THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE • From the author of the landmark bestseller
Lawrence in Arabia comes a stunningly revelatory narrative history of the Iranian Revolution
one of the most momentous events in modern times. This groundbreaking work exposes the
jaw-dropping stupidity of the American government and traces the rise of religious nationalism
offering essential insights into today's global unrest. "An exceptional and important book.
Scrupulous and enterprising reporting rarely combine with such superb storytelling." — The New
York Times Book Review “A must-read that is both urgent and unforgettable.” —Steve Coll
author of The Achilles Trap Directorate S winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award
and Ghost Wars winner of the Pulitzer Prize "A masterful and gripping account. Anderson
gives us a page-turning history lesson that is more relevant than ever."—Rajiv Chandrasekaran
author Imperial Life in the Emerald City a finalist for the National Book Award On New
Year’s Eve 1977 on a state visit to Iran President Jimmy Carter toasted Shah Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi King of Kings Light of the Aryans Shadow of God on Earth praising Iran as “an
island of stability “ due to “your leadership and the respect and admiration and love which
your people give to you.” Iran had the world’s fifth largest army and was awash in billions of
dollars in oil revenues. Construction cranes dotted the skyline of its booming capital
Tehran. The regime’s feared secret police force SAVAK had crushed communist opposition and
the Shah had bought off the conservative Muslim clergy inside the country. He seemed
invulnerable and invaluable to the United States as an ally in the Cold War. Fourteen months
later the Shah fled Iran into exile forced from the throne by a volcanic religious revolution
led by a fiery cleric named Ayatollah Khomeini. The ensuing hostage crisis forever damaged
America’s standing in the world. How could the United States which had one of the largest CIA
stations in the world and thousands of military personnel in Iran have been so blind? The
spellbinding story Scott Anderson weaves is one of a dictator blind to the disdain of his
subjects and a superpower blundering into disaster. Scott Anderson tells this astonishing tale
with the narrative brio mordant wit and keen analysis that made his bestselling Lawrence of
Arabia one of the key texts in understanding the modern Middle East. The Iranian Revolution
Anderson convincingly argues was as world-shattering an event as the French and Russian
revolutions. In the Middle East in India in Southeast Asia in Europe and now in the United
States the hatred of economically-marginalized religiously-fervent masses for a wealthy
secular elite has led to violence and upheaval – and Iran was the template. King of Kings is a
bravura work of history and a warning.
