Rating: 
Summary: A very readable description of the terror under the shah.
Review: This is the third book I've read recently by Kapuscinsky, simply an excellent writer and reporter. I LOVED "The shadow of the sun" and in time promised myself to read all his books. For those who want more insight of the events leading up to the Iranian revolution, this is a good read. It describes especially the mundane terror that the secret police in Iran, the dreaded SAVAK was instilling on the people. The only thing totally absent in the book is an analysis of the role America played in all of this, as this organization was in fact set up by the US and initially even with an American at the helm. Despite these serious omissions this remains quite a well written book about an interesting subject matter.
Rating: 
Summary: Read the book, didn't find it informative!
Review: This novel did not capture my imagination nor did it communicate any new concepts or perceptions that would be noteworthy. Seems like the author just wanted to publish something...I've read better books on the times and the people.
Rating: 
Summary: Book should be Labeled as FICTION
Review: When I first bought this book, I was expecting to get a very candid and accurate detail of the revolution from someone who is not Iranian or Muslim. But I have yet to read a book that is more inaccurate than this one. Except for the first third of the book which describes some pictures and some history of the Shah, the rest of the book was dedicated to the revolution, and was totally inaccurate. The United States interest in stopping the spread of communism and its interest in oil in Iran was the main reason the great Shah was overthrown. People who have lived through the revolution, and who have any sort of political ties to either country knows this. But none of this was EVER mentioned in this book. If I was not on a six hour flight to Los Angeles, I would never have finished the book. As my father used to say, "dont believe everything you read!" And this goes especially for this book. As I said before, this book is totally inaccurate. I threw it out as I left the airplane.
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