All the Shah's Men
by Stephen Kinzer · first published 2003
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Narrative history of the 1953 CIA-backed coup against Iran's elected prime minister Mosaddegh, reading almost like a spy thriller; recommended for anyone wanting an accessible account of the coup and its aftermath.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This is the first full-length account of the CIA's coup d'etat in Iran in 1953--a covert operation whose consequences are still with us today. Written by a noted New York Times journalist, this book is based on documents about the coup (including some lengthy internal CIA reports) that have now been declassified. Stephen Kinzer's compelling narrative is at once a vital piece of history, a cautionary tale, and a real-life espionage thriller.
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A great book on this topic is "All the Shah's Men" by Stephen Kinzer.
on “'Coup 53' tells the story of 1953 campaign by MI6 and CIA to oust Iran's leader” ↗"All The Shah's Men" by Stephen Kinzer is a damn good read if you're interested in the events of 1953 and the 1979 revolution: http://amzn.eu/exfXKfr
on “Iran 1953 Covert History Quietly Released” ↗Agreed. That said, to give some credit, here are a few I’ve read during the last few years that I can offer as counter examples: * All the shah’s men, by Stephen Kinzer, about how the 1953 coup against the democratically elected prime minister of Iran Mohammad Mosaddegh was orchestrated. * The Idea Factory, by John Gertnee, about the history of Bell…
on “Rules for Choosing Nonfiction Books” ↗The book All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer is an excellent narration of the time leading up to the coup, and the coup itself. I think it's fair to say that a lot of our problems with terrorism at the present all stemmed from…
on “CIA publicly acknowledges 1953 coup it backed in Iran was undemocratic” ↗I thought this coup was outed by FOIA documents while I was still in college around 9/11 time. I highly recommend All The Shah's Men if you want a good run-down of what happened. Even the CIA history FOIA document reads a bit like a James Bond novel. Kermit Roosevelt Junior was quite the Bond-like character and the Operation Ajax coup…
on “CIA Confirms Role in 1953 Iran Coup” ↗I just finished a great book called "All the Shah's Men" about the history of the Iranian revolution. To have everything that happened in Iran boiled down to "countries invaded by, bombed by or had coups instigated by the USA, since the end of the Korean War"…
on “US, Taiwan seek 'like-minded' democracies in supply chain shift from China” ↗For a longer read on the history here, "All the Shah's Men" is a great read.
on “'Coup 53' tells the story of 1953 campaign by MI6 and CIA to oust Iran's leader” ↗…reestablished, and his oppressive rule paved way for the Islamic revolution two decades later. One of many illustrative examples of how the English could never be considered benevolent rulers. (As described in All the Shah's men, by Stephen Kinzer)
on “Marc Andreessen Pro-Colonialism Tweet Riles India Tech World” ↗One of the CIA's in-house historians, who the following year went on to become CIA Chief Historian, David Robarge, wrote this review of All the Shah's Men in 2004: https://www.cia.gov/static/all-the-shahs-men.pdf > In All the Shah's Men, Stephen Kinzer of the New York Times sugests that the explanation may lie next door in Iran, where the CIA carried out…
on “CIA publicly acknowledges 1953 coup it backed in Iran was undemocratic” ↗…U.S. I know they were directed to Britain: Anglo-Iranian was a significant chunk of the UK pension system. But what monetary benefit was going to the U.S.? Most of my understanding here is coming from All the Shah's Men. If you've got additional sources, I'd love to see them.
on “Iran Nuclear Deal Reached” ↗