A sad-but-true account of the last year of the Shah's life. It can shed some light on why leaders in the Middle East aren't always fully trusting of the US as an ally.
Stirring journalistic retelling of the fate of the Shah of Iran. Enjoyed the chapters on the build up of the dynasty and its part in international intrigue best. Long section on Shah's medical history while fascinating becomes a bit tedious. Exemplar writing.
A description on the last year of the life of the last Shah of Iran, Feb.1979 until Feb.1980 when he died in Egypt. A well narrated cautionary story, but also sad! 讴鬲丕亘 賮乇丕賲賵卮 賳卮丿賳蹖 賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 卮賵讴乇丕爻 鬲賵爻胤 毓亘丿丕賱乇囟丕 賴賵卮賳诏 賲賴丿賵蹖 亘賴 賮丕乇爻蹖 亘乇诏乇丿丕賳丿賴 卮丿賴 賵 诏乇趩賴 丿乇 1369 賲賳鬲卮乇 卮丿賴 鬲丕 丕賵丕禺乇 丿賴賴 蹖 賴賮鬲丕丿 卮賲爻蹖 丕夭 趩丕倬 丿賴賲 賴賲 诏匕卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲. 賲賳 趩丕倬 賴卮鬲賲 乇丕 丿蹖丿賴 丕賲. 鬲睾蹖蹖乇丕鬲貙 賵 讴賲亘賵丿賴丕蹖 趩丕倬 賮丕乇爻蹖 賳爻亘鬲 亘賴 丕氐賱 讴鬲丕亘貙 趩賳丿丕賳 夭蹖丕丿 賳蹖爻鬲賳丿 丕賲丕 亘爻蹖丕乇 鬲毓蹖蹖賳 讴賳賳丿賴 丕賳丿. 爻丕锟斤拷爻賵乇蹖 讴賴 鬲賳賴丕 鬲丕爻賮 賲蹖 丌賮乇蹖賳丿!
The Shah鈥檚 exile was a mythical moment of the postwar world, like Nixon in China or the Moon landing. There was something poignant and timeless about a wandering king who had lost his throne and could not find shelter. Shawcross draws the mythical parallels well in this 1988 work, which flashes back from the terrible months of exile to the glories of the 鈥楪reat Civilisation鈥�. The book is filled with well researched accounts of the various betrayals and background shenanigans in Washington, but there is a bit too much medical jargon about the Shah鈥檚 cancer for my taste. However, given the immense political significance of the Shah鈥檚 illness this is perhaps necessary. 听 Less forgivable is the glibness of Shawcross understanding of the intricacies of Islam in Iran. Shawcross (Eton, Oxford, son of the President of the Iran Society) is a representative of the British establishment that supported Iran for decades but failed to recognise the religious animosity generated by Khomeini which ultimately undermined the Shah. The fact that the British and Americans were totally blindsided by the Islamic Revolution, and then continued to neglect the details of religion in Iranian society, is disappointing.
There are very good things about this book but it was originally published in 1988, before the Shah was dead though subsequently updated. There is a great deal of history that passed under the bridge since then and if you were going to read any book about the Shah now (2025) I would recommend 'The Shah' by Abbas Milani.
Shawcross takes a factual situation with many characters and turns it into a tale that reads like fiction. Narrating in a non-linear fashion avoids the monotony of factual recitation, making this true tale a page-turner. What a pleasant surprise. This is well done.
Sebenarnya edisi terjemahannya yang aku punya. Nemu waktu jalan ke Medan, di toko buku ... mmm mana ya? lupa. Diterbitkan oleh Penerbit Pustaka atau grafiti ya? Lupa. Cari di google ndak ketemu. Dibuat jadi dua jilid. Judulnya 1. Runtuhnya Tahta Merak 2. ....
Brilliant, so astonishing and graphic. A constant harmony throughout the book with multiple of historical references which describe the most controversial and perilous part if Iran's history , never bored with any chapter!