As we reach the end of the year Aspects of History selects the title that stood out above the rest published during 2024. Past books that have won include The World by Simon Sebag-Montefiore, The White Ship by Charles Spencer, and last year’s Conflict, by General David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts. I am delighted to announce Ben Macintyre’s The Siege is the Aspects of History Book of the Year 2024.

At 19:07 on Monday 5th May 1980, the Metropolitan Police passed control of the Iranian Embassy siege to Lt. Col Mike Rose, commanding officer of the Special Air Service. Operation Nimrod was underway, and members of B Squadron abseiled, shot or blasted their way into the elegant, Grade II listed building on Prince’s Gate, in South Kensington. The scene is described in his customary thrilling style by Ben Macintyre, in the ‘time it takes to cook a hard-boiled egg.’ That’s eleven minutes to you and me, and the minute-by-minute account is the climax in his latest book of modern history.

I had imagined that Nimrod was as smooth an op as one could have hoped for, but as Macintyre makes clear, the SAS was actually pretty lucky. The incompetence of the terrorists helped – one fired several rounds at a trooper but missed. An abseiler was seriously burned by flaming curtains – 1980s safety regulations clearly left a lot to be desired. All the while the whole thing was being watched on television to the astonishment of snooker fans.

This event was so well-known that we imagine we know the story, but Macintyre has an extraordinary ability to find something new for the reader. He has located the planner and leader of Nimrod, Hector Gullan, a ruthlessly precise tactician who rarely slept as he worked on blueprints of the embassy to work out the best way to end the siege.

The concluding chapter makes for interesting reading, particularly the fate of the surviving terrorist, the unfortunate but charming ladies’ man, Fowzi Badavi Nejad, who was saved by hostages when the SAS wanted to take him back inside to ‘complete’ the operation. He later received a life sentence. Descriptions of the prisoners during the six day siege conveys variously their terror, boredom, discomfort, amusement, acquiescence and fury at their Khuzestani guards – my personal favourite being the eager to help caretaker Ron Morris who kept his sense of humour throughout.

There were serious implications too. Margaret Thatcher was heavily influenced in future decisions by her experience in May 1980. Her resilience had been tested, and she had a military force she could rely on. One wonders today whether recent or current governments, with so much scrutiny on soldiers’ split-second decisions, would be willing to do the same. Thankfully the success of the SAS on that bank holiday evening means we remain unlikely to find out.

Oliver Webb-Carter is the editor of Aspects of History.