The Washington Post – David Ignatius

…the story [Kahlili] tells—of the Iranian revolution and how he came to despise it—is genuinely powerful. It offers a vivid first-person narrative of how the zealots of the Islamic republic created what has become a nightmare for the Iranian people…One of the strengths of this book is that it makes the author’s decision to betray his country—or, more properly, the people who are running it—seem like a morally correct and laudable action. Indeed, people in the Iranian operations division at the CIA should welcome A Time to Betray as a virtual recruitment poster.

Ed Morrissey

The book subtitle promises an “astonishing” double life, but it’s most remarkable when it comes to the mundane. How does a man keep his betrayal a secret from the most intimate people in his life — his wife, his best friend, the mother who despised his affiliation with the regime? Kahlili pays a heavy price for his double life, all while running the risk of endangering these same people to the twisted torture of the Iranian government. Most readers will connect most deeply with Kahlili’s personal journey. These days, I don’t get to read too many books due to the demands of my work. I took A Time to Betray with me to the SRLC in case I had some time to kill, but actually didn’t get the chance to start reading it until my flight home. Only my work schedule forced me to put the book down for a while, and as soon as I had the chance, I finished it. It’s a compelling read…

Library Journal

…VERDICT Readers usually get stories of life inside Iran from journalists, e.g., Elaine Sciolino’s Persian Mirrors. This is the first inside account by someone so strategically placed. Without embellishing, Khalili manages to convey the horror of Iran’s regime after the downfall of the Shah. Everyone with an interest in the region or in U.S. foreign policy or in real-life espionage will be interested.

Michael J Totten

A Time to Betray is a great place to start if you’re looking for a compelling narrative of modern Iranian history and politics, but unlike the vast majority of books about the Middle East, this one also works perfectly well as straight entertainment. You can read it as a nail-biting plot-driven tale of revolution, terrorism, espionage, and war set in an exotic location. You can also read it as a powerful human story of a man torn in two by the terrible choice he made to betray his country in order to save it…

Ken Timmerman / Newsmax

“A Time to Betray” provides a riveting account of how the author, who uses the pseudonym Reza Kahlili, worked undercover and sent intelligence reports to his CIA handlers, all while a suspicious counterintelligence officer was chasing him…

One Reader

This book wears a mask. Behind the mask there is neither Mister Phelps nor a tape that will self-destruct, but there is an almost unbelievable bundle of real flesh and blood courage and there is a real `Mission Impossible.’ Without the mask there would be no book, or only a posthumous one…Despite its title, “A Time to Betray” is a tale of courage and of love, not of treason. Love permeates. It is true love, a commitment that sustains Reza’s relationship with his beautiful wife Somaya and their son Omid through stresses no one would willingly tolerate. Most of us would simply curl up and die, or, if we are more cowardly, walk away muttering “Who needs this?”…”A Time to Betray” is such a book. It helped me to understand Iran, and villains, and heroes, and love. It changed me — changed my outlook on Iran, the world, and the United States of America.

http://www.amazon.com/Time-Betray-Astonishing-Double-Revolutionary