Customer Reviews

All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

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It is impossible to read this book without feeling sympathy for the Iranians and their leader, Mossadegh Mohammad, for whom Stephen Kinzer has special affection, and without developing a sense of distaste first at the British, and then at their accomplices, the Americans. All the same, it is also impossible not to cast a doubt on the book's main conclusion-that the US-led coup in Iran in 1953 lies at the root of Middle East terror.

Stephen Kinzer, a veteran reporter for the New York Times, is no stranger to American coups, having contributed to the writing of the history of the CIA coup in Guatemala in 1954. In "All the Shah's Men," Mr. Kinzer chronicles another coup, one that preceded Guatemala and laid the foundation for America's thinking that coups can be a useful and effective tool of foreign policy.

The book narrates the history of foreign involvement in Iran that culminated in the toppling of Mossadegh Mohammad and the re-coronation of Reza Shah as Iran's leader. Mr. Kinzer goes back centuries to choreograph the details of foreign involvement in Iranian politics, and pays particular attention to the last century and a half: in 1872, for example, Nasir al-Din Shah offered a most sweeping concession to Baron Julius de Reuter to, among others, exploit Iran's natural resources, a privilege revoked a year later. After that came other concessions, extended and then revoked, agreed and then renegotiated, on oil and other business.

What made the landscape explosive was the resignation, in 1941, of Reza Shah, Iran's king, and the subsequent emergence of Mossadegh, and a person who rested much of his political fortune on the nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Corporation (in 1951). His passionate belief that his country had been exploited by the British, and his unwillingness to compromise, coupled with the intransigence of the British created a perfect setting for confrontation.

Perfect, yes. But not inevitable. For that, one has to credit the re-election of Winston Churchill, an ardent Empire enthusiast, who was much keener on resolving the dispute between Iran and the AIOC, by force if necessary, than was his predecessor. Equally important was the election of Dwight Eisenhower, who replaced the skeptical and sympathetic to Iran Harry Truman, and adopted a more assertive pro-British line (courtesy of the Dulles brothers, Allen and John Foster, who ran the CIA and State Department, and who feared Iran might turn communist).

The narrative is eloquent, with enough attention on detail as to offer a vivid account of what happened and why. Mr. Kinzer has an eye for drama, building up the sequence of events with a novel-like quality (including the details of the coup, and Mossadegh's visit to the USA and UN). No doubt, the reader will feel rather conversant on the details of the foreign involvement in Iran leading up to the 1953 coup.

What is less obvious, however, is Mr. Kinzer grand conclusion: "It is not far-fetched," he writes, "to draw a line from Operation Ajax [the coup codename] through the Shah's repressive regime and the Islamic Revolution to the fireballs that engulfed the World Trade Center in New York." As a history book, "All the Shah's" has many attractions; and, no doubt, there are lessons in 1953 to be learned today about meddling in other countries' businesses. But to link the 1953 with September 11 feels more like authoring overstretched, and should be best left at that.

This book is my favorite over the last 2 years, and I read more than 50 books every year (about one book per week). My only complaint is that the title of the book should have mentioned Mossadegh....something like, "The Story of Mossadegh: How the British and the CIA Destroyed a Great Soul and a Great Nation." All the Shah's Men are not important - history will forget them, at most in a few decades. Mossadegh's legend will grow with time, just like those of Socrates or Mother Teresa. Mossadegh was to the Iranians, what Gandhi was to Indians, or what Martin Luther King was to the African Americans. Its just a matter of time - the current Islamic govt. in Iran is too afraid of the democratic ideals that Mossadegh represented. Sooner or later Mossadegh will occupy the place in history that he rightfully deserves - there will be many more books, movies, and who knows even future revolutions inspired by him.

Many thanks to Stephen Kinzer for publishing an accurate account of how Churchill's and Eisenhower's short term oil interests and communophobia ruined a budding democracy in a great historical land. Note that the book was just published in 2003 and a lot of material was inaccessible until very recently.

Iran or Persia was home to Rumi, the great sufi mystic, and Zoroaster, the great spiritual teacher. Iranians are moderate people, representing the best values of Islam. Yet, a typical American's assessment of Iranians is that they are fanatic zealots and hate the whole western culture. And may be there is some truth to that. But have you ever wondered why Iranians became so disgusted and suspicious of the Americans and the British. Read this book. Whatever you may think of America or Britain, it will forever change you assessment of the evil roles played by the governments of these two countries (only the governments, not the people of these countries, of course).

