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Author: Mr. William J. Daugherty

William J. Daugherty is a former Marine Corps officer, Vietnam veteran, and CIA operations officer who served later at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis. After 17 years with the CIA, he became a professor of government and national security affairs, drawing on his military and intelligence experience to write and teach about U.S. foreign policy.

In the Shadow of the Ayatollah is Daugherty’s firsthand account of the 444-day Iran hostage crisis. Held captive in Tehran, he recounts the ordeal with candor and insight, blending personal experience with analysis of U.S.–Iran relations during one of the most consequential crises of the Cold War.