Customer Rating:  
Summary: Journalism
Comment: Never did like this book. Was to graphic and details of things that happened that I didn't need to know about.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Inaccurate and full of mistakes
Comment: I read this book twice both in Persian & English and found lots of historical errors in the book such as claims that PM Mossadeq was democratically elected back in 1950s which is totally wrong. PM Mossadeq was APPOINTED as PM by the King of Iran, Shah Reza Pahlavi in 1950 and when ordered to quit, the Shah had to execute a UK-US backed coup against him.... Errors like that are enormous in this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Perceptive look at the Shah & the Iranian revolution.
Comment: Kapuscinski writes persceptively about Iran before and during the Iranian revolution, based on his extended stay there during the period it occured. He combines factual reporting and his own impressions based on notes, tapes and photographs. It is particularly strong on the psychology of various players. He is a wonderful, direct writer. The rewarding 152 page book goes by in no time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Middle East Understanding
Comment: Everyone interested in understanding what is going on in Iraq, Iran and the rest of the middle east should read this book. It provides a
succinct, informed history of rulers, dynasties, cultures, etc. that affect today's life in this area. A super read! The author literally immersed himself in these cultures at great risk in order to provide an accurate portrayal.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Why the Shah deserved his fate
Comment: The book is a montage of images from the Shah's reign and the revolution. A good little book for understanding why the Shah was who he was, and why he deserved his fate.
Iran under the Shah was a totalitarian society. It was marked by indiscriminate terror, a single political party with membership mandatory for job advancement, a massive informant network, quotas for finding dissidents, an inefficient command economy driven by the Shah's oil money, and a total disregard for human rights.
The only space the Shah didn't control was inside the Mosques. They became a refuge for people, and ultimately a base for revolution.
I wonder how the Shah's fate influenced Saddam Hussein?
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