Publisher's Synopsis
As the Middle East has once again erupted in chaos and bloodshed, the time is right for a reassessment of the man whose life and death created many of the conditions for the present situation. Amir Taheri, who for six years was the editor of Iran's main newspaper "Kayhan", knew the Shah well and has had access to his private papers. He has interviewed the Shah's closest relatives, including Empress Farah and Princess Ashraf, and many of his ministers, advisers and political opponents.;This biography explains not only the secular transformation of Iran but the religious backlash which destroyed the Shah and transformed the world order.