The Scotsman has run a review of Mark Bowden's latest work. Dubbing him "the reigning champion of narrative non-fiction," Alex Massie suggests that the book, entitled Guests of the Ayatollah, is timely. It deals with the hostage crisis of 1979.

Bowden sometimes becomes bogged down by the demands of juggling the stories of the hostages, their captors, and the diplomatic and military efforts to end their agony, but still produces a narrative that illuminates the divide between Persia and the west.

Bowden has a blog dedicated to the book where you can ask questions or make points about facts.

The New York Times ran a review of the same book in May. James Traub says: "Guests of the Ayatollah is, at bottom, a story of mutual incomprehension."