5 Stars
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.
(12 July 2005)
