Shah of Shahs (Penguin Classics)
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Product Description
Shah of Shahs depicts the final years of the Shah in Iran, and is a compelling meditation on the nature of revolution and the devastating results of fear. Here, Kapuscinski describes the tyrannical monarch, who, despite his cruel oppression of the Iranian people, sees himself as the father of a nation, who can turn a backward country into a great power - a vain hope that proves a complete failure. Yet even as Iran becomes a 'behemoth of riches' and as the Shah lives like a European billionaire, its people live in a climate of fear, terrorized by the secret police. Told with intense power and feeling, Kapuscinski portrays the inevitable build-up to revolution - a cataclysmic upheaval that delivered Iran into the rule of the Ayatollah Khomeini.
About the Author
Born in Pinsk, now in Belarus, in 1932, Kapuscinski was the pre-eminent writer among Polish reporters. After honing his skills on domestic stories, he traveled throughout the world and reported on several dozen wars, coups and revolutions in America, Asia, and especially in Africa, where he witnessed the liberation from colonialism. Kapuscinski's best-known book is a reportage-novel of the decline of Haile Selassie's anachronistic regime in Ethiopia - The Emperor, which has been translated into many languages. Shah of Shahs, about the last Shah of Iran, and Imperium, about the last days of the Soviet Union, have enjoyed similar success. He died in January 2007.
Christopher de Bellaigue was born in London in 1971. He has spent the past decade writing for, among others, The Economist, the New York Review of Books, the New Yorker and Granta, in the Middle East and South Asia. His first book, In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs: a Memoir of Iran, was shortlisted for the 2005 Ondaatje Prize. He is currently writing a book on eastern Turkey. He lives in Tehran with his wife and son.
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First Sentence
Everything is in confusion, as though the police have just finished a violent, nervous search. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Everything is in confusion, as though the police have just finished a violent, nervous search. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In a series of books I have read about 20th century Iran, this book looks like the "lightest" one of all because it is neither a history book nor a political analysis book. There is not much information about the involved parties, their interests etc. However...
It is one of the most original book I have read that portrays the mood of the people, their reaction to the ruling dictator during the time of the revolution. It is almost like a documentary where the microphone is given to the citizens and asked how they feel before, during and after the revolution.
Ryszard talks about the time of Iranian Revolution in 70's by describing (but not showing) 12 photographs he chose and organising his interview notes with the Iranian people. You get a perfect sense of people's mood on the street and how the events led them to the revolution.
I suggest this book to the people who know a little bit about Iran's 20th century history. For first timers, it may be a little bit vague because throughout the book, Ryszard drops political party, politician and city names very liberally without giving any background about them.
It is one of the most original book I have read that portrays the mood of the people, their reaction to the ruling dictator during the time of the revolution. It is almost like a documentary where the microphone is given to the citizens and asked how they feel before, during and after the revolution.
Ryszard talks about the time of Iranian Revolution in 70's by describing (but not showing) 12 photographs he chose and organising his interview notes with the Iranian people. You get a perfect sense of people's mood on the street and how the events led them to the revolution.
I suggest this book to the people who know a little bit about Iran's 20th century history. For first timers, it may be a little bit vague because throughout the book, Ryszard drops political party, politician and city names very liberally without giving any background about them.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
'Shah of Shahs' is a vivid account of the downfall of the last Shah of Iran - an insight into a great historical turning point with global repercussions, by a very accomplished writer.
As a reader without much prior knowledge of Iranian history who came to this having enjoyed 'Imperium' by Kapuscinski, I found it to be an accessible read, and all the more impressively so given that it is a fairly short book, in which the author must summarise a great deal of Iranian and colonial history while also writing as a genuine observer of the events of 1979.
Iran continues to be a highly mysterious country in western eyes, and this book does give you a good idea of the background to the current regime.
Recommended.
As a reader without much prior knowledge of Iranian history who came to this having enjoyed 'Imperium' by Kapuscinski, I found it to be an accessible read, and all the more impressively so given that it is a fairly short book, in which the author must summarise a great deal of Iranian and colonial history while also writing as a genuine observer of the events of 1979.
Iran continues to be a highly mysterious country in western eyes, and this book does give you a good idea of the background to the current regime.
Recommended.
27 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm a great admirer of Ryszard Kapuscinski, and I have read all of his work, or a least the part of it which has been translated into english. Shah of Shahs is Kapuscinski at his very best. In the book he gives a very personnal view of the circumstances that led to the abdication of the Iranian Shah and made way to the new leadership under Ayatollah Khomeini. In a highly readable way, Kapuscinski gives you an outline of the modern history of Iran. The book was written back in 1982, but the quality of Kapuscinski's writing ensures that the events and episodes described in the book still feels relevant and interesting even today.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
a lively account of the end of an imperial dynasty
This is a captivating book that describes the atmosphere around the fall of the Shah in 1979. It provides a background of the preceding period and the forces at play. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Carno Polo
Classic Kapuscinski - reporting from the level of the 'man in the...
If you have read any Kapuscinski before, the book will not come as a surprise - in essence it is a classical piece of his writing. Read more
Published on 25 May 2010 by AK
Neglects to mention CIA overthrew Mossadegh & set up & trained the...
Although the book does mention the British coup in 1921, which put the brutal Reza Shah on the throne, allowing them to rob Iran of oil, virtually no mention of the British &... Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by Operation Washtub
What a Mumbo Jumbo!! I MEAN IT!!
Where do you start with this book. It is a compilation of notes, explanations of pictures plus accounts of few bozos on the streets of Iran. Read more
Published on 1 Nov 2009 by M. Sedaghat
The end of the Shah
Mr.K's second book to be translated into English.It was written during and just after the Iranian Revolution 0f 1978-79, and,as usual with Mr K,it is fantastic. Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2009 by PygmyTwylyte
Totalitarianism and its consequences
This book is not a chronological study of the Iranian revolution in 1978. It is speculative, meditative and quite remote from the events that so shook the world. Read more
Published on 30 May 2008 by Pillowtail
Compelling account of troubled times
Having met several Iranians who left Tehran when the Shah was deposed I still knew very little about the politics and history of the country. Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2008 by Glaucon
Good
Very good book. You hear a lot written about Iran, and it often focuses on post-revolution times, often drawing comparisons with the comparatively liberal attitudes of... Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2008 by S. A. Richmond
Andy Warhol front cover + some great writing
I knew nothing of Iranian history other than the relatively recent revolution by islamic fundamentalists. Read more
Published on 29 July 2007 by Sally Wilton
the last shah
I had always admired the the last Shah of Iran until I read this book. Kapuscinski offers a great insight to the grip of power the Shah had in Iran and causes for his downfall. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2007 by samir
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