Wednesday, June 24, 2015

OFF THE RADAR : A FATHER'S SECRET, A MOTHER'S HEROISM, AND A SON'S QUEST
by Cyrus Copeland

Remember the year that sixty-six Americans were being held hostage in Iran's U.S. embassy? It was 1979. A revolution and Islamic fundamentalism commenced. The Americans were kept for 444 days. It made international news. What was not known, though, was that another American ended up being arrested for espionage.
Max Copeland was a quiet man who seemed more like a college administrator than a corporate executive. He worked for Westinghouse (they were no longer in the business of selling light bulbs) and they were a huge presence in Iran selling radar equipment to the Iranian Air Force. Max was caught by Revolutionary Guards and thrown into prison. The United States did nothing. He was put on trial. No lawyer took his case. The only one who could save him was Shahin, his Iranian wife.
Thirty-five years later, son Cyrus is going through a box of his father's files to see what he was really doing in Tehran and discovered a man that was way different than he had known.
Off the Radar is an absolutely brilliant book. The writing is tremendous. If you didn't know the history of Persia/Iran, it is all explained here along with the downfall of the Shah, his exiting, and the entrance of Khomeini. The family really went through quite an emotional upheaval, because they were two colliding cultures. Shahin, the matriarch of the family, was the rock as she tried to save her husband and used her wits, strength, and intelligence to go after the powers-that-be of Iran.
This is one stupendous, riveting, and exciting read.
Very highly recommended.