Shah of Shahs

Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski is arguably the most courageous non-fiction author on geopolitics of our time. In this book he forcefully but impartially narrates the story of the reign of the last shah of Iran. The shah was in reality a corrupt and tyrannical puppet ruler who was placed on the throne by the US, after the CIA staged a shameful coup d'etat against Mohammed Mossadegh, the progressive, democratically-elected prime minister. Americans should make no mistake: Mossadegh's removal was the root cause for the tremendous animosity most Iranians have felt towards the US for decades. That animosity was only increased by subsequent events, and it played a large role in fostering a sense in Iran that the US is the enemey. It was an essential, albeit indirect, factor in the overthrow of the Shah, in the embassy hostage crisis, and in their current campaign to obtain nuclear weapons. Ironically, while the enmity between the US and Iran was initially caused by one worthless son of a president, namely Kermit Roosevelt, who was the chief organizer of the coup against Mossadegh, now it is being aggravated by another, George W. Bush. A final word: potential readers should not be deterred by the relatively low rating of this book. That rating is obviously the product of many biased reviews by Beverly Hills Iranians, who were the very people who supported the shah and were enriched by his corrupt regime. Just take a peek at Kapuscinski's other books: they all have near five-star ratings.

This is the best case study I have ever read of how absolute power drains away. Kapuscinski's "I am a camera" technique gives voices to many different voices of the Islamic revolution in Iran, but the best part of the book is the way it demonstrates the folly and sheer bad timing of the Shah. This book has a kind of torque: as the Shah's reign gets closer to the end, events seem to speed up. The Shah and his circle must make more decisions more rapidly, and they come up short. Kapuscinksi's eye for the absurd detail and ear for the casual but prescient remark are used to beautiful effect in this book.

An outstanding first-hand account of the events and causes of the Iranian revolution. I lived through those days and the vivid nature of this book brings those days alive. Most people will judge this book in accordance to their political opinion of the revolution and its aftermath, but, leaving that aside, the book is an excellent account of the snowballing events that took place.

Kapuscinski was born in Poland in the 1930s and lived through World War II. He would go on to write for Poland's national news service (their version of the AP) as a foreign correspondent. He covered the "little wars," the insurgencies, revolutions, and coups that are barely reported in the western media. His point of view is fascinating: a man living behind the Iron Curtain serves his country by reporting on terrifying conflicts in the most inhospitable parts of the world. When you read Kapuscinski's work you may at first feel like something is missing, and then you realize that what's missing is a Western perspective and the presumption and detachment that comes with it. Kapuscinski, like no other writer I've read, is able to delve into the psyche of his subjects and produce remarkable insights about their nature and the nature of their oppression. Which isn't to say that his writing is dry. More often than not, the episodes he relates are quite harrowing. Shah of Shahs is no exception. Quite unexpectedly, I found this book about the Shah and his overthrow by Ayatollah Khomenei to be very relevant to today's conflicts, specifically, the difficulties inherent in replacing a brutal and oppressive regime without falling prey to extremism. His discussion of the horrors of the Shah's secret police, SAVAK, is astonishing, and his insight into the vulnerability of the Iranians as they attempted to move on from decades of oppression is fascinating. In assessing the difficulties of undoing the damage of a regime like the Shah's, the parallels to today's struggles in Iraq are hard to ignore, and, as such, the book was especially interesting to read at this moment in history. I have one book by Kapuscinski left to read, and after that, I can only hope that some benevolent publisher decides to put out more of his work.

Kapuscinski writes one of the most accessible, entertaining histories that I've ever read in Shah of Shahs; and in so doing allows the American reader some glimpse into what things were like in Iran during the heady, confusing days of the Iranian revolution. While readable, this book is also rather challenging as it tends to speak to subjects that Americans don't know about and uses terms and devices that many may not be ready to see in a work of non-fiction. Don't assume that Kapuscinski will write in the menacing, deadly serious tone that many other (mostly American) writers reserve for Iran and the other "Axis of Evil" nations; because he doesn't. Instead, he takes the time and effort to recount these terribly serious events in a semi-serious way, while keeping contact with the undercurrent of absurdity and entropy that so many Eastern European writers bring to their work and that is so very appropriate when thinking, talking, and writing about the actions of men and nations.Iran is probably the most misunderstood (by Americans) country there is. You may or may not have some more insight into Iran after reading this book. In my case it spurred me to find out more about their history, the history of Shi'ism, and Islam generally; all topics that most Americans would profit from knowing about. The most striking thing is that Americans have a lot more in common with Iranians than may be imagined, starting with our hatred of tyranny and deep religious committment. And that's not a bad start.