‘As creative and sensitive in his interpretations as he is meticulous in his research, Rahnema offers a forensic analysis of the history of the last shah of Iran’s drift into dictatorship, guiding us skilfully through Iran’s political history, from the aftermath of the 1953 royalist coup d’état to the shah’s triumphant, Napoleonic coronation ceremony in 1968. Chronicles of the late monarch’s steady consolidation of power in his own hands and the stifling of dissent are now legion, of course. But rarely has detail been marshalled so effectively in demonstrating these points… Rahnema has written an important and insightful treatment of Iranian political history in the 1950s and 1960s, a period that is often glossed over superficially in the rush to connect the 1953 coup to the shah’s autocracy in the 1970s, but which actually marks a critical moment of transition for Iran.’

– International Journal of Middle East Studies

‘A brilliant history of late Pahlavi Iran and the fatal entanglements of the shah, the opposition and the United States.’

– Stephanie Cronin, Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Research Fellow, University of Oxford

‘Richly detailed yet exceedingly accessible… The significant insights Rahnema offers into Mohammad Reza Shah’s rise and political trajectory make the book an important read for students not just of modern Iran but of despotic politics more broadly.’

– Ali Mirsepassi, Albert Gallatin Research Excellence Professor, New York University