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The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran by [Andrew Scott Cooper]

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Andrew Scott Cooper

The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran Kindle Edition

by Andrew Scott Cooper (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

269 ratings

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An immersive, gripping account of the rise and fall of Iran's glamorous Pahlavi dynasty, written with the cooperation of the late Shah's widow, Empress Farah, Iranian revolutionaries and US officials from the Carter administration

In this remarkably human portrait of one of the twentieth century's most complicated personalities, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Andrew Scott Cooper traces the Shah's life from childhood through his ascension to the throne in 1941. He draws the turbulence of the post-war era during which the Shah survived assassination attempts and coup plots to build a modern, pro-Western state and launch Iran onto the world stage as one of the world's top five powers. Readers get the story of the Shah's political career alongside the story of his courtship and marriage to Farah Diba, who became a power in her own right, the beloved family they created, and an exclusive look at life inside the palace during the Iranian Revolution. Cooper's investigative account ultimately delivers the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty through the eyes of those who were there: leading Iranian revolutionaries; President Jimmy Carter and White House officials; US Ambassador William Sullivan and his staff in the American embassy in Tehran; American families caught up in the drama; even Empress Farah herself, and the rest of the Iranian Imperial family. Intimate and sweeping at once, The Fall of Heaven recreates in stunning detail the dramatic and final days of one of the world's most legendary ruling families, the unseating of which helped set the stage for the current state of the Middle East.

Length: 619 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Riveting . . . Based on various documentary sources as well as impressive access to royalists, revolutionaries, Queen Farah Pahlavi, and various U.S. officials, this thorough work is immensely detailed yet readable and continuously engaging.” ―Publishers Weekly

"[Cooper] delves intimately into the life of the leader who believed firmly in the separation of church and state and who seemed stern and humorless to the public yet was a devoted father of five children and had no patience for the imams dragging their feet on reforms. . . A thorough new appraisal of an enigmatic ruler who died believing his people still loved him." ―Kirkus (starred review)

“Cooper provides an expert and more nuanced view of the Shah, his regime, and its collapse….This is a fine revisionist study of major world events that continue to influence the fate of the Middle East.” ―Booklist

“Here is all the power and glamour―but also the dark side and ultimately the tragedy―of the last Shah of Iran. A moving and thoroughly researched account.” ―Robert Lacey, author of The Kingdom and Inside the Kingdom

“The Fall of Heaven is a vivid and penetrating portrait of the last chapters of imperial Iran and the ruler whose attempt to thrust his country into modernity ended with upheaval and exile. This book provides valuable insight into the background of a revolution that is still shaking international politics today.”
―Paul R. Pillar, twenty-eight-year veteran of the CIA and senior fellow at Georgetown University and the Brookings Institution

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Andrew Scott Cooper is the author of The Oil Kings: How the US, Iran, and Saudi Arabia Changed the Balance of Power in the Middle East, which Simon and Schuster published in 2011. His writing on contemporary Iran appears regularly in the Guardian. He lives in Brooklyn.

--This text refers to the mp3_cd edition.

Product details

ASIN : B01AGFYV1C
Publisher : Henry Holt and Co. (August 2, 2016)
Publication date : August 2, 2016
Language : English
File size : 9730 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 619 pages
Page numbers source ISBN : 1250304857
Lending : Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #282,580 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #27 in History of Iran
- #50 in Historical Middle Eastern Biographies
- #138 in Revolutionary History

Customer Reviews:
269 ratings

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5 star		78%
4 star		13%
3 star		7%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Stephen Harris

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2017

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Highly recommended:

1. Gives very comprehensive background on events of the decades leading to the events of the 70's, so the reader has the necessary context.
2. Goes into good detail on all relevant parties: the Shah, Khomeini, key government figures, religious figures, US and other foreign officials.
3. Writing style is gripping, especially in the second half of the book, when things spiral out of control. Just as you think things can't possibly get any worse, the next chapter shows you that oh yes they can.
4. Gives a good sense of the cultural and political mentalities governing the various players.
5. Gives good explanation of the various relevant streams of society: royalists, middle class, radical religious, etc. etc. etc.
6. Goes into great detail about the key events, so that the reader has a very clear understanding of just what was going on.

This book was as gripping as any first-rate fiction thriller. The first half astounded me with revelations about the Shah, and how he was not close to the evil authoritarian many believe him to be -- if he were, he would have easily retained power. The second half, which dealt with the events of 1975 to 1979, was a spellbinding journey into the heartbreaking destruction of a noble effort on the part of the Shah to bring a backwards country into the cutting edge of political, social, technological and economic progress.

