Time for Truth

During the last 25 years of the Pahlavi rule in Iran, Princess Ashraf became the subject of a carefully orchestrated propaganda exercise by the members of Iran's Tudeh Party (Moscow-backed Communists) and various other groups opposing either the Monarchy or its alliance with United States of America. At the time, she was accused of a string of implausible fabrications which implicated her in everything from personally running street battles with the Italian Mafia to drug running and various other financial corruption charges (of course we had limited imaginations in those days and had not been exposed to the Rafsanjani phenomenon yet ...)The truth of the matter was that she became a high priority target for those opposing the regime simply because she was the twin sister of the Shah and was as such regarded as the soft belly of the regime. To make matters worse, within the regime itself, she also had a reputation for not only being politically aware but also much like her father, being blunt and positively forthright with the senior male politicians of the day. Now, quite a few of these politicians who were from the Qajar clan such as Mossadegh positively despised her not only because she was a living reminder to them of Qajar's demise at the hands of the Pahlavis but also because they did not particularly enjoy the experience of being cross-examined and ordered around by a "woman". Mossadegh actually asked her to leave Iran and made her exile a condition for his continued cooperation with the Pahlavi regime.All in all, she certainly represented a very colorful and emancipated if not necessarily always welcomed model of an Iranian woman. Fast forward to the present day, her book is particularly readable not only because it provides us with a narrative of the events surrounding the 1979 Iranian revolution but also because her character made her a very active and aware participant in the entire plot.I highly recommend this book.

This book is fantastic for what it is. It is a propagandistic work, written by the twin sister of the last Shah of Iran, of course she is going to defend him and his reign! Her book is very anti-Khomeini and she looks forward to a time of restoration when the Pahlavi Dynasty will once again rule in a constitutional monarchy the country of Iran. She does not apologize for her biases, but recognizes them outright, which is admirable. I really enjoyed this book and really enjoyed her perspective.

With "Time for Truth," Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, twin sister of the late Shah of Iran has delivered a veritable little gem on terrorism, deception, disinformation, double crosses, triple crosses and clandestine operations leading to the overturn of her brother. Best of all this is a fascinating, easy to read work that would make even James Bond cower -- it gives us a close look into the minds of shady individuals concocting and perpetrating outrageous deeds. Intrigues and danger are not alien to the Princess who escaped an assassination attempt and whose own son was murdered by Islamic terrorist. It is perhaps fit to recall that some fifty years ago the then young Princess went to see Stalin in the Kremlin in order to plead with great passion for the retrieval of Soviet invading forces from Iran, no small feat at the time (1946). Impressed by her courage, Stalin became all smiles. He said loudly to his rather stern entourage: "Now here is a brave and true patriot." Years later, in January 1978, President Carter embraced the Shah in Tehran praising Iran as an "island of stability" in a turbulent Middle East, while his aids were already at work hurling this staunch ally of the United States into the fiery flames of a revolution they so evidently encouraged. The book also chronicles the creation and assisting of Islamic fundamentalist cells in 1978 America as well as the encouraging of Islamic radicals. The fall of a modernizing but hesitant monarch was soon to be followed by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ill-starred bolstering of the wrong camp: the sanguinary Talibans. Indeed, the book is a thorough account on how Washington, London and Paris deserted the legitimate government of Iran with very dire end result for America, the free world, the Middle East and the unfortunate Iranian people. Following the devastating terrorist attacks of Manhattan's World Trade Center, Washington's Pentagon and the loss of so many thousands of innocent lives, I wonder if we will ever be able to continue living in reasonable safety. Time for Truth is not only a page-turner on Pandemonium, in fact it is a must read that will help you unearth lurking creeps. If you don't believe me, here is a tip: Type NYC CNN in your word processor, change the fonts to larger wingdings. Is the result just a coincidence? YOU find out...A. N. Onyme (New York City)