Book Analysis Essay on Taken Hostage by David Farber

Introduction

The author's main objective is to highlight the cause, course, and effects of Islamic Fundamentalism by providing a vivid and detailed picture of the events that culminated into the Iranian Revolution. Towards this end, the author puts the United States at the heart of the events in Iran that led to the radicalization of college students. The author recounts the events of November 4, 1979 when Iranian militants stormed the United States Embassy located in Tehran and took everyone in their captive. That marked the beginning of the Iran Hostage Crisis, which was an ordeal that lasted for four hundred and forty four days. The event marked the US first ever confrontation with Islamic fundamentalism. Faber's gratifying contextualization serves to combine different events that include but not limited to the energy crisis and the economic crisis that coalesced to aggravate the situation. Essentially, Farber's intention was to highlight the rise of Radical Islam while simultaneously exposing America's unpreparedness to foresee and subsequently deal decisively with the rising foreign discontentment with its foreign policy. The vents in Iran exposed the extensive disillusionment and unfulfilled promises that marked the Watergate Scandal, the spiraling energy crisis, and the famous fall of Saigon. The author expertly used the declassified documents reconstruct America's history and the effects of failed governance and empty political promises.

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Summary of the Highlights of the Book

Taken Hostage builds on the foundations of dichotomy or dual insights in which Farber draws from media sources, memoirs, and recently declassified documents to give an impressive account of the hostage crisis. He traces the origins of the crisis from the sophisticated history of the United States. The American citizens' involvement and the ardent obsession with the crisis is testament to the political culture that was dormant in the 1970s. The deep-seated patriotism is evident. In the international front, Farber posits that American foreign policy in Iran was partly responsible for the crisis. The most prominent policy was the support of the Shah Regime against the wishes of the majority of the citizens. The US backed the coup against Mohammed Massadegh (who was the Prime minister of Iran) in 1953. Furthermore, American policy makers ignored the plight of the Iranian people under the Shah Regime. It worth noting that firm grip that the US had in the Iranian government helped her take care of her interest in the Middle East despite the widespread and open oppression of the citizenry.

Farber noted with various concerns that the American policy makers underestimated or flatly ignored the signs of the growing signs of revolution as depicted by the resentment towards the US. At the beginning of the crisis, Farber believes that US policy makers perceived the entire ordeal as a revelation of the cold War rather than an encounter with Islamic fundamentalism. Deep frustration marred the crisis, but it also brought forth a higher degree of patriotism in the American citizens, which is testament to the desire for national unity by the citizens in 1970s. The victim of the newfound sense of patriotism was the national government that seemingly failed to predict or end the crisis. The crisis led to the solidification of power by the Khomeini government that then used the power to embarrass President Jimmy Carter. It shaped the political landscape of the US since it led to the ousting of Carter who was replaced by Ronald Reagan. The crisis ended during the inauguration of President Reagan, meaning it had a lot to do with the election that time.

Book Assessment

The book is succinct and authoritative since it is well written, well researched, and gives a detailed description of the events that preceded and the ones that succeeded the Iranian crisis. The book takes into account the chronology of the events that led to the American change of fortune in the Arabian country. The audience gets a chance to see the beginning of Islamic fundamentalism and America's inability to decisively deal with the crisis. The book is outstanding since relies on real documents to trace real events. The intended audiences are students of history and the policy makers who yearn to build the present using the events of the past.

Placing the Content into a Larger Context

Reagan's foreign policy centered on the slogan "Peace through Strength," which means that the policies were somewhat imperialistic and aggressive towards regimes that opposed the United States or its interests. The policies were unnecessary but the Reagan regime believed that they were essential for the protection and the furthering of the interest of the US in various parts of the war. Peace through strength led to accumulation of weaponry including those of mass destruction in readiness of any attack. The accumulation of weaponry essentially led to the beginning of the Cold War since countries like Russia could not risk an attack from the US. The increase in stockpile of weapons and the support of anti-communist regimes led to the clash with Vietnam and the communist groups in Central America and Vietnam. Noteworthy is the fact that the US pursued interventionist policies as part of the Cold War Strategy. The interventionist policies led to the overthrow of the government of the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Massadegh in 1953, and the subsequent installation of the Shah government, which was the beginning of the Iranian revolution. The Regan doctrine led to the logistical and financial support of various anti-communists regimes, which the led to tension with different discontented countries.

Farber, David. Taken hostage: The Iran hostage crisis and America's first encounter with radical Islam. Vol. 62. Princeton University Press, 2009.