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)

Great analysis

Really good take on the background regarding how it rose to the theocratic nation that currently stands before them.

History Revealed

If you ever wondered why "those people dislike us" and also wanted to understand the roots of modern day terrorism, you will want to read this book. It was an interesting and informative book.

A must read by all Americans

Excellent! Kinzer is a riveting story teller. But, more importantly, this history needs to be known by all Americans. It is an important key to getting a handle on middle eastern geopolitics.

Important read

Where does All the Shah's Men rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 5 for sure

Any additional comments?

Great book and an important read. This is a great book to learn more about the situation in the mid-east. They don't like the west for a reason. Prior to 1900, they loved the west. What changed?

Great History

This book should be a must read for anyone who wants to know how we ended up in the Middle East in the situation. We’re in now.

Greed and conspiracy

Britain and American meddling in the affairs of another country backfires, The desire for Iran’s oil, leads to a political disaster. Enjoyed learning the reasons behind the current antagonism between the west and Iran.

Great book

This compelling book couldn't be more timely. It presents a complex and nuanced understanding of the dynamics at play in the Middle East through the historical lens of Operation Ajax.

The beginning of the end

THis was an absolutely great book on Iran/American history. After reading this book it is clear why IRAN dislikes us. It is not hard to understand why we bacame the target of extremeists by other middle east countries given our involvement in Iran int he 1950's. I never thought that just 50 years ago the American govt would lead a covert operation to overthrow a democracy and instal a represive monarchy. But that is exactly what happened. Now I am going to go read Charlie Wilson's War to find out how we armed these people we pissed off.

Outstanding nonfiction title

Excellent book on US/Iran relations. The kind of thing our policymakers ought to be reading as they raise the level of din about Iran & its nuclear program & its mullah leaders. Our poor relationship with the Iran of today cannot be 100% traced back to our joint imperialist effort with Britain in the early-1950s, but there is certainly a line from that time to this. Mossadegh was no saint, the author makes that clear, but neither was he completely recalcitrant with the Shah & with the British oil interests. And he certainly was no communist. It was the weak-kneed Shah, his corrupt cronies (who ran the military) and the the British leaders pining away for the time "when the sun never set on the British Empire" who were most responsible for the state of the affairs back in 1950. Absolutely no doubt about that. And it was the Eisenhower Administration that made things happen (just as they would in Guatemala a year later). Sad. Anyhow, I thought the book was very well put together, unbiased, and very well narrated.

Excellent

This book was incredibly researched and detailed, yet engaging and accessable. While the book is sympathetic towards the plight of the Iranian people and the nationalist/Anit-colonial movement, the views of the multiple factions involved are reported fairly. If this book has a "hero," it is MohammAd Mossadegh. Yet, for all his passion and vision, he is portrayed as a real human being with flaws, not a near-mythical giant-slaying figure. A MUST for anyone concerned with current events.