King of Kings

Before the revolution, the Shah seemed invincible. He spearheaded an Iranian renaissance and acted as power broker between East and West during the Cold War. The world watched in awe as he manipulated oil prices, built the fifth largest military and vanquished internal enemies, skilfully maintaining the undying support of American presidents for decades.However, village streets spoke of a different Iran - people blamed the Shah for economic inequality, for not being present at major catastrophes, for spending recklessly on lavish parties and for ignoring the Muslim majority.Enter Ayatollah Khomeini, a fiery cleric who promised his zealous followers Iran needn't be a puppet of the American government. Following a series of volatile protests, the powder keg erupted, the Shah was swept from power and the Ayatollah took control.Brilliantly brought to life by the Sunday Times bestselling author Scott Anderson, this spellbinding narrative history argues that the Iranian Revolution was as world-shattering an event as the French and Russian revolutions. In the Middle East, in India, in Southeast Asia, in Europe and now in the United States, the hatred of economically-marginalized, religiously-fervent citizens for a wealthy secular elite has led to violence and upheaval - and Iran was the template.