October History Bk Club - "King of Kings" by Scott Anderson

In October, we dive into a region of the world that is very much in the news today: King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution - A story of Hubris, Delusion, and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson.

Here is what the publisher has to say about the book:

"The spellbinding story Scott Anderson weaves is one of a dictator oblivious to the disdain of his subjects and a superpower blundering into disaster. The Shah emerges as a fascinating, Shakespearean character—a wannabe Richard III unaware of the depth of dissent to his rule, indecisive like Hamlet when action was called for, and at the end Lear-like as he raged against his fate. The Americans made terrible decisions at almost every juncture, from a secret pact designed by Kissinger and Nixon, to dismissing reports from the one diplomat who saw how hated the Shah was by the Iranian people (unlike almost all his colleagues, he spoke Farsi), to Jimmy Carter allowing the Shah to come to America for medical treatment, which set off the hostage crisis which forever damaged American influence in the world."

Please remember that this is, first and foremost, a book club. Like any local book club, the point is discussion about a shared experience - reading a book! It is not a lecture series. So as usual, get a copy of the book, read it and then join us for another interesting discussion. We continue to meet virtually because so many of our members now join us from locations outside the D.C area.

A zoom link to the discussion will be sent a day before the meeting.