Also, if your heart has ever cried thinking about the 9/11 tragedies, then your answers will be forever incomplete if you do not begin to understand the powerful forces of hate unleashed by CIA and Churchill in the 1953 coup when they removed a democratically elected, liberal minded leader named Mossadegh in favor of British oil interests. Mossadegh inspired millions of Iranians, just like Thomas Jefferson inspired millions of Americans. By implanting Shah as the cruel dictator and removing Mossadegh (the democratically elected Prime Minister), the CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt forever changed Middle eastern politics. Consider for a moment what would have happnened if the British had implanted a cruel dictator like Fidel Castro in the U.S. in 1776 and imprisoned the founding fathers of U.S.

If you have taken the trouble to read some of these reviews - buy this book, its the most important book on why we are where we are today. A sobering realization of who is really behind the world that we have inherited today. You decide that after reading the book!

This is a short and very readable account of the American sponsored coup that overthrew the Iranian government of Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953. I recommend this book for a variety of reasons. First, it briefly summarizes Iranian history in a way that readers without a lot of background can absorb. Secondly, Kinzer tells the story of the coup without loading the reader down with so much detail that the essentials of the story are obscured. Thirdly, while Kinzer clearly blames the British, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and the Eisenhower Administration for making a short-sighted decision, he acknowledges that there is no way to disprove the justification for the coup, i.e., that it was necessary to prevent a Soviet takeover of Iran. As an aside, Harry Truman comes off looking very wise in resisting pressure from Britain to support the coup; a decision the Eisenhower Administration reversed.

Kinzer's work is great for alot of reasons, and the book manages to perform a few tasks very well. First, it presents the events of Summer/Fall 1953 in Iran many times through the words, written and spoken, of those involved. Second, it provides the context of the 1953 coup by explaining Britain's and America's relationships to Iran over the course of the early 20th century, as well as providing a brief overview of all Iranian history to understand the Iranians' desires in the 20th century. Third, it tries to offer balanced opinions of why, in the end, Britain decided to topple the elected government of Iran and why it was done covertly thru the U.S. Finally, it offers some very brief ties between the U.S./British overthrow of Mossadegh and later Iranian events, illustrating some of the links between Mossadegh's overthrow, the Shah's brutal rule, the later revolution's overthrow of the Shah, Iranian terrorism and worldwide terrorism.

My big criticism is that despite the excellent coverage of the coup and it's context in the past, he spends very little time examining the long-term effects. Almost ten chapters are devoted to pre-1953 events- he gives post-1953 events only one chapter. I would have appreciated as in-depth an analysis of post-1953 Iran as well.

I recommend this book to every person interested in the modern history of the Midde East and wondering why are there only extremists rising from the region. The book examines recently declassified CIA documents and accurately pieces together the series of events that led to the 1953 coup that ousted the nationalist prime minister, Dr Mohammad Mossadegh. It is provides another example of the consequences of colonialism and emperialism and it is very pertinent considering the recent wave of occupation politics adopted by the US government.
All the Shah's Men is written with the suspense of a mystery novel and very hard to put down once you pick it up. It is accessible, and provides sufficient background for the reader not familiar with the politics and history of Iran.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is either interested in the contemporary history of Iran, or wants to find out why the Iranian revolution took place / the reasons behind the hostage taking of the US embassy.

I bought this book for my uncle who was a young man when Mossadegh was Prime Minister. My uncle told me that the book covered many of the things that he had observed at the time which reassured me of the book's accuracy.

Turmoil in the Middle East? Check. US- and British-led regime change? Check. Unexpected consequences? Check. Stephen Kinzer is writing about the 1953 IRANIAN coup - but it might as well be today. As Kinzer says, you can draw a straight line from that intervention to today's upheaval and anti-American sentiment. Where will we be in another 50 years?

In August 1953 the CIA engineered a coup in Iran which overthrew Mohammad Mossadegh, the popular, democratically-elected prime minister who made the mistake of nationalizing Iran's oil industry.

The British-owned & operated Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (later known as British Petroleum, or BP) fought for years to maintain their monopoly in Iran, and when Dwight Eisenhower took office in January '53 they found a sympathetic ear for their covert regime change plans. Instrumental to American participation were the Dulles brothers, John Foster (Secretary of State) and Allen (Director of the CIA). Both viewed the world as their personal playground, theirs to rearrange as they saw fit for maximum personal gain. When the British came knocking with a proposal to illegally oust Mossadegh, they jumped at the opportunity.

This book is the story of that coup, the subsequent installation of the brutal dictator Shah Pahlavi (who nevertheless served British interests), and the eventual backlash in 1979: the fundamentalist Islamic Revolution of Ayatollah Khomeini, the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran and the 52 diplomats held hostage for 444 days, and the release of those hostages on the very day that Ronald Reagan was inaugurated, under circumstances which have never been adequately explained.

