All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror#

Stephen Kinzer (2004)
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Part of what sparked my interest in studying topics like colonialism, the Cold War, and the Third World was an early deep dive into Iran. The country dominated American political discourse, yet I realized how little I actually knew about it—its people, its history, or the events that shaped the world we live in today.

I had already explored Iran’s predicament through several lectures, but All the Shah’s Men was my first full-length book on the subject. It provides an excellent narrative history of Mohammad Mossadegh and the forces that ultimately led to the 1953 CIA-backed coup. Kinzer’s writing makes the geopolitical stakes clear without losing sight of the human dimension, and he places Iran’s story within the broader arc of postwar international politics.

This book is essential reading for anyone trying to understand modern Iran or the global consequences of mid-20th-century American foreign policy. It remains one of the most influential early reads that pushed me deeper into topics like decolonization, Cold War intervention, and the political struggles of the developing world.