Patriot of Persia

Muhammad Mossadegh and a Very British Coup

Christopher de Bellaigue

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English

Vintage
15 February 2013

Biography: historical, political & military; History; Middle Eastern history; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Politics & government

A brilliant biography of one of the great political eccentrics of modern times - Muhammad Mossadegh

On 19 August 1953 the British and American intelligence agencies launched a desperate coup against a cussed, bedridden 72-year-old. His name was Muhammad Mossadegh, the Iranian prime minister. To Winston Churchill he was a lunatic, determined to humiliate Britain. To President Eisenhower he was delivering Iran to the Soviets. Mossadegh must go.

And so he did, in one of the most dramatic episodes in modern Middle Eastern history. But the countries that overthrew him would, in time, deeply regret it. Mossadegh was one of the first liberals of the Middle East, a man whose conception of liberty was as sophisticated as any in Europe or America. He wanted friendship with the West - not slavish dependence.

Here, for the first time, is the political and personal life of a remarkable patriot, written by our foremost observer of Iran. Above all, the life of Muhammad Mossadegh is a warning to today's occupants of Downing Street and the White House, as they commit us all to intervention in a volatile and unpredictable region.

By: Christopher de Bellaigue
Imprint: Vintage
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 21mm
Weight: 233g
ISBN: 9780099540489
ISBN 10: 0099540487
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 15 February 2013
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Christopher de Bellaigue was born in London in 1971, and was educated at Cambridge University, where he read Iranian and Indian Studies. Between 1996 and 2007, he lived and worked as a journalist in south Asia and the Middle East, writing for The Economist, the Financial Times, the Independent and the New York Review of Books. He and his Iranian wife, the artist Bita Ghezelayagh, returned from Tehran to the UK in 2007 so that de Bellaigue could take up a fellowship at St Antony's College, Oxford. They now divide their time between London and Tehran.

Reviews for Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Very British Coup

Compelling -- Max Hastings Sunday Times