In the late 1970s, Iran looked like one of America’s safest bets: oil-rich, tightly controlled, and ruled by a king who seemed unshakable. Within a year, his regime had collapsed, a revolutionary cleric flew in from exile to claim power, and American diplomats were taken hostage on live television. How did everyone—from the Shah’s inner circle to the CIA and the White House—miss the signs of an approaching earthquake?
In King of Kings, Scott Anderson zooms in on missionaries, Peace Corps workers, ministers, palace insiders, and U.S. diplomats who all saw different pieces of the puzzle—but were ignored, dismissed, or silenced. The result is a gripping, almost thriller-like reconstruction of how wishful thinking, arrogance, and fear helped birth a theocracy and reshape global politics.
Read this summary to see how a “stable ally” became the epicenter of modern religious revolution—and what it reveals about the blind spots of great powers today.
