The fall of heaven

A detailed and well researched book about Iran in the 20th century, culminating in the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. The author does have a clear perspective that is sympathetic to the Shah, but he is also clear eyed in his criticism of the Shahs personality traits that played an important part in the way history unfolded. Given the popular revisionist narrative that the Shah was a brutal, corrupt buffoon, I think it was fair for the author to set the record straight. The Shah was flawed, but not nearly as brutal or bloodthirsty as made out. His inability to deal well with critisim and bad news, and his poor judgement of character was a fatal Achilles heel, but it was only one part of his narrative.

The book also does a good job of explaining the intentional brutality and extremism of Khoemeni, who in some western eyes was seen as a popular liberator.. He was not.

I agree with some of the other reviews that the author is ridiculously over exuberant about Queen Farah. He should have toned this down, because it sounds almost like a PR agency working on a client account.

History is never completely objective, but it is hard to imagine a counterfactual where the Shah surviving and continuing would not have been a net positive for Iran, the Middle East, and possibly the world.