King of Kings : The Fall of the Shah, the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Unmaking of the Modern Middle East

Before the revolution, the Shah of Iran seemed invincible.The world watched in awe as he commanded a huge army and oversaw an economy awash with billions of dollars of oil revenues.The regime’s secret police had crushed communist opposition and the Shah appeared to have bought off the conservative Muslim clergy inside the country.On the international stage, Iran had become an invaluable ally to the West during the Cold War. But village streets spoke of a different country - people derided the Shah as an American lackey and blamed him for economic inequality, for spending recklessly on lavish parties and for ignoring the Muslim majority.When a volcanic religious revolution erupted, led by a fiery cleric named Ayatollah Khomeini, the Shah was forced off the throne and into exile.How did it all go so wrong?Brilliantly brought to life by the Sunday Times bestselling author Scott Anderson, this gripping behind-the-scenes narrative reveals how the Iranian Revolution was as world-shattering a