The Last Shah cover art

The Last Shah

America, Iran, and the Fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Last Shah

By: Ray Takeyh
Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The surprising story of Iran's transformation from America's ally in the Middle East into one of its staunchest adversaries

Offering a new view of one of America's most important, infamously strained, and widely misunderstood relationships of the postwar era, this book tells the history of America and Iran from the time the last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was placed on the throne in 1941 to the 1979 revolution that brought the present Islamist government to power. This revolution was not, as many believe, the popular overthrow of a powerful and ruthless puppet of the United States; rather, it followed decades of corrosion of Iran's political establishment by an autocratic ruler who demanded fealty but lacked the personal strength to make hard decisions and, ultimately, lost the support of every sector of Iranian society.

Esteemed Middle East scholar Ray Takeyh provides new interpretations of many key events-including the 1953 coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq and the rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini-significantly revising our understanding of America and Iran's complex and difficult history.

©2021 Ray Takeyh (P)2022 Tantor
Middle East Political Science American History Military American Foreign Policy War
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Target Tehran cover art
America in the World cover art
Stalin and the Fate of Europe cover art
Iran cover art
Pivot of the Universe cover art
Children of the Night cover art
The Thirty Years War cover art
The Weimar Years cover art
Putin's Wars cover art
Losing the Long Game cover art
Exercise of Power cover art
The Peacemaker cover art
Byzantium cover art
To Build a Better World cover art
Conclave 1559 cover art
The End of Iraq cover art

What listeners say about The Last Shah

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Informative and fascinating history of modern Iran.

This is a very informative narration of modern Iran from the exile of the last Shah’s father through the life of the last Shah until his overthrow and then the more recent period under the ayatollahs. The author provides fascinating accounts of the varied figures who played a role in creating the world’s major terrorist nation. The book explains the Shah’s failure to lead his country was the result of his genuine efforts - albeit misguided - to liberalise Iran after his father’s dictatorship with his own form of benevolent dictatorship. The role of America and Britain are carefully explained. While the Americans were intimately connected with the regime until the Shah’s overthrow in 1979, as too were the British, the chief cause of his downfall and radicalisation of the country was the Shah himself. Coupled of course with the fanatical mendacious tyrant who replaced him, Khomeini.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!