Answer to History [Hardcover]

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1980

The final draft of Answer to History was completed by the Shah just days before he died on July 27, 1980. Completing it was, in the Shah's words, "a race against time." In it, he shows how the United States, once the most powerful country on earth, found itself hostage to the whims of Iran, a land few Americans knew much about. In telling his own story, the Shah shows clearly that Iran has become a battleground between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which for over half a century has pursued goals with increasing success. In the "slide into chaos" precipitated by the Khomeini regime, the Shah saw the ultimate beneficiary being the U.S.S. R., which will reach the apogee of its strength no later than 1983, with the West facing "a decade of harrowing danger." Answer to History begins with what really happened during the Shah's period of exile in the Bahamas, Mexico, the U.S., Panama, and finally Egypt. It goes on to cover all of the momentous experiences of the Shah's reign, a book full of heroes and villains, with many surprises for the American reader as to who the villains really were and are. The Shah discloses backstage developments in today's politics of oil... The Shah show how the interplay between the Black and the Red - the 14th-century clergy and the Tudeh Party loyal to the Soviets - blocked for their own purposes his proudest achievements: the White Revolution in which the Shah introduced land reform, worked toward the liberation of women, and raised the standard of living of his people, providing disparate ethnic groups with pride in the 2,500 year-old culture of Persia. When the enemies of his reign took to the streets, the Shah felt the he reacted not too strongly, but not strongly enough.... In his Answer to History he reveals the forces that betrayed him, and left the U.S. without an economically and militarily strong ally in a critical part of the world. --- excerpts from book's dustjacket

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Stein & Day Pub; First American Edition (1980) edition (September 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812827554
• ISBN-13: 978-0812827552
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #746,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Answer to History, August 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Answer to History (Hardcover)

As a young Iranian living in the United States, I became involved in anti-shah activities common among the Iranian youth
inspired by leftist ideologies in the 1970's. But the hindsight is always 20/20. Reading this book has given me a different perspective of the man and his ideas, his philosophies and his wishes for a nation who supported him whole-heartedly after second World War and who turned against him in 1979. Now I understand that his aspirations for modernization and curbing the yokes of religious fanaticism levelled against our people by the Mullahs during the past several centuries were the right cure for the ills of our society. I regret my contributions to the creation of the current turmoil in my beloved homeland, by my actions against a man and a government that loved his country and could not be called anything but a patriot.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE SHAH'S VISION FOR IRAN, April 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Answer to History (Hardcover)

This book was dictated by the Shah when he was already dying of cancer. It is, therefore, not surprising that it comes across as choppy, uneven and, at times, even confusing. But , once one learns how to set its defects aside, theShah's book provides many keys to his complex mind.
Here is a man with a vision for " a great civilisation" in a country that has justly been hailed as the birthplace of some of the world's greatest cultures. Whether one shares that vision or not is a different matter. In 1978-79 sufficient numbers of Iranians, though not a majority,rejected that vision and, instead, opted for an " Islamic" model promoted by the mullahs.
The Shah's vision is now past history.There is no way that present-day Iran can become one of the world's five major powers as the Shah had dreamed.
The Shah's " Answer to History" is best appreciated if read in conjunction with some of the biographies evoted to him in recent years. I recommend three of them: William Shawcross's " The Shah's Last Ride" which is the best in covering the fallen monarchs last few months of life in exile, Amir Taheri's critical but sympathetic " The Unknown Life of the Shah", and Marvin Zonis's " Majestic Failure" whcih reads like a Western indictment of the late monarch but , unintentionally perhaps, also reveals his gratness.
James Malone, Canberra, Australia

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love the Shah!, August 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Answer to History (Hardcover)

This book changed my perception of the Shah, who was demonized in the "Western" world. I understood what it was he was trying to do for his country has admire him for those efforts. I used to believe that the Shah was evil but that view has changed. I wish the best to the Iranian nation. One of my best reads ever!