19 people found this helpful

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Benjamin Sh

Golden age of Persia

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2017

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As a Persian I was always curious how this happened?! What happened to our modern powerful kingdom of Persia?! The greatest democracy in the region! My parents mentioned many times their revolution stolen by extremists and right wingers, Iran still a very rich and modern country and safest place in middle east but nothing to compare to golden age of Pahlavi! Hopefully this book going to help me and my generation to get some answers for our questions "WHAT HAPPENED?!" And "HOW THAT HAPPENED!?"

15 people found this helpful

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stephanie

info is great

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2016

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I am loving learning about the Shah as I only remember as a child the narrative that he was an evil dictator type and so I couldn't understand why the USA was letting him in our country for cancer treatment. Now I find myself going somewhat sweet on him and his wife. It seems like they loved their country and were really trying to do what was best to move it forward without reverting to bloodshed to keep his power. He would rather leave the throne than to keep it by force. He wanted the people to love him and want him to be their ruler

12 people found this helpful

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Masoud

Genius and Excellent read !

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2020

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Excellent book written by a genius and knowledgeable historian Andrew Scott Cooper. It discusses the roots of chaos in 1979 which was actually a coup done by Mullahs and backed by 4 main powers (USA, Britain , Germany and France refer to Guadelope Conference and how they decided to destabilize the King of Iran just because the king Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi stood for his people and Iran and didn't want to fill the pockets of Western countries so he simply didn't decrease the oil prices ). I strongly recommend it to every reader interested to know what happened to Iran, Middle East and the world after 1979.

4 people found this helpful

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Judy

A timely history of how Iran exchanged its Shah for rule by the ayatollahs.

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2016

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A new look at the last years of the reign of the last Shah of Iran based on meticulous research and interviews with many of those who were witnesses to his last year's on the Peacock Throne. The revolution which ended his reign and brought Ayotollah Khomeni to power are described with a fresh eye. The author fills in many of the gaps in our knowledge of Khomeini's background and describes in detail how the revolutionaries gained power. It's refreshing to read this history by a thoughtful researcher at a time when what happens today in Iran matters to the whole Middle East.

12 people found this helpful

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Deborah Jacob

And a Mighty Fall It Was

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2016

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After searching for years, I finally found a good book that deals with the downfall of the Shah of Iran. There are parts which make a riveting read. Those are the parts that ring true. Much of the Shah's story often appears quite maudlin, and there is the distinct feeling sometimes that Queen Farah has a hand in shaping the history that surrounds her husband as Jackie Kennedy did in her creation of Camelot. All-in-all this is an interesting read. I particularly liked how the author paces the story to reveal certain information that appears for a time to be a mystery. Clearly much research went into this book. One certainly feels the sad state of affairs in Iran.

17 people found this helpful

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H. Luther

How and why does an emerging modern miracle become a theocracy?

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2016

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This a wonderful book and an important one about a very important time and world event. We recently returned from a trip to Iran and the shadow of the Shah and Queen is every where. Virtually every park, every museum, every freeway and boulevard, every major hotel, and more were built during their time. We were much impressed with the Iranians and wish them well -- this book addresses the great mystery -- Why?

47 people found this helpful

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Lisa

Best book ever on the Shah

Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2016

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I lived in Ahwaz South Iran until 1977 just prior to the revolution. I was only 18 at the time and was naive to all the turmoil. This is one of the best and most thourighly researched books on the Pahlavi Dynasty. Brought back slot of memories. It was such a shame that the Shah's dreams for his country never came to fruition.

8 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

GI Livingstone

God Bless the Shah of Iran

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2020

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A very interesting book and a must for anybody who is studying the Middle East and the build up of problems since 1979

3 people found this helpful

A worthy book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2020

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What a refreshing book for a change about a man that cared for his country.Unlike some comic books out there that degrade the truth and bury it in false propaganda that started this so-called "revolution" in the first place. A must read for those that want to understand Iran.

One person found this helpful

SHOOSH

Amazing read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2017

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Amazing read.! This book is very well written and gives an insight to shortfalls but also the positives and negatives of the Pahlavi rule. It wisely recounts behind the scene events from other factions which was not obvious to the general public.

One person found this helpful

Soroosh Sami

Highly recommended

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2020

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A great book came at a great price and on time delivery!

One person found this helpful

j zand

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2017

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A well researched and written book about the last days of the Shah of Iran.

2 people found this helpful

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