All the Shah's Men

Elena Wasnak

World Politics

Book Review.

Kinzer, Stephen. All The Shah's Men. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Print.

This is the book that made me want to change my life. Completely. I’ve read hundreds of books in my lifetime and this is the first that has ever had such a profound effect on me and it is the only book (besides Harry Potter) that has brought me to tears with its conclusion. The book was assigned to me in my Introduction to Middle Eastern History class and, if nothing else, I will always be grateful to my professor for that.

All the Shah’s Men written by Stephen Kinzer, an award winning foreign correspondent, is the story of the 1953 American Coup in Iran and the “roots of Middle East Terror.” What separates this book from the others written about Iran is that this book is not about the events. Of course it is on the surface, but in actuality Kinzer is telling the story of people. The British and the Americans and the Iranians who either helped orchestrate the coup or tried to thwart it, but either way are all paying the price.

His portrait of democratically elected Prime Minister Mosaddeghf is the most striking part of the book. He depicts a leader both imperfect and prideful but also shrewd and compassionate and with a deep love for his people. In fact that is why the book is so moving. Kinzer devotes so much of the book to Mosaddegh and his love for Iran that the reader is helpless forced into empathizing with him, with his humanity. And although Kinzer devotes equal attention to the American CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt and nearly as much to the Dulles brothers who headed the CIA and the State Department, showing the humanity in all of their actions as well, it is not to same effect.

Intertwined with the story of the coup is the story of Iran, from the great empire of Persia to a nation used as a pawn by both Britain and Russia. The history leading up to the coup is nearly as sad: the industry and land concessions given by greedy Shahs, the work conditions of Iranians who were treated as second class citizens in their own country as well as by the rest of the world. By the time Mosaddegh rises to power in Iran, he feels like a hero in a storybook.

The saddest part about reading All the Shah’s Men is that you already know the ending. Nothing is a surprise; you are simply seeing the story through new eyes, and often through Iranian eyes. There is a clear bias that practically shouts at you from the pages, Kinzer is angry and his anger feeds your sadness. There was a great injustice done and instead of simply telling you about it, Kinzer makes you feel it too.

Before reading this book I thought I wanted to be a student of International Relations. After reading this book I realized I don’t. I don’t want to be one of the people forced into making the decisions that my fellow Americans made nearly sixty years ago. I am not strong enough. What Kinzer’s book has taught