As neither the reviewer nor the author contacted me before reporting critically on my workduring the Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis, I appreciate IJMES's offer tostate my position. Subsequently, I have been in touch with both James Goode and Ofira Seliktar.The latter told me 1. She made a decision not to conduct any interviews because interviewees areapt to offer self-serving or faulty memories and because she might face “threats.” 2. Although she felt sorry for the way I was treated in the book, she seemed to place greater blameon the academics advising the State Department who put forward the “reigning academicconsensus” (New Left and moralpolitik) that captured Foreign Service minds(especially mine) and led to destructive policies. I'll bet that few Middle East StudiesAssociation members realized they could have such power over policy-making.