King of Kings

The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation

By: Scott Anderson

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner, Scott Anderson

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Lawrence in Arabia comes a stunningly revelatory narrative history of the Iranian Revolution, one of the most momentous events in modern times. This groundbreaking work exposes the jaw-dropping stupidity of the American government and traces the rise of religious nationalism, offering essential insights into today's global unrest.

“A must-read that is both urgent and unforgettable.”—Steve Coll, author of The Achilles Trap, Directorate S, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Ghost Wars, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

"A masterful and gripping account. Anderson gives us a page-turning history lesson that is more relevant than ever."—Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author Imperial Life in the Emerald City, a finalist for the National Book Award

On New Year’s Eve, 1977, on a state visit to Iran, President Jimmy Carter toasted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, King of Kings, Light of the Aryans, Shadow of God on Earth, praising Iran as “an island of stability” due to “your leadership and the respect and admiration and love which your people give to you.” Iran had the world’s fifth largest army and was awash in billions of dollars in oil revenues. Construction cranes dotted the skyline of its booming capital, Tehran. The regime’s feared secret police force SAVAK had crushed communist opposition, and the Shah had bought off the conservative Muslim clergy inside the country. He seemed invulnerable, and invaluable to the United States as an ally in the Cold War. Fourteen months later the Shah fled Iran into exile, forced from the throne by a volcanic religious revolution led by a fiery cleric named Ayatollah Khomeini. The ensuing hostage crisis forever damaged America’s standing in the world. How could the United States, which had one of the largest CIA stations in the world and thousands of military personnel in Iran, have been so blind?

The spellbinding story Scott Anderson weaves is one of a dictator blind to the disdain of his subjects and a superpower blundering into disaster. Scott Anderson tells this astonishing tale with the narrative brio, mordant wit, and keen analysis that made his bestselling Lawrence of Arabia one of the key texts in understanding the modern Middle East. The Iranian Revolution, Anderson convincingly argues, was as world-shattering an event as the French and Russian revolutions. In the Middle East, in India, in Southeast Asia, in Europe, and now in the United States, the hatred of economically-marginalized, religiously-fervent masses for a wealthy secular elite has led to violence and upheaval–and Iran was the template. King of Kings is a bravura work of history, and a warning.

©2025 Scott Anderson (P)2025 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Instantly absorbing, King of Kings is an exhilarating plunge into the psychology of unchecked power, which secludes, blinds, and ultimately betrays its holders. Anderson is a master of the telling detail; he gives us lessons not only from the Shah’s undoing but also from Washington’s weakness for rigid assumptions—until history, as it so often does, shatters the illusion of control.”—Evan Osnos, author of the National Book Award winner Age of Ambition

“Anderson’s brilliant new account of the events leading to the shah’s fall is both masterful and mesmerizing. With bracing clarity, drawing from interviews with direct participants, King of Kings shows senior Iranian and U.S. officials sleepwalking into a disaster with global consequences—and one that was far from inevitable. A must-read for anyone looking to understand the origins of the Middle East’s most dangerous regime.”—Joby Warrick, author of Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction

A Fascinating and Cautionary Tale

It is almost impossible to comprehend American incompetence in Iran This book lays it out in fascinating detail.

Great analysis leading to current Christian White Natimalism and other religious wars

Hopped me understand the context and history behind the U S in 2025 and the religious backlash to high modernism

King of Kings: A Gripping Dive into History

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to "King of Kings" by Scott Anderson. From start to finish, it was an incredibly gripping audiobook that kept me hooked through every twist and turn of the Iranian Revolution's story. The narration is top-notch—Malcolm Hillgartner does a fantastic job, delivering the content with just the right pacing and intensity to maintain that edge-of-your-seat feel throughout.

What stood out most was how well-orchestrated each chapter felt; Anderson structures the narrative masterfully, blending historical facts with insightful analysis that builds layer upon layer without ever feeling overwhelming. He provides great, unbiased insights into the hubris, delusions, and miscalculations that shaped this pivotal event, making complex geopolitical dynamics accessible and thought-provoking.

While the epilogue covered the main characters after 45 years into the revolution, additional analysis of how US failed and still getting wrong in Iran is a missing piece. it could have spiced up more.

If you're into history or current affairs, this is a must-listen. Highly recommend! 5 stars.

Compelling History

Tragic recounting of pre-revolutionary Iran and the many missed opportunities, signals, and communications of the US foreign policy community.

Illuminates history and current events

The author brings the reader into the Shah's offices, into Carter's cabinet meetings and into the Ayatollah's prayer rooms. Most astonishingly, the similarity in thoughts and actions of Trump and the Shah becomes obvious. This book makes history interesting and riveting.

Effects still felt today

Very readable, moves quickly through events we remember but with background and detail never imagined. Most Americans of a certain age mainly remember the revolution for the hostage crisis that consumed Carter’s presidency.
This book shows how that was a late domino fated to fall while WH worried about communism , plus the incredible “positive spin” put on anything Shah did.
To Iranians we were bogeymen from time of Shah, not unreasonably, & gives a very different perspective on how our bungling around the ME could lead to a not just Ayatollah but also our 9/11.
Definitely worth the time to hear from people who were there, read the cables etc.
Not anything we heard on news but a valuable perspective that gives the whole story.

Another Fascinating Story Told Well

There have been things in my life as a student of history that I have just been drawn to. One was the American Civil War and the titanic battles fought there. I was drawn to WW2 and D-Day and the battles there. I was drawn to the history of the year 1968 because I remember just what a year of upheaval it was
Now this book. In 1979 I was just about to graduate from high school and the events that took place in Iran and the taking of the hostages and the struggle of finding somewhere for the Shah to land and the rise of Khomeini Mark Bowden captured it in Guests of the Ayatollah and now Anderson has brought forth more the story in King of Kings. Fascinating telling of the events and the players of this point in history.

Great read that breaks down many factors leading to 1979

I loved how this book did a deep dive into the history and factors that caused the revolution. Also, the narrators attempt at pronunciating Ruhollah was hilarious and admirable.

Now I now the rest of the story!

I came of age during the overthrow of the Shaw and had no idea of the backstory. This is an incredible well documented, and thorough treat taste of the subject… fascinating.

A Masterfully Narrated Book

In a nutshell, the book is fairly unbiased, without tendentious affection toward any faction. It depicts the flashpoint events well and offers a solid survey of the shortcomings and malfunctions that led to the precipitous downfall of the King of Kings, who, through his self-made echo chamber, became surrounded by sycophants and was eventually ensnared in his own cobweb.