The Guts to Try: The Untiold Story of the Iran Hostage Rescue Mission by the On-Scene Desert Commander

by James H. Kyle

Book Overview

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 034544695X
• ISBN13: 9780345446954
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

An incredibly detailed description of a mission.

This exhaustive description of the planning and execution of Operation Eagle Claw, the attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages, gives the reader a sense of how complex the mission was. There is an old aphorism about the military that says, "The amateur talks about tactics and strategy while the professional talks logistics." This is one of the few military books I have read that provides enough (almost too much depending on your taste) detail about what it takes to carry out a mission deep in enemy territory. At the beginning, after realizing the problems they faced, I could not see how they could succeed. That they came as close as they did is what is truly amazing. It also speaks to the decrepit state of the military seven years after the end of the Viet Nam War. They had the men but lacked adequate resources. Fortunately changes were coming. This story helped to lead the way.

Review by a key participant in the rescue attempt

I was the commander of the MC-130 squadron chosen to participate in the mission. Jim Kyle, author of "The Guts to Try", was my boss throughout the preparation for the mission. I had kept detailed notes on all the training, rehearsal, etc., with the intent to write my own book. I am the one mentioned on page 7 in the "guts to try" story that lead to the book's title. I was the commander of the 5 Air Force fatalities at Desert One. Col Kyle and I were raked over the coals by the US Senate and House military committees with Kyle taking most of the heat over the accident. I went on to be the chief air planner for preparation for the second attempt buy Kyle was replaced by General Richard Secord as the senior Air Force member of the task force. I therefore surrendered by notes to Kyle and helped him put together the book rather than pursue my own. He did a remarkable job in telling the story correctly. Out of the ashes of Desert One has emerged a capability to do Special Ops better and with few casualties. "The Guts to Try" is an important accounting of the bottoming out and rebirth of Special Ops. Few people realize how much our capability improved during the 5 1/2 months of preparation--this book helps the reader realize that there was more to be proud about associated with Desert One than is apparent. Special Ops would have achieved its current high capability eventually---but Desert One and Jim's book got us there quicker. Roland Guidry,...

The Best Account of Operation Eagle Claw

Excellent account of the planning and execution, and ultimate failure, of Operation Eagle Claw. This book is just as good as Charlie Beckwith's "Delta Force," but much less famous. It covers the overall planning of Eagle Claw at a joint-forces administrative level above Beckwith, and covers the joint-forces command of the actual mission, since Kyle was the overall commander at Desert One. The mechanical and personal failures of the helocopters and their crews are also discussed, as well as Kyle's conclusions on why the mission failed. Beckwith's book covers SFOD-Delta issues more closely, but Kyle's book examines why Eagle Claw failed.

The Iran Rescue was a usmc failure

Readers will finally see in his book that the Iran rescue failed due to the usmc demanding it get a role it was not qualified or equipped to fill. This ad hoc attachment of helicopter pilots using untried equipment doomed the mission and led to the 8 men dead in the desert. Col. Kyle goes into great details about the dynamics of Special Operations flying and it becomes clear that the MC-130 Combat Talon I is one heck of a fine airplane that saves the day when the helicopters failed.Looking at history with 20-20 hindsight it seems more reasonable to have used USAF Special Operations combat pilots still on active duty from the nearly flawlessly executed Son Tay POW camp rescue in 1970 and flown them and their helicopters inside transport planes to Manzariyeh airfield secured by U.S. Army Rangers from the first than to have messed around with Desert One in the first place. Delta Force itself should have parachuted into the outskirts of Teheran met up with the trucks with hidden compartments to infiltrate into the city for the assault to free the 52 American hostages. The helicopters would only have been used to fly to the soccer field and back to Manzariyeh, where the entire force could have flown out by USAF jet transports.Its clear from Col Kyle's book that the Rescuers "had the guts to try" but not the political guts supporting them to keep unqualified participation away so the very BEST plan could be put together instead of a compromised one. The Goldwater-Nichols Defense Act has corrected this today by insuring SOF units have their own aviation assets fully qualified to fly such daring missions. But it came at the price of 8 men dead and at least 1 man's career ruined--Colonel "Charging Charlie" Beckwith who became the "fall guy" for the operation when it should have been the usmc.Col Kyle's book is a must read for every military professional alive today.Airborne!!Mike Sparks 1st Tactical Studies Group (Airborne)

Great book on the Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission!

Very accurate account of Operation Eagle Claw, Iranian Hostage Attempted Rescue. I also recommend reading Delta Force by Col. Charlie Beckwith.