A review by vandorin
All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

If you’re interested in middle eastern history, this is an excellent read! It starts with a touch of history on the beginning of the OSS/CIA in a post WWII world and leads into the CIA led coup to overthrow and depose Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh and replace him with Reza Shah. This book breaks down the coup, its attemps, key parties and their roles, and its successes. It also breaks down the absolute failure it was in a historical point of view as the CIA never predicted the dictatorship that would follow under Reza Shah. Most historical events in/from the middle east all the way up to 9/11 and present day tensions can be tied back to this one coup. At a little over 200 pages its a fairly quick read and i couldnt put it down.