All the Shah's Men

An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

By: Stephen Kinzer

Narrated by: Michael Prichard, Jonathan Yen

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Half a century ago, the United States overthrew the democratically elected prime minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh, whose "crime" was nationalizing the country's oil industry.

In a cloak-and-dagger story of spies, saboteurs, and secret agents, Kinzer reveals the involvement of Eisenhower, Churchill, Kermit Roosevelt, and the CIA in Operation Ajax, which restored Mohammad Reza Shah to power. Reza imposed a tyranny that ultimately sparked the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which, in turn, inspired fundamentalists throughout the Muslim world, including the Taliban and terrorists who thrived under its protection.

"It is not far-fetched", Kinzer asserts, "to draw a line from Operation Ajax through the Shah's repressive regime and the Islamic Revolution to the fireballs that engulfed the World Trade Center in New York."

©2003 Stephen Kinzer (P)2003 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Breezy storytelling and diligent research.... This stands as a textbook lesson in how not to conduct foreign policy." (Publishers Weekly)

"With a keen journalistic eye, and with a novelist's pen....a very gripping read." (The New York Times)

"Kinzer's brilliant reconstruction of the Iranian coup is made even more fascinating by the fact that it is true. It is as gripping as a thriller, and also tells much about why the United States is involved today in places like Afgahanistan and Iraq." (Gore Vidal)

All the Shah's Men

I was 5 to 7 years old, a British Citizen of Indian origin and living in Meshed, a city in North Eastern Iran, at the time of the Coup and I remember witnessing the street scenes while hiding behind partially open front door of our house. The descriptions by Mr. Kinzer of the riots and the rioters and how the same rioters changed there slogans from one day to the third or the fourth day are so accurate. Reading this book brought back bitter-sweet memories of my childhood days in the Iran of the Mosadeq-Shah Era. The Shah was a pragmatist progressive and overall stood for a better IRAN. It is sad how both luminary lives ended. I feel so sad for Queen Farah Diba the surviving wife of the Shah Mohamed Reza Shah Pahlavi. He was a great friend of the world.

Excellent work!

Excellent work performed with complete integrity and thorough investigation of all the relevant facts surrounding the beloved Iranian nationalist M. Musadiq's rise and fall, much to the detriment of the United States foreign policy in the Middle East.

The story of Mohammad Mosaddegh

Good coverage of Iran but not enough on the actual revolution. More of that should have been included.

How and why we got embroiled in the Middle East

This is a powerful history. It does much to explain how and why the United States first got into the business of overthrowing governments.

The book is interesting, and I enjoyed following it.

Excellent book

I really enjoyed this book and thought it gave a really nice foundation for understanding the history of Iran and how the 1953 coup changed Iran and its relationship with America and shaped the rest of subsequent history. I liked that it was written recently enough to have a view to subsequent events, which inescapably color one's view of the coup. The narrator grew on me, although he is a little stiff. All in all, I would say it is a great quick read and would highly recommend it.

Another Chapter of American Infamy

if you want a good look inside the early cold war and our international escapades and ugliness, read this book and tell yourself about democracy.

A good history

So much information with lots of details and a riveting story. I am sure the CIA doesn't want us to hear this story and how it relates to Venezuela now

Important for understanding geopolitical history, but unlistenable

Excellent book on a critical set of US policy makers decisions that, in combination with other serious factors and forces in play on the ground in Iran, led to disaster for the Iranian people, the US, and the West that we still suffer with today. Well written. Unfortunately, the narrator sounds like an idiot as he mispronounces ‘Iran’, ‘Iranian’ or any iteration of the word. Really, I can’t stand such incompetence as well as the grating sound. Add to that the tabloid narration style (which is a narrator choice) doesn’t help. Do these narrators do any preparation or research before they record or do they just stumble from the bar into the recording studio and press record?

Overthrow of a democratic system

Kinzer does a great job of documenting and explaining how the British, with the help of the Americans, overthrew a democraticly elected prime minister in Iran--all for oil. The author draws a direct line from the US back coup in Iran to the hostage crisis in 1979. Well done!!

The Law of Unintended Consequences writ large

I already knew something about the events that Kinzer describes here, but he tells the tale in a captivating fashion with rich detail and excellent historical background. He presents his conclusions in a balanced way, but his case against this American involvement is very compelling and makes me shudder when I consider the unintended consequences that could result from our latest Gulf adventure. This as the stated intended consequence of a stable, democratic, and friendly Iraq is looking more and more like a pipe dream turning into a nightmare. Truman emerges from this story as a real hero with the longer view of the dangers while various British and American leaders (particularly the Dulles brothers) are shown to be blinded by their own arrogance and in the end brought about incalculable harm.