Off the Radar

January 15, 2015
Copeland (editor: A Wonderful Life: 50 Eulogies to Lift the Spirit, 2006, etc.) explores the mystery surrounding his father's controversial persecution in revolutionary-era Iran.The author attempts to reclaim his family's pre-revolutionary past and uncover the mysterious life and death of his father, American Max Copeland, who was married to (and eventually represented by) the first female lawyer of the Islamic Republic. "I would come to understand that I am the by-product of the two most ethnocentric cultures on the face of the earth," Copeland writes. "Cultures tend to perceive the world through their own unique lenses, of course, but Iran and America are fairly exceptional in this regard." In a narrative that alternates among the differing perspectives of his father, his mother, Shahin, and himself, Copeland paints a lucid portrait of chaotic late-1970s Tehran, the last days of the shah's reign and the beginnings of a repressive Islamic state. During the early days of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Copeland's father was caught illegally selling radar equipment for Westinghouse, which, like most other Western-run companies, was shutting down and liquidating their Iranian assets subsequent to the Islamic takeover in 1979. Max was accused of spying for the CIA and was tried in an Islamic court for trading with the enemy, among other things. Having no way to defend himself in the courtroom, Shahin was permitted to take up his case in court. Although Copeland doesn't solve any big mysteries surrounding his father's life and alleged connections to the CIA, he does concoct an engaging narrative, however fragmented, that highlights his family's resilience in the face of challenging, unforeseen political circumstances. Along the way, the author's personal immersion in his family's history helps him come to terms with his Iranian heritage and allows him to build a much-needed figurative bridge between two very different but equally misunderstood cultures. Both a gripping personal story and an insightful historical-cultural study.

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Starred review from April 15, 2015

Copeland's book traces a personal, emotional, and ultimately satisfying journey of a son trying to discover who his father really was. Using journals, interviews with his father's friends and former coworkers, and frank discussions with his mother, the author here puts the pieces together to find out if his father was a CIA agent in Iran during the revolution in the late 1970s. Born in Oklahoma, Max Copeland toured the world at a young age, married Shahin, an Iranian woman, converted to Islam, and moved the family to Iran to eventually become an employee of Westinghouse. Things turn as Max is accused of being a CIA spy and is put on trial for his life. The author weaves a tale full of uncertainty, tension, and drama. The character that shines the most is Shahin, who fights with all of her strength, intelligence, and will as she tries to save her husband and family, not knowing for sure if he is truly a spy or not. VERDICT This brilliant, touching tale of espionage, discovering family, and balancing cultures is recommended for fans of memoirs, spy stories, and Iranian culture. [See Prepub Alert, 7/21/14.]--Ryan Claringbole, Coll. Lib. at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2015
In 1979 Tehran, American Max Copeland was accused of being a CIA agent and imprisoned. Decades later, his son, Cyrus, tries to track down the truth. The result is an expansive and eloquent memoir that reads like a real-life spy novel. While the hostages of the American embassy sit in the middle of an international maelstrom, Max Copeland endures a very surreptitious confinement. His strong-willed Iranian wife fends off Revolutionary Guards by quoting the Qur'an, and faces a revolutionary tribunal to try to exonerate her husband. Copeland's story includes a clandestine border-crossing attempt and a planned escape alongside the famed Argo operation. Throughout looms the question of whether Max Copeland was a CIA agent or just an unfortunate man in the wrong time and place. In the quest to understand his father, Cyrus must also confront his conflict-ridden lineage. There are lessons both personal and political in the legacy of strife he inherits, and Off the Radar explores both with pitch-perfect tone and deep emotion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)