What do you think?
Rate this book
The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice
Thomas Hauser (born 27 February 1946 in New York City, U.S.) is an American author. He made his debut as a writer in 1978 with The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice. Horman's wife, Joyce and father, Ed Horman cooperated with Hauser on the book describing both the fate of Charles and his family's quest to uncover the truth in Chile. It was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and adapted as Costa-Gavras's film Missing. Argues that Horman, an American who was killed in the Chilean coup of 1973, may have accidentally discovered evidence of U.S. involvement and may have been executed with U.S. knowledge. This book traces the events surrounding the execution of Charles Horman, an American in Chile during the '73 coup. Horman was kidnapped and killed because he inadvertently discovered that American forces like the CIA, and the Southern Command, were involved in overthrowing the democratically elected leftist president, Allende.
255 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
21 people are currently reading
341 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Hauser
128 books35 followersThomas Hauser (b. 1946) is the author of forty-two books on subjects ranging from professional boxing to Beethoven. His first work, Missing, was made into an Academy Award–winning film. Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times earned numerous awards for its author, including the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for Career Excellence in Boxing Journalism.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 12, 2021
Excellent piece of journalism documenting the disappearance of American Charles Horman in Chile in 1973, just after the military coup that overthrew Salvador Allende’s government. The author lays out the timeline of events, what may have led to his arrest, and the ways in which US officials’ actions may have contributed to his death. In a parallel narrative, the author follows Horman’s wife and father as they attempt to find out what happened, running into a bureaucratic nightmare. The term “non-fiction that reads like fiction” applies to this book.
Horman disappeared at the beginning of Augusto Pinochet’s Reign of Terror. This book was published in 1977. Subsequent events, investigations, and releases of previously confidential information support Hauser’s conclusions. As I read, I found myself hoping for a different outcome.
I found this book at a local used bookstore. A news article was folded within its pages, about Joyce Horman and her search for truth, published in February 2000. I then researched the latest status on the internet, so I was able to trace this history of this tragic event over four-plus decades.
Horman disappeared at the beginning of Augusto Pinochet’s Reign of Terror. This book was published in 1977. Subsequent events, investigations, and releases of previously confidential information support Hauser’s conclusions. As I read, I found myself hoping for a different outcome.
I found this book at a local used bookstore. A news article was folded within its pages, about Joyce Horman and her search for truth, published in February 2000. I then researched the latest status on the internet, so I was able to trace this history of this tragic event over four-plus decades.
April 28, 2025
Hangi taşı kaldırsak bilin bakalım hangi ülke çıkıyor?
Mutlaka ve mutlaka okunmalı!
Mutlaka ve mutlaka okunmalı!
February 12, 2008
I really think everyone should read this book. I happened to see the movie again yesterday after x amount of years (when it came out, actually) and remembered that I had the book. I grabbed it up immediately and started it this morning and read it out in the sun for most of the day. Did I get anything accomplished today? No. But it was all worth it.
The action takes place in 1973, and you know, I was about 16 at that time so all of the news about the military coup in Chile and the news about the disappearance of Charles Horman probably flew right out of my ears if I ever heard it. You know, pretty much when you're a 16 year old kid, your mind is on other stuff. But reading this now, well, I must say I'm not surprised at any action taken by the United States Government, ESPECIALLY under the administration of Richard Nixon. There's probably still crap we do NOT know about that happened during that time and probably never will. In some ways, maybe that's good, but largely I'd guess that it's in our own best interests as citizens to know just what our government is capable of. Now, I know that there are a lot of people that truly believe that the government is all about Truth, Justice and the American Way, and to those folks I say "go ahead and live the fantasy if that's what you choose to do." But after reading books like this one (and other eye-openers I've read this year), I don't know how people can continue to do so. Sorry folks, I can't be one of the sheep.
Missing is a factual account of the disappearance of Charles Horman, a young man who probably was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was killed for that mistake. I have to say that Hauser does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the coin here...the story from the Horman family, who ultimately ended up believing that the US not only knew about, but engineered the coup in Chile (and since this book was written, it has become well-known, documented fact) that placed Pinochet and the military junta in power. They also believed that the US government most likely ordered the execution of Charles Horman, then took great strides to cover its butt (which, documents which have since become declassified and available through the FOIA have shown). Hauser also examines the US government apparatus at the time, and places the episode within the context of what was happening in Chile and in the US during Nixon's time, interviewing several people that the Hormans accused of being involved in the cover up. So in its own way, considering the brevity of the book, the author tries to present a somewhat balanced account. But, duh...it's probably highly likely that people who may have been guilty of something aren't going to come right out and confess, so you'll have to make up your own mind. The FOIA materials are all over the internet and they're pretty scary sometimes.
Back to the story: Charles Horman and his wife Joyce had come to Chile in the early 1970s and were happy there; Charles was a free-lance writer and worked for a sort of press service called FIN to make ends meet. A friend of his and his wife's had come to Chile to visit; they all decide to go to Vina del Mar to see the ocean, but Joyce Horman can't go because she has to renew her resident visa. While Charles and the friend, Terri, are at the coast, they are told that a coup has occurred and that they cannot get back to Santiago. They bump into an American at their hotel; through him they are introduced to some military officers and diplomatic officials who tell them about the coup, then start talking about it as if they had known it was coming. Terri is kind of freaked and starts keeping a notebook of things that are said, and eventually the two get a ride back to Santiago with the #2 guy in the American embassy. The day after their return, Charles goes missing, and neighbors tell his wife that they saw him being arrested in his home and taken away in military vehicles. When Joyce tries to go to get information, this is where the story actually starts: the various agencies in charge of the welfare of Americans in Chile start giving her the runaround. Charles' father, Ed, who is staunch believer in the American way and in respect for politicians and government officials gets treated the same way when he arrives, and he begins to wonder what's going on there.
I won't say more, but you MUST read this book. It is simply amazing and made me get on the internet and start reading a LOT of declassified documents and to delve into the history of US interests in Latin America. If you want to stick your head in the sand, go ahead; I personally have this deep-seated need to know. HIGHLY recommended.
04/26/2007
The action takes place in 1973, and you know, I was about 16 at that time so all of the news about the military coup in Chile and the news about the disappearance of Charles Horman probably flew right out of my ears if I ever heard it. You know, pretty much when you're a 16 year old kid, your mind is on other stuff. But reading this now, well, I must say I'm not surprised at any action taken by the United States Government, ESPECIALLY under the administration of Richard Nixon. There's probably still crap we do NOT know about that happened during that time and probably never will. In some ways, maybe that's good, but largely I'd guess that it's in our own best interests as citizens to know just what our government is capable of. Now, I know that there are a lot of people that truly believe that the government is all about Truth, Justice and the American Way, and to those folks I say "go ahead and live the fantasy if that's what you choose to do." But after reading books like this one (and other eye-openers I've read this year), I don't know how people can continue to do so. Sorry folks, I can't be one of the sheep.
Missing is a factual account of the disappearance of Charles Horman, a young man who probably was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was killed for that mistake. I have to say that Hauser does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the coin here...the story from the Horman family, who ultimately ended up believing that the US not only knew about, but engineered the coup in Chile (and since this book was written, it has become well-known, documented fact) that placed Pinochet and the military junta in power. They also believed that the US government most likely ordered the execution of Charles Horman, then took great strides to cover its butt (which, documents which have since become declassified and available through the FOIA have shown). Hauser also examines the US government apparatus at the time, and places the episode within the context of what was happening in Chile and in the US during Nixon's time, interviewing several people that the Hormans accused of being involved in the cover up. So in its own way, considering the brevity of the book, the author tries to present a somewhat balanced account. But, duh...it's probably highly likely that people who may have been guilty of something aren't going to come right out and confess, so you'll have to make up your own mind. The FOIA materials are all over the internet and they're pretty scary sometimes.
