A Time to Betray

The Astonishing Double Life of a CIA Agent inside the Revolutionary Guards of Iran

By: Reza Kahlili

Narrated by: Richard Allen

Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

A true story as exhilarating as a great spy thriller, as turbulent as today's headlines from the Middle East, A Time to Betray reveals what no other previous CIA operative's memoir possibly could: the inner workings of the notorious Revolutionary Guards of Iran, as witnessed by an Iranian man inside their ranks who spied for the American government.

It is a human story, a chronicle of family and friendships torn apart by a terror-mongering regime, and how the adult choices of three childhood mates during the Islamic Republic yielded divisive and tragic fates. And it is the stunningly courageous account of one man's decades-long commitment to lead a shocking double life informing on the beloved country of his birth, a place that once offered the promise of freedom and enlightenment---but instead ruled by murderous violence and spirit-crushing oppression. Reza Kahlili grew up in Tehran surrounded by his close-knit family and two spirited boyhood friends. The Iran of his youth allowed Reza to think and act freely, and even indulge a penchant for rebellious pranks in the face of the local mullahs. His political and personal freedoms flourished while he studied computer science at the University of Southern California in the 1970s. But his carefree time in America was cut short with the sudden death of his father, and Reza returned home to find a country on the cusp of change. The revolution of 1979 plunged Iran into a dark age of religious fundamentalism under the Ayatollah Khomeini, and Reza, clinging to the hope of a Persian Renaissance, joined the Revolutionary Guards, an elite force at the beck and call of the Ayatollah.

But as Khomeini's tyrannies unfolded, as his fellow countrymen turned on each other, and after the horror he witnessed inside Evin Prison, a shattered and disillusioned Reza returned to America to dangerously become "Wally," a spy for the CIA.

©2010 Lepton Investments, LLC (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“Genuinely powerful.... People in the Iranian operations division at the CIA should welcome A Time to Betray as a virtual recruitment poster.” ( The Washington Post)

READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The insight one develops in this book is amazing

What other book might you compare A Time to Betray to and why?

I don't have one. I was sucked in and it was almost as I was living as the author.

Which scene was your favorite?

The WHOLE book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I don't want to give the book away.....so you will have to listen for yourself

Any additional comments?

This book is amazing. I never understood the situation in the Middle East and Iran until now. I have vast knowledge of government workings in that area (I can't say more) but never truly understood the depth and breath of the situation until reading this book. I felt as if I could see everything that was happening and feel everything the author went through. I was literally addicted to this book, and that rarely happens to me.

lgnorance Betrayal

The author betrayed his country without knowing and gathering information that who is going to benefit from his presuming good intention.

Surprising, informative, and emotional at times

Where does A Time to Betray rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Time to Betray?

When he described the look in the eyes of his friend's father, after his sons and daughter had been imprisoned, tortured, and the daughter executed. It was shocking to find out what happened in those prisons and to hear it from one who had seen it happen to people he had known all his life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

This is a great story from a man who made choices and took risks that most of us will never have to. He chose to betray his country after witnessing horrendous acts of cruelty, risking his own torture and death in the process.

Just a super tale about Iran & the middle east!

This isn't just a spy tale but a story of one man's decision about his fate and the direction of Iran. This book gives a great overview of his life and family. What was interesting to me , was the amount of political diversity throughout the population.

Impressive

This story is riveting and I learned so much about Iran, the culture and a bit of its history. The narrator seemed to annoy me a little at first, but he did all the voices so well, I overlooked the interesting accent after the first chapter. It seems not much has changed in the years since these events happened.

Ridiculous reading

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I am having trouble listening to this. The reader is trying to fake a Persian accent, but sounds hobbled and unintelligent instead. The main character is not a foreigner in his own country, why is the reader trying to sound foreign? A regular and more fluid English reading would have honoured the millennia old Persian literary tradition much more.

A Real Page-Turner

Very compelling and well written account from a young Iranian who experienced first hand the pleasures (as a member of a well to do family) of pre-Khomeini Iran and the horrors of the Khomeini regime and its successors. The story covers a lot of ground, including his days as a foreign student at USC to his witnessing the torture and murder of the family of his closest childhood friend at the hands of the twisted regime that governed Iran after Khomeini came to power. The book is very well written, with a personal, candid account of the author's loves, fears, and moral dilemmas as he moves forward to work with the CIA as the only course he sees open to counter the horrid regime that has taken over Iran.

All that said, the author advises that names and places in his story have been changed to protect his identity and that of his family, for obvious reasons. In that regard, I strongly suspect that many of the stories and adventures he recounts in this book may not be episodes in his own life, but accounts that he had heard from others. Still, he makes their stories his own in a gripping and very exciting book. An unfortunate eye-opener about the true nature of the most extreme elements in the Iranian regime.

I learned so much!

I love history and learning about other people around the world. This book gave me my first insight into Iran from the Iranian perspective. Iran sounds like a fascinating place, and I wish it were safe enough for me to visit. I thought the author was incredibly fair in his treatment of America too. He praised us for what we do well and criticized us where we fell short in our political actions.

I loved the espionage and intrigue in the book. Several times I was on the edge of my seat with fear for Reza and his family. Thrillingly read made more thrilling in that it is a true story!

Very Interesting

Would you listen to A Time to Betray again? Why?

I don't ever listen to the same book twice so I won't with this one either. It was a good listen all the way around with just enough suspense to keep you wanting to listen a little longer and a nice little refresher about some of the no so nice things going on in Iran During the Carted administration.

What did you like best about this story?

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What does Richard Allen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

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If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

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Any additional comments?

no

Stays in my mind

This book prompted me to start researching as best I can a time in modern history that was the beginning of our current prejudices.
I admit to choosing audio books for their entertainment value, so it was a nice surprise, to be both entertained and educated.
In short I loved "A Time to Betray"