Our Man in Tehran

As a citizen of both Canada and the US, I almost had to read this book, but diplomacy has always fascinated me anyways, and real-life 'spy' stories with happy endings are much better than novels. It's always encouraging to see that people can work together when it has to be done, and that occasionally self-interest doesn't win out: Although the Canadians were the ones who ultimately sheltered the 'houseguests', they had plenty of help from the Danes and New Zealanders, and in a more limited but still risky way, the Germans and Swedes independently stepped up. Even a handful of Khomeini's people did what they could behind the scenes, not least those who knew what was going on and chose to say nothing. It was remarkable all round, and it makes a great read.