens books soon and I can’t wait

Incredible listening

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It felt like you were in the embassy every step of the way. Fantastic read, like many of the authors.

The siege

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I was eight years old at the time of the siege and remember watching the TV news with my father, seeing the images without any real understanding of what was happening. This book gives an excellent, in-depth factual account of the event, the people and the time. Highly recommended, especially for the engaging narration.

Superb narration by the author

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Loved everything about it characters and realism of a true story in current political climate.

Story and story teller

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Be warned: once you enter The Siege, there’s no turning back.
Plans? Cancel them. Meals? Forget them. That to-do list? Refile it under “Indefinitely Pending.”
You’ll be on high alert, flipping pages with a racing pulse, caught in a strange and compelling mix of tension, tenderness, compassion, and humour — all while the storm gathers around you. Macintyre doesn't just tell a story; he pulls you into both the calculating "heads" of the surveillance room and the closed "hearts" of the embassy.
It’s gone straight onto the “brilliant — must read again” shelf.
Rating: 5/5 — Immersive, urgent, unforgettable.
And Ben narrates with equal brilliance.

No turning back

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