It is a story of greed, hubris, meddling, unintended consequences and titanic missteps, all of which led directly to the current tensions in the world -- which are not so much Christian versus Muslim as Third World versus First World. When major corporations dictate foreign policy through the politicians on their payroll, the interests served are not those of the American people, the world community or our childrens' future. The only winners are a handful of big investors.

Stephen Kinzer writes compellingly and fluidly, making the dramatic events come alive with 3-dimensional grit and personality. He probably overstates the coup as "the roots of Middle East terror" -- afterall the Allies imposed illogical and self-serving borders on the Middle East a decade earlier after oil was discovered -- but there's no denying that this incident is one piece of "the puzzle of why the world hates us."

Incidentally a good companion to this book, which continues the story of economic imperialism into the 1990s, is "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" by John Perkins (2004).

The value of reading All The Shah's Men can't be overstated. Even after several courses on modern Middle Eastern history, I found that Kinzer's book is the most interesting and informative look at an episode that is often forgotten in the shadow of the Iranian Revolution. Yet the 1953 coup, even aside from its simple entertainment value as a spy story and political drama, deserves top billing as a event that shaped both the history of the Middle East and the way the U.S. conducted intelligence and foreign policy. If there are more timely subjects around, I can't find them. Kinzer does an excellent job of capturing both the drama and the historical impact of the coup. Particularly by starting the book in mid-plot, he puts all of the actors in their historical contexts while still effectively translating the movie-like intrigues into a good read. By the time the book returns to the coup after a detour into Iranian history, the long set-up makes clear the stakes of the coup and why it was set in motion.

There are, however, as other reviewers have said, some wierd moments when Kinzer attempts deep analysis. For one, while Shi'a theology is many things, it is certainly not a pure populist, anti-tyrannical force that Westerners might recognize and celebrate. For another, Kinzer gets perhaps a bit too caught up in his morality play of the evil British vs. the world. The list goes on: was the revolution really the single moment that sparked anti-American terrorism's birth? Was the threat of Communism in Iran truly as small as it appears in the book? Kinzer is trying to sell books and create a relevant narrative, so the exaggerations can pass without much trouble. But nearly all of his broader conclusions need to be taken with a handful of salt, or at least with more limitations than he provides.

Despite the problems, however, this is fantastic book. The current American historical scene is not exactly overflowing with short, informative books on essential Middle East history, so Kinzer is practically doing a public service with this work. All The Shah's Men should be recommended to anyone.

Journalist Stephen Kinzer provides in "All the Shah's Men" a short history of the CIA-organized 1953 coup that overthrew Mohammed Mossadegh, the democratically-elected but controversial Prime Minister of Iran. Kinzer writes in a very engaging, fast-moving manner, making his book seem at times more of a drama than a history.

Kinzer interweaves three main topics to construct his narrative: the coup itself, the history of British and American interest and activity in Iran, and the stories of the two main characters in the historical drama: Kermit Roosevelt Jr., the CIA agent in charge of staging the coup, and Mossadegh himself. Indeed, a nearly complete (though brief) biography of Mossadegh is given over the course of the book, while many other important actors (including the Shah) receive relatively little attention.

Kinzer's historical overview focuses largely on Britain's oil interests in Iran and how the Eisenhower administration's fear of Communist expansion eventually led to Americans taking a leading role in the coup. Even more interesting were Kinzer's brief looks at some of the effects of the coup. First among these, of course, is the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which overthrew the Shah the 1953 coup restored to power. Perhaps even more important was the enthusiastic response the coup received among leading American politicians and intelligence officers, who were eager to test out similar strategies in other uncooperative countries. Kinzer presents the initial success of the 1953 Iranian coup as a main cause of the disastrous CIA-organized overthrow of the (democratically-elected) government of Guatemala one year later. Although Kinzer does not mention the topic, I couldn't help but notice many similarities between his description of the Iranian coup and recent events in Venezuela, where the United States has also shown itself eager to get rid of a controversial but democratically-elected leader.

I feel I should emphasize that Kinzer does not actually present the 1953 coup as the "Roots of Middle East Terror". I suspect this unfortunately exaggerated subtitle was added by the publisher in order to increase sales. However, it cannot be denied that the coup was a very important event nonetheless. It derailed one of the Middle East's most promising democracies, set the stage for the 1979 Revolution, and helped shape America's disastrous Cold War policy of overthrowing potentially uncooperative governments and installing more accommodating dictators in their place.

A book as short as "All the Shah's Men" obviously cannot be complete in its coverage and is certainly not the last word on the 1953 coup and its effects. However, it is a wonderful introduction to the topic, engaging and illuminating although brief. Strongly recommended for those with any interest in Iran, the Middle East in general, or American foreign policy during the Cold War.