Amazon makes it sound more authentic than it is.
I found a link that gives the background story.
"Years later, the Perdicaris story would be rediscovered by Hollywood in a 1975 movie, "The Wind and the Lion." Sean Connery played Raisuli, but the scriptwriters apparently thought the balding, bearded Perdicaris wasn't a romantic enough character as a man.
So the screenwriters turned "Ion" Perdicaris into "Eden" Perdicaris and cast Candice Bergen in the part."
From - The Capital Century home page
1904: 'Perdicaris alive
or Raisuli dead!'
By JON BLACKWELL / The Trentonian
It's a very interesting story. Ion Perdicaris and his stepson were the actual hostages. Even more interesting is that Perdicaris, it was later found out after the battleships had been dispatched for their rescue, was not even an American citizen. This belatedly discovered fact was kept hidden from the public because it would have embarrassed Roosevelt during the re-election convention and was instead used as another example of his big-stick diplomatic prowess.
http://www.capitalcentury.com/1904.html