Books, Arts & Manners: The Sick Mind

October Surprise, by Gary Sick (Times Books/Random House, 277 pp., $23)

BARRING startling new evidence, the arrival of Gary Sick’s much-heralded book would seem to mark the final flight of the “October Surprise” theory, the scandalous claim that in 1980 Ronald Reagan’s campaign made a deal with the Iranian government to prevent the release of 52 American hostages until after the U.S. presidential election. Mr. Sick has become the most prominent advocate of the theory, and October Surprise is an intriguing but unconvincing summary of his personal inquiry into the allegations.

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About the Author

Richard Ryan

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Presidential Election

Conspiracy

Middle East

Republican Party

October Surprise, by Gary Sick (Times Books/Random House, 277 pp., $23)

BARRING startling new evidence, the arrival of Gary Sick’s much-heralded book would seem to mark the final flight of the “October Surprise” theory, the scandalous claim that in 1980 Ronald Reagan’s campaign made a deal with the Iranian government to prevent the release of 52 American hostages until after the U.S. presidential election. Mr. Sick has become the most prominent advocate of the theory, and October Surprise is an intriguing but unconvincing summary of his personal inquiry into the allegations.