Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for King of Kings:
An amazing number of heads in the sand.
Quick synopsis:
The story of the Iranian Revolution.
Fact for Non-History People:
In Iran, “thumbs up” is the equivalent of the middle finger most other places.
Fact for History Nerds:
One of Ayatollah Khomeini’s first acts was to reverse advancements in women’s rights, including lowering the legal age of marriage for girls to nine.
My Take on King of Kings:
I was excited for King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution by Scott Anderson. Unfortunately, Iran became rather topical recently, but I was most enticed by the fact that I knew very little about the entire story.
Turns out, apparently the shah, his government, and the Carter administration had the same problem.
First things first, I have to praise Scott Anderson’s work making this narrative understandable. The Iranian Revolution did not follow the same ramp up and culmination like many of the other revolutions of history. As an American, I have Lexington and Concord as the flashpoint where the shot heard round the world served as the final explosion of the tension which had built to a climax. Scholars may argue some of the finer points, but it started there.
Iran? It was more like a boiling pot of water. There were a few overflows here and there, but then a cooling period. Then a few more overflows. Then the whole thing overflowed while many government officials stood there and said, “I didn’t realize the pot was boiling.”
Anderson masterfully makes this all understandable. There are dozens of people vital to the story or sometimes only vital to one part of the story. The author finds a way to make each character stick in your head and present them as full individuals who often have tragic tunnel vision. Anderson has to play with the timelines a bit which is necessary but can feel almost overwhelming. Luckily, being overwhelmed helps you imagine what it was like to actually be there.
I also appreciate that Anderson is willing to call people out when necessary. He never paints any particular person as fully good or evil. These are people who are complex. However, when they make (or fail to make) a boneheaded decision, I like when the author confirms that what you just read is a head-scratcher. To put it another way, he’s not interested in villainizing his characters, but a dumb move is a dumb move, and it needs to be acknowledged.
I highly recommend this one especially if you are unfamiliar with the subject.
(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by Doubleday Books.)
Verdict:
An absolute must read. Buy it here!
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