Khomeini's Ghost: Iran since 1979 [Hardcover]

'A fluent, masterly narrative of the Iranian tragedy over the past thirty years ... Con Coughlin has rendered us a great service with his narrative.' --The Literary Review

A compelling, authoritative account of Ayatollah Khomeini and his baleful legacy from the bestselling author of Saddam: His Secret Life

On 1 February 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran to a tumultuous welcome and the Iranian revolution that that he masterminded has become one of the defining moments of the modern age. Today the challenge of radical Islam represents the greatest threat to world peace seen since the darkest days of the Cold War, and the legacy of Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution lies at the heart of many of the world’s most intractable conflicts. Khomeini’s Ghost is the definitive biographical account of how an impoverished young student from a remote area of southern Iran came to be the political and the spiritual leader of his country. Drawing on a wide variety of Iranian sources, including religious figures who knew and worked with Khomeini both in exile and in power, Con Coughlin examines in detail the principles of Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution and the impact of his legacy today, whether it is in Iran’s support for radical Islamic groups or Iran’s commitment to developing an atom bomb. Frighteningly topical, compellingly readable and written with authority and profound understanding of the subject, this is political biography at its best.

Con Coughlin is the executive foreign editor of the Daily Telegraph and a world-renowned expert on the Middle East. He is the critically-acclaimed author of several books, including Saddam: His Secret Life. He appears regularly on television and radio in Britain and America to comment on international security issues.