The Insider
Secret lines of communication and intelligence tradecraft sustained under extreme pressure.
The Story
A Journal No Captor Knew Existed
On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Among those taken was Michael H. Howland—held not at the Embassy but at Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside Ambassador Bruce Laingen and Victor Tomseth.
Each day, in secret, Howland wrote in a journal. Observations, intelligence, and 444 days of captivity were hidden in letters that no captor ever found—and remained hidden for nearly four decades before becoming this book.
Hidden Lines is a daily, intimate record of the Iran Hostage Crisis from the inside: a story of endurance, covert communication, dark humor, and quiet defiance.
444Days of captivity, recorded day by day
1,000+Pages in the secret journal
40Years the journal remained hidden
52American hostages—one extraordinary surviving record
