All the Shah's men - Stephen Kinzer

In a riveting narrative that reads like a thriller, All the Shah’s Men brings to life the 1953 CIA coup in Iran a regime change that ousted the country’s elected prime minister, ushered in a quarter–century of brutal rule under the Shah, and stimulated the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and anti–Americanism in the Middle East. Selected as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and the Economist, it’s essential reading if you want to put the American conquest of Iraq in context.

"An entirely engrossing, often riveting, nearly Homeric tale. . . . For anyone with more than a passing interest in how the United States got into such a pickle in the Middle East, All the Shah’s Men is as good as Grisham."

The Washington Post Book World

"An exciting narrative. [Kinzer] questions whether Americans are well served by interventions for regime change abroad, and he reminds us of the long history of Iranian resistance to great power interventions, as well as the unanticipated consequences of intervention."

Los Angeles Times

"Kinzer’s brisk, vivid account is filled with beguiling details. . . . A helpful reminder of an oft–neglected piece of Middle Eastern history."

The New York Times Book Review