—The New York Times

As zealots in Washington intensify their preparations for an American attack on Iran, the story of the CIA\'s 1953 coup—with its many cautionary lessons—is more urgently relevant than ever. All the Shah\'s Men brings to life the cloak-and-dagger operation that deposed the only democratic regime Iran ever had. The coup ushered in a quarter-century of repressive rule under the Shah, stimulated the rise of Muslim fundamentalism and anti-Americanism throughout the Middle East, and exposed the folly of using violence to try to reshape Iran. Selected as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and the Economist, it\'s essential reading if you want to place the American attack of Iraq in context—and prepare for what comes next.

\"An entirely engrossing, often riveting, nearly Homeric tale. . . . For anyone with more than a passing interest in how the United States got into such a pickle in the Middle East, All the Shah\'s Men is as good as Grisham.\"

—The Washington Post Book World

\"An exciting narrative. [Kinzer] questions whether Americans are well served by interventions for regime change abroad, and he reminds us of the long history of Iranian resistance to great power interventions, as well as the unanticipated consequences of intervention.\"

—The Los Angeles Times

\"A swashbuckling yarn [and] helpful reminder of an oft-neglected piece of Middle Eastern history.\"

—The New York Times Book Review'

This new edition of the bestseller chosen as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and the Economist begins with a powerful new essay that warns against an American attack on Iran. As the drumbeat of threats against Iran intensifies in Washington, Kinzer argues that they are based on fantasies that are as dangerous as they are delusional. Any attack, he warns, would usher in another era of upheaval in Iran and the surrounding region, this time with the overlay of nuclear-tinged terror. There is more fertile ground for democratic change in Iran than in almost any other Muslim country, and Kinzer presents an alternate strategy for dealing with the burgeoning crisis there. "As militants in Washington urge a second American attack on Iran, the story of the first one becomes more urgently relevant than ever," Kinzer writes in his new essay. "It shows the folly of using violence to try to reshape Iran."

"A very gripping read."

—The New York Times

"An entirely engrossing, often riveting, nearly Homeric tale...For anyone with more than a passing interest in how the United States got into such a pickle in the Middle East, All the Shah's Men is as good as Grisham."

—The Washington Post Book World