As a university student, I do a lot of reading, but most of it is not “fun” reading. You can usually find me hunched over my desk furiously digesting articles about 19th-century tavern culture, the otherization of native canadians in anglo-canadian culture, the politicization of the veil in early 20th-century Turkey, etc. Good times.
But sometimes I have to read books for school. Usually, they are an obstacle to be surmounted as quickly as possible (Joseph Conrad, I’m looking at you) – sorry, high school english teachers, it’s true – but sometimes they’re a little slice of joy.
That’s what Stephen Kinzer’s All The Shah’s Men is.
Okay, I’ll be frank. Reading it was not a little slice of joy. It sucked. I spent two days straight in my stretched out ancient leggings from K-Mart, a giant plaid shirt, and a pair of green furry socks furiously reading this book as fast as possible, subsisting on quickly wilting spinach and scrambled eggs, trying to finish my paper before it was due.
That aside, once my paper had been handed in and I could resume my normal existence, I had a moment to reflect on the book, and I realized how much I had enjoyed it.
Kinzer, a political journalist, chronicles the true story behind the CIA’s 1953 coup d’etat that overthrew the stable democratic government in Iran and replaced it with the autocratic Shah whose authoritarian policies would later lead to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It’s absorbing and fascinating like the best sort of spy fiction, but it’s true, and it is so very relevant to modern society. Ever wondered about the roots of the poor relations between the US and Iran? It’s all right here, baby.
Plus, Christmas is coming up! And I don’t know about you, but I’m already mentally plotting the list of books I’ll be devouring. Put this one on your list.
