All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror - Tapa dura

"...meticulously documented throughout...essential reading..." (Medicine Conflict and Survival, Vol. 21(4) October 2005) "astonishing account...Kinzer, a New York Times correspondent...tells his captivating tale with style and verve". (Library Journal, June 15, 2003) "...He does so with a keen journalistic eye, and with a novelist's pen...In what is a very gripping read." (The New York Times, July 23, 2003) "...Kinze who has written an entirely engrossing, often riveting, nearly Homeric tale, which, if life were fair, would be this summer's beach book." (The Washington Post, Sunday, August 3, 2003) "...lively popular history...brisk, vivid account... Kinzer...offers a helpful reminder of an oft-neglected piece of Middle Eastern history". (The New York Time Book Review, August 10, 2003) "...For those who like their spy data raw, the CIA's secret history is now freely available, thanks to a leek..." (Economist, 15 August 2003) "a thrilling tale that pits two characters worthy of a movie against each other." (Economist, August 16, 2003) "entertaining and sometimes shocking...serves as a useful reminder that troublesome regimes do not come out of nowhere." (Business Week, Aug. 18-25, 2003) "...Kinzer's book offers a cautionary tale for our current leaders...not all such changes go according to plan..." (The Scotsman, 16 August 2003) "...a new book about the coup All the Shah's men...recalls some unwelcome parallels(with the Gulf War)..."(The Guardian, 20 August 2003) "...a topical subject with an explanation..." (Greenock Telegraph, 29 October 2003) "...provides an able and often vivid summary of our knowledge..." (BBC History Magazine, December 2003) "...an astonishing achievement, a thriller backed by meticulous research, a political analysis in artful prose..." (Irish Times, 25 December 2003) "this skilled correspondent and analyst writes this so effectively is one of the many reasons why this incisive critique is so relevant today." (Ray Locker of the Associated Press)

This is the first full-length account of the CIA's coup d'etat in Iran in 1953 - a covert operation whose consequences are still with us today. Written by a noted "New York Times" journalist, this book is based on documents about the coup (including some lengthy internal CIA reports) that have now been declassified. Stephen Kinzer's compelling narrative is at once a vital piece of history, a cautionary tale, and a real-life espionage thriller.