Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup - Hardcover

De Bellaigue, Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061844705 ISBN 13: 9780061844706

Publisher: Harper, 2012

Synopsis

Christopher de Bellaigue, a former contributor to The Economist, brings to light the fascinating story of one of the great anti-colonial heroes of the twentieth century: Muhammad Mossadegh, the great Iranian leader whose untimely demise resulted in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and a man who has been demonized, ridiculed, and misunderstood in the West while remaining an icon and an inspiration across the Middle East. Patriot of Persia, a new biography exploring his life and impact, opens a crucial new window into Mossadegh--whose role in the evolution of Iran's political climate cannot be overemphasized--providing a resource that will prove equally invaluable to academics, newshounds, and activists as they struggle to understand Mideast politics, Iran, Ahmadinejad, and the future of the region--and the world.

About this title

Review:

"A timely book...elegantly written...feels both fresh and relevant...highlights the dangers of a foreign policy that ignores the perceptions of those with memories longer than our own."--The Guardian

"Superbly timed...portrays some fascinating, and often farcical, stories of political life in Iran"--Independent

"Compelling... the West has handled its relationship with Iran as badly as possible... we have little leverage with its people...de Bellaigue's book goes far to explain why."--Max Hastings, Sunday Times (London)

"Brilliant...A sweeping new biography...also a rich portrait of Iran amid the revolutionary upheaval of anti-colonial reform movements...-the antecedent, in many ways, of today's Middle East uprisings."--The Daily

"De Bellaigue's book is unsurpassed as a rounded portrait of Mossadegh."--Times Literary Supplement (London)

"Portrayed by Bellaigue as a classic tragic hero...the book presents a nuanced portrait of an enigmantic man whose brilliance and fairmindedness fatally collided with his pride and rigidity."--Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post

"Economist Tehran correspondent de Bellaigue uses plenty of local insight to provide general readers with an intriguing combination of biography, history and strategic study."--Kirkus Reviews

"A compelling biography... Bellaigue...writes with economy and a lightly ironic touch...The result is a three-dimensional profile of Mossadegh that contrasts sharply with the heroic democrat mythologized by his supporters."--Wall Street Journal

"Authoritative...a politically astute biography"--Pankaj Mishra, London Review of Books

"Brilliant...deft...De Bellaigue, fluent in Farsi, draws on previously unused Iranian sources to bring Mossadegh to vivid life...De Bellaigue's powerful portrait is also a timely reminder that further Western recklessness toward Iran...would only pile tragedy upon tragedy."--Roger Cohen, New York Review of Books

From the Back Cover:

On August 19, 1953, the American and British intelligence agencies launched a desperate coup in Iran against a cussed, bedridden seventy-two-year-old man. His name was Muhammad Mossadegh, and his crimes had been to flirt with communism and to nationalize his country's oil industry, which for forty years had been in British hands. To Winston Churchill, the Iranian prime minister was a lunatic, determined to humiliate Britain. To President Dwight Eisenhower, he was delivering Iran to the Soviets. Mossadegh must go.

And so he did, in one of the most dramatic episodes in modern Middle Eastern history. But the countries that overthrew him would, in time, deeply regret their decision. Mossadegh was one of the first liberals of the Middle East, a man whose conception of liberty was as sophisticated as any in Europe or America. He wanted friendship with the West--but not slavish dependence. He would not compromise on Iran's right to control its own destiny. The West therefore sided against him and in favor of his great foe, Shah Muhammad-Reza Pahlavi.

Who was this political guerrilla of noble blood, who was so adored in the Middle East and so reviled in the West? Schooled in Europe of the Belle Epoque, Mossadegh was pitted against dictatorship at home, a struggle that almost cost him his life and had tragic consequences for his family. By the time of the Shah's accession in 1941, Mossadegh had become the nation's conscience, and he spent the rest of his life in conflict with a monarch whose despotic regime was eventually toppled in the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Here, for the first time, is the political and personal life of a remarkable patriot, written by our foremost observer of Iran. Drawing on sources in Tehran and the West, Christopher de Bellaigue reveals a man who not only embodied his nation's struggle for freedom but also was one of the great eccentrics of modern times--and uncovers the coup that undid him. Above all, the life of Muhammad Mossadegh serves as a warning to today's occupants of the White House and Downing Street as they commit to further intervention in a volatile and unpredictable region.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0061844705
• ISBN 13: 9780061844706
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320