Back to the story: Charles Horman and his wife Joyce had come to Chile in the early 1970s and were happy there; Charles was a free-lance writer and worked for a sort of press service called FIN to make ends meet. A friend of his and his wife's had come to Chile to visit; they all decide to go to Vina del Mar to see the ocean, but Joyce Horman can't go because she has to renew her resident visa. While Charles and the friend, Terri, are at the coast, they are told that a coup has occurred and that they cannot get back to Santiago. They bump into an American at their hotel; through him they are introduced to some military officers and diplomatic officials who tell them about the coup, then start talking about it as if they had known it was coming. Terri is kind of freaked and starts keeping a notebook of things that are said, and eventually the two get a ride back to Santiago with the #2 guy in the American embassy. The day after their return, Charles goes missing, and neighbors tell his wife that they saw him being arrested in his home and taken away in military vehicles. When Joyce tries to go to get information, this is where the story actually starts: the various agencies in charge of the welfare of Americans in Chile start giving her the runaround. Charles' father, Ed, who is staunch believer in the American way and in respect for politicians and government officials gets treated the same way when he arrives, and he begins to wonder what's going on there.
I won't say more, but you MUST read this book. It is simply amazing and made me get on the internet and start reading a LOT of declassified documents and to delve into the history of US interests in Latin America. If you want to stick your head in the sand, go ahead; I personally have this deep-seated need to know. HIGHLY recommended.
04/26/2007
January 9, 2014
I decided to read this when I became curious about the Allende/Pinochet coup in Chile while reading Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power. Having not lived through the 60s and 70s, it was easy to be swept away in the depersonalized, strategic geopolitics, and Missing was a perfect antidote.
The first half of the book was the literary equivalent of an episode of Locked Up Abroad. You read through the events, knowing the outcome, a sense of dread building. The second half or so is an attempt to bring together information collected by the author and family and friends of Charles Horman. It was somewhat bizarre to read this given how much more information is now available (e.g. the documents to which Robert Dallek had access for his book). However, that's not what this book is really about. It's about one man among the thousands and thousands that were killed during a violent coup and about exploring the United State's government's complicity or even participation in what happened.
It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it helped to bridge a disconnect that can occur when looking at history. Charles Horman's mother describes it perfectly.
The first half of the book was the literary equivalent of an episode of Locked Up Abroad. You read through the events, knowing the outcome, a sense of dread building. The second half or so is an attempt to bring together information collected by the author and family and friends of Charles Horman. It was somewhat bizarre to read this given how much more information is now available (e.g. the documents to which Robert Dallek had access for his book). However, that's not what this book is really about. It's about one man among the thousands and thousands that were killed during a violent coup and about exploring the United State's government's complicity or even participation in what happened.
It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it helped to bridge a disconnect that can occur when looking at history. Charles Horman's mother describes it perfectly.
“The men who run our government,” Elizabeth Horman says with more sadness than malice in her voice, “are like early Oriental potentates playing chess with live figures. They sit back and manipulate the pieces without ever realizing the cost in human lives.”
April 17, 2016
Me avergüenza decir que antes de leer este libro no tenía ni idea de la política de Salvador Allende ni de en qué consistió el golpe de Estado de Pinochet. Los españoles deberíamos conocer la historia de América latina con más razón que la de otros países europeos. Este libro me ha abierto los ojos a una realidad que me era desconocida. Nunca había oído hablar de Charles Horman ni del calvario que pasó su familia hasta que consiguió enterrar su cadáver.
Este libro hace un buen trabajo explicando la historia política chilena a la vez que describe la tragedia de Charles Horman. Mezcla la gran historia con la microhistoria de manera muy efectiva y el lector se queda con una muy buena idea de la situación. Muy recomendable.
Este libro hace un buen trabajo explicando la historia política chilena a la vez que describe la tragedia de Charles Horman. Mezcla la gran historia con la microhistoria de manera muy efectiva y el lector se queda con una muy buena idea de la situación. Muy recomendable.
June 16, 2020
The best book I have read to date about Pinochet's butchery. A superbly written book and a must for anybody interested in the dark past of Latin America in the 1970's. Not a novel but an account of what happened. Costa-Gavras' film of the same name, with Jack Lemmon as the father is also worth visiting or revisiting. Harrowing yet essential viewing/reading.
December 4, 2007
This was a book that had come to my bookshelf via research for my senior thesis on the coup in Chile in 1973. As a result of a TON of CIA documents that had recently become available (thanks Freedom of Information Act!), this book got pushed to the side. Now, reading it (mostly for the first time), I am very impressed. Written in 1978, there was TONS of info being pushed under the carpet, including the disappearance of a young American. These things were still being pushed under the carpet in 2003 and 2004, when I was doing my research (as made apparent by all of the censoring of documents released by the CIA). The inconsistencies shown in this book should have been enough to look more closely at US involvement in the coup. Instead, history continues to repeat itself.
Bottom line? I liked this book. There were parts that could have been better written, but I look at it much more as a historical document than a piece of literature.
Bottom line? I liked this book. There were parts that could have been better written, but I look at it much more as a historical document than a piece of literature.
February 21, 2019
A must read - especially in light of the Venezuelan crisis and eminent takeover.
July 27, 2019
Questo libro è giunto nelle mie mani in modo inusuale. Un parente che vive a Manhattan da moltissimi anni me l'ha portato, insieme ad uno scatolone delle cose più bizzarre (una targa californiana, una mappa di New York, una guida di gallerie d'arte, un libro di un qualche circolo religioso che urla "fanatismo!" e sembra interessante, una copia del New York Times con uno speciale su una qualche conferenza) ed in un momento di noia ho deciso di iniziarlo. Essendo una cronaca di fatti reali, ci sono molti dati trascurabili che si impara ad ignorare. Eccetto pochi sporadici periodi di pagine che procedono faticosamente, riesce ad appassionare e, soprattutto, dipinge un quadro chiaro degli antefatti e delle conseguenze della rivoluzione cilena, il colpo di Stato, dei cui dettagli ero all'oscuro prima della lettura. Tuttavia, dovrò ancora documentarmi, perché una signora argentina mi ha detto che "fanno conoscere solo una faccia della medaglia, ma fidati che l'altra non era tutta rose e fiori".
"Charles's death taught me the lesson of political responsibility. I used to think that I could till the soil on my own little plot of land and let the rest of the world care for its own problems. What our country [USA] did in Vietnam, what happened to people overseas, was no concern of mine. I was wrong. I know now that each of us is obligated to fight for what is right and take responsibility for what our governement does. If we don't, sooner or later it will affect us all."
"Charles's death taught me the lesson of political responsibility. I used to think that I could till the soil on my own little plot of land and let the rest of the world care for its own problems. What our country [USA] did in Vietnam, what happened to people overseas, was no concern of mine. I was wrong. I know now that each of us is obligated to fight for what is right and take responsibility for what our governement does. If we don't, sooner or later it will affect us all."
June 7, 2023
Beware of those who hide behind the cloak of official secrets…
Harrowing but compelling. Unbelievable but true. The American involvement in the affairs of a foreign country has occurred all too often in the last 50-60 years. The immediate aftermath of the Chilean coup in its horrifying brutality against its own citizens resembled Nazi Germany in the 1930s. An American citizens execution at the hands of the Chilean Junta could only have been carried out with the assent of a high ranking American official. Americas paranoia with suspected emerging communism would lead them to get their asses kicked in Vietnam, so what do they do, pick on a smaller, weaker, politically fragile country to make a point. America was and is a bully. To all the Charles Horman’s of the world, keep doing what you’re doing, change will come. Recommended 5 stars…
Harrowing but compelling. Unbelievable but true. The American involvement in the affairs of a foreign country has occurred all too often in the last 50-60 years. The immediate aftermath of the Chilean coup in its horrifying brutality against its own citizens resembled Nazi Germany in the 1930s. An American citizens execution at the hands of the Chilean Junta could only have been carried out with the assent of a high ranking American official. Americas paranoia with suspected emerging communism would lead them to get their asses kicked in Vietnam, so what do they do, pick on a smaller, weaker, politically fragile country to make a point. America was and is a bully. To all the Charles Horman’s of the world, keep doing what you’re doing, change will come. Recommended 5 stars…
Read
September 9, 2025It took me 53 years before I was able to read this book recounting the days of the Chilean coup, the U.S. government involvement in the take-down of Allende alongside the rise of Pinochet, and the events surrounding the disappearance and execution of Charlie in September of 1973. Ed Horman is quoted, "My family and I have lost trust in the statements, motives, and decency of our government. As an American, I truly regret that loss." I am part of that family.
October 12, 2025
An authorized killing
And South, Central America suffered brutal military dictatorships with hundreds killed,tortured, disappeared.
All manipulated by the USA.
The Americans executed in Chile paid the price for believing in freedom.
The School of The Americas is gone but in 2025 there is a fear intervention from.CIA,military is a looming threat. Charles parents, wife never stopped fighting for justice.
The willing participants never charged.
And South, Central America suffered brutal military dictatorships with hundreds killed,tortured, disappeared.
All manipulated by the USA.
The Americans executed in Chile paid the price for believing in freedom.
The School of The Americas is gone but in 2025 there is a fear intervention from.CIA,military is a looming threat. Charles parents, wife never stopped fighting for justice.
The willing participants never charged.
October 12, 2013
Along with providing the details of the lead-up to and many components of the military coup in Chile in 1973, the book fully engages the daily, real-world struggle of one US family as it seeks to find out the status of their missing loved one. This is very gripping. Not only do you witness the family's struggle, but also the US military personnel as they manage the realities of post-coup life, especially in these early days. The images are heart-jerking. So much is told, but you really want to know more -- especially about the US's involvement. Many key governmental officials are culpable. The book is international politics at its best, exposing the macro and the micro levels. It presents the underbelly of our South American policies as other Americans, non-military people also get caught up in the coup. I recommend this book highly.
July 19, 2012
This book traces the events surrounding the execution of Charles Horman, an American in Chile during the '73 coup. Horman was kidnapped and killed because he inadvertently discovered that American forces like the CIA, and the Southern Command, were involved in overthrowing the democratically elected Marxist Allente. In large part it describes how the Santiago American Embassy was working against Americans who were somewhat liberal. This book was censored in US and Canada for five years while Iran-Contra was getting publicity.
May 28, 2010
This fantastic book is written about the fate of an American journalist, Charles Horman, who was executed by the pseudo-nazi junta during the coup of September 1973 in Chile. Even before reading this book, I was sympathetic toward el compañero presidente Allende, his cause and his courage, but this book presented such a moving account of what had happened in those days that I somehow lived through it.
December 13, 2008
I was disappointed with this. Hauser has wrote a lot of very good boxing related stuff, including what is probably the definitive Muhammad Ali biography and I think the cia sponsored shenanigans that went on in Chile is an interesting and to most people unknown chapter of history so I had high hopes for this book, not that it was bad, I just expected more.
May 1, 2022
Good book about Charles Horman, an American journalist killed in Chile after the CIA-backed overthrow of Salvador Allende. I also recommend the movie about this titled Missing produced by Costa Gavras.
January 2, 2011
I have read this book many, many times. It's fascinating (and tragic and enraging!) both for the story itself and what was done to the book for daring to tell it.
December 24, 2017
Res ipsa loquitur: A lawyer's well-written and sober account of the American-backed coup in Chile, grounded in fact and careful to leave the speculation and gap-filling to the reader.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews