This is a good history book everyone needs to read. Especially anyone running for political office.

To write a good history book like this one an author needs to do well in three separate areas. He needs to research the topic at hand, write a readable account and finally analyze the events. Kinzer performs exceptionally well in all three areas. First, the book is meticulously researched. He discusses appropriate history without going into unnecessary or boring details to give the reader an appropriate context and background leading up to the 1953 coup. He also uses a diverse set of resources which leaves no holes in the story.

Second, Kinzer's writing is engaging and at times suspenseful. In fact at the end of many chapters, I was unable to put the book aside and take a break from reading due to the suspense Kinzer created. The story is very easy to follow and the reader needs practically no background to follow the events. This is particularly impressive given the relative short length of the book. My only criticism is that I wished he had summarized the cast of characters in an appendix or in the beginning as many similar books do.

Finally, his analysis, while many have called too liberal, is even handed. He makes a leap by implying that 9/11 events may have not happened if it weren't for the 1953 CIA led coup. Of course we will never know for sure. He supports his claims convincingly that the coup led to the eventual 1979 hostage crisis and the anti-American feelings in the Middle East. Liberal bias? The facts speak for themselves. The CIA using American tax payer money to overthrow a popular and democratically elected government. We, in the USA, would not appreciate if foreigners overthrew our government so why have a double standard? Perhaps Mossadegh is being glorified too much and ultimately he would have led Iran towards the wrong path, but the point remains that we will never know thanks to the coup. Kinzer does entertain the possibilities that Mossadegh would have been terrible for Iran and the West so I reject the idea that he has a strong liberal bias.

If you, like me, find the "Death to USA" chants and hostage taking barbaric and puzzling, this book will offer you fresh insights and help you understand the roots of these actions. You will become a lot smarter and more knowledgeable about the Middle East after reading it. I highly recommend this book.

"All The Shah's Men" by Stephen Kinzer is one of those rare works that exposes and explores a little-known moment in world history that is of high importance for our own times. The book chronicles how the U.S. and Britain pulled off a coup in Iran in the 1950s, overthrowing an elected government and setting the stage for what would become the Islamic Revolution of 1979. There has never been a more timely moment to pick up this book which explains the past, but it has priceless insights into the present. Kinzer has even included a new preface in this latest edition where he discusses the current spike in tensions and rhetoric from the U.S. towards Iran and the grave danger of a possible military confrontation and what it could mean.

In rich, fascinating detail and thrilling pace, Kinzer takes the reader through Iran's most fascinating moments in history ranging from its glory days as the Persian Empire to its time as a colony under British rule. Kinzer brilliantly looks at Iranian culture, how the Shiite religion plays a role in the Iranian character and has shaped the nation's attitudes and social structure. There are interesting moments dealing with the discovery of oil in the country and how this especially turned the area into a target for colonial interests. After this educative introduction to the country, Kinzer then focuses on the political upheavel Iran faced during the 1930s and 1940s when a parliamentry system was installed to sit next to the reigning monarchy. This came about during a time of intense nationalism which finally climaxed in the election of Mohammed Mossadegh, a fierce nationalist who's main goal was to nationalize Iran's oil which at the time was completely controlled by the British. Iranian oil was helping keep the British Empire afloat and giving the British citizenry a cozey lifestyle while Iranians lived in horrendous poverty, especially the oil workers at the Abadan refinery who lived in tin shacks while their colonial masters enjoyed golf courses, cinemas and luxurious clubs.

Kinzer's exploration of Mossadegh is deep and fascinating, reading you realize that Mossadegh deserves a place among the great nationalist leaders who have been known for their clashes with imperialism like Mandela, Lumumba, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. He comes across as a highly intelligent, charismatic character who felt a deep pain for his nation's suffering and was willing to face hell in order to liberate his people. The moment where Mossadegh speaks before the UN is especially memorable.

"All The Shah's Men's" main storyline focuses on how the battle for oil independence by Iran led to a joint British/U.S. operation to overthrow Mossadegh and re-install the Shah who was willing to serve all his master's demands as long as his throne and authority were kept secure. These are some of the books most enraging, thrilling moments as key historical characters such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Winston Churchill and CIA director Allen Dulles make appearances, divising massive propaganda, sabotage and destabilization plots to bring down a nationalist government threatening imperial hegemony.

Kinzer's book looks at the past, but is highly important for the present because once again we face a situation where a dominant power in the world might intervene violently in Iran, but as anyone who reads "All The Shah's Men" learns, this is not a wise course of action. The intervention carried out in 1953 lead to years of brutal repression which in turn led to the Islamic Revolution and the regime we are dealing with today. Kinzer brilliantly explores Iranian culture and the history of a people who have been punished endlessly for trying to control their own natural resources, this makes the story quite universal considering the struggle of Mossadegh in the book is the same struggle we see today in nations like Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba and Asia. "All The Shah's Men" is the answer to these radical, right-wing, religious books we have been bombarded with promoting war with Iran based on simplistic reasons when in fact, the history is much more complex.

Kinzer writes "All The Shah's Men" with a great eye for detail and provides in-depth analysis, documents, rare news reports and speeches to take us back in time. Like his other brilliant work on imperialism, "Overthrow," Kinzer also captures the human aspect and provides great personal, psychological details of the characters and how they were shaped by and related to the historical event in question. The book also serves as a nice crash course for anyone who wants to become familiar with Iran and its history, Kinzer does some excellent historical research that proves to be very valuable in understanding how this controversial nation has been shaped and formed.

"All The Shah's Men" is a brilliant chronicle and great resource, it is one of the best books available on Iran and the best record yet on what can be seen as the most crucial Western intervention in the Middle East in the last century before the Iraq War. A timely work and a timely warning.

All the Shah's Men attempts something seen but rarely accomplished in such an insightfully brilliant composition. Covering the events of the Anglo-Iranian oil embroilment, Stephen Kinzer attempts to take a neutral position on the ordeal but careful juxtaposition of events and seemingly minor inadvertent details hints otherwise. It must be realized that there is nothing in this text that is thrown casually together or without cause; the subject material is intrinsically complex: the very thought of organizing a tale as historically convoluted as this one seems a near incomprehensible act. It leaves only the conclusion, then, that every clause is carefully chosen and every concept lent an overarching purpose. Stephen Kinzer has taken to the high hills of neutrality while also subtly imparting his own thoughts from its grounds.

However that is not to say that he implants a wholly biased view. No, in fact there is a masterful genius in the way that he presents both sides of the issue without asking the audience outright to make judgement on either side. It should be noted that this is hard not to: one would find it difficult to read on the roots of what has amounted to a country's centuries old struggle for stable government and national unity. But, fortunately, it is not required of the reader to take any such stance. Indeed, it is not until the very end that any sort of analysis is even attempted. Then, too, Kinzer remains aloof behind the analysis of other historians of which he quotes extensively and interjects only to raise possible quandaries that they - not he - expose.

It is difficult to describe just who Kinzer is trying to reach here but it stands apparent that the man is passionate about his subject and wishes to get word out. At its core, All the Shah's Men is a tale of misunderstandings, stubborn actions, and lost opportunities. The novel details the U.S.'s involvement in a coup overthrowing Iran's revolutionary, progressive leader at the time Mohammad Mossadegh. While popular in his home country for nationalizing the oil industry, he ran afoul British (and consequently American) interests with his actions. Replacing him was Reza Shah who was seen mostly as the U.S.'s puppet government. Needless to say, this has caused what can only be understated as constant strife in the region and involved countries' relations. Kinzer ties this tale into coherency with an air of moralistic impassivity. What passes in his book is intriguing, disheartening, and as he is quick to remind - above all historically accurate. One feels that, upon closing the final chapters they have uncovered a great virtuosity and reached a profound understanding of often muddy governmental policies. If anything, one knows that they have definitely been handed a guide on how not to run foreign policy.

There is the implied concession on the advantages of hindsight, but then again, there is too that implied (however not always limited to such subtlety) concept that pigheadedness - easily identifiable during the run of its course - was, too, a large contributing factor.

All the Shah's Men succeeds not only because of its well accomplished attempts to organize often baffling quandries of political events, but also because of its effective use of what can best be described as stratification. While it would have been easy to cop to dividing the social castes inherent in the Anglo-Iranian crisis (and a major fuel to the lasting bitterness) Kinzer instead identifies the many overlaying sociological strata of the issue. We are given an overview of the issues highly charged history rife with symbols of religious martyrdom and political tension. The apparent psychological epidermis of the crisis is tilled handily before delving more into the heart of the issue in an effort of attaining an all-encompassing understanding. Without pandering to superficial conclusions or extraneous events, he gives us the breadth of the situation with a vision of multi-layered depth often gone unseen with such wells of temperance.

The ball is missed in a few spots, though. His straight-line recount of events feels empty at times as the mechanical linkage of occurrences leads to a concise - however dry - tale. As aforementioned, the balance of fact and opinion however much implied by Kinzer or falsely placed by the reader, is an unbalanced mix that somewhat detracts from the ruminative insights that he is oft to make.

However these moments stand of a minor importance in the larger, venturous message of Shah's Men. Nor do they slow down the rather fast-paced events of international spy intrigue permeating the Anglo-Iranian crisis. To this effect, Kinzer has drafted a book that will appeal not only to history buffs and political enthusiasts, but to those who would most usually find such subjects to be rather a boring and stuffy read. Kinzer is sure to make the matter of the past an engrossing issue of the now and foreign policy not only a matter of moralistic integrity of government but also one of personal responsibility. As indicated by All the Shah's Men's bestseller status, the people - people of the government - are clearly willing to listen. And, perhaps, that is all Kinzer really wants.

As an American who spent two years in Tehran during the 1950's, I was much aware of the impact of the coup and its immediate aftermath that is described Kinzer's book. It puts my memories of the time and the people into a excellent history and adds information about the coup that was not known to me. Working at the university I was aware of the bitterness of the people that I knew--students, faculty, business people and ministry employees. They were skeptical that any good could come from relations with the U.S., though they were always friendly to me and my family. Through Kinzer's book I have a better understanding of the events that followed the overthrow of Mossadegh, even unto today.

I have to say I am troubled by the many reviewers who say they loved this book, except for the idea that America's actions could have possibly contributed to the hatred anyone feels toward us. To say there is a connection is not the same as saying we deserved it, and the author by no means makes any suggestion that 9/11 was something reasonable or deserved. To deny the connection is to go blind into today's events.

Growing up in America, I was never told that the Iran hostage crisis was related to Jimmy Carter's willingness to shelter the deposed Shah after the 1979 revolution. I think it's pretty clear that the same hatred toward America that was behind that crisis played a significant part in leading up to 9/11 as well. This book helps explain how America's role in proping up the Shah contributed, however unintentionally, to the rise to power of radicalism in that region.

The book focuses on a few characters who played significant roles in the events in order to make the story more personal and interesting. To bring in all the issues of the times, or try to cover all the significant players in detail, even on the American side, would have probably made the story unreadable. The result is a highly readable and generally fascinating history.

The book also spends time explaining, briefly, the larger history of Iran and the reasons why Iran's branch of Islam is different from other branches. This serves to bring the events of 1953 into much clearer perspective. This section is inserted into the middle of the main narrative, and I was impressed by how much richness and depth the remainder seemed to acquire with the new knowledge gained.

You might also want to read "Legacy of Ashes", for a broader history of the CIA's questionable attempts to influence world events. I would also recommend "Overthrow", which has a section devoted to the events in Iran, but with more of an emphasis on the role of the Dulles brothers in guiding the CIA's decisions and policy.

fascinating read. great intro to Iranian history from ancient times to modern. Very in-depth and enlightening as well. British colonial arrogance and American tunnel vision lead to overthrow of the first democratic government in the Middle East. No analysis of today's Iran-American clash is complete without understanding the root of the friction.

The UK-US overthrow of Mossadegh was clearly one of the worst foreign policy moves in our history. It parallels the simlar Eisenhower directed overthrow of Guatemala's democratic leader Arbenz, for which we still pay.But the conclusion that the Iran move is at the "root of Middle East terror" is not IMO correct. That root stems from Palestine which most of the world views as a kind of concentration camp run by Israel with the aggressive support of the United States. Until we resolve that issue, the so called War on Terror is futile.
Discl: Viking(member American Assoc of Petroleum Geologists)

An easily read account of the U.S. and British actions to overthrow the Iranian Prime Minister in 1953 that lead to the entrenchment of the Shah in Iran and ultimately to the Iranian Revolution. This book provides a great perspective from both sides in this action and is a great warning to the hazards of unintended consequences when getting involved in the internal affairs of foreign governments.

Highly recommend to anyone who wants to understand the origins of Iranian mistrust of the U.S. government and thier actions in the Middle East.

I am deeply embarrassed; when I saw this title in my account history I had no recollection of it. It only took me a few words of reviewing it here to remember. This book should be required reading in all of our government bodies that have anything to do with policy making, especially foreign policy, it should also be in our school curriculums. I cannot testify to the veracity of anything written in this book beyond one thing, the overthrow of Mossadegh is a significant reason for anti Amrikayi sentiment in Iran. Elsewhere other author(s) have claimed that Shia Iran is the backbone of Islamic unrest region and/or worldwide. This book very clearly spells out how captalism as practiced by our "military industrialist" cabal that rules American society has destroyed any chance that the mouthings of their current "Puppet in Chief" about spreading democracy will have even the slightest credibility anywhere outside of their own boardrooms and in the minds of brainwashed Americans who are foolish enough to still believe anyone in power in this country still tells them anything resembling the truth.

Fascinating story, well-organized, told in an engaging way. This book provides a great deal of insight into the roots of the current situation in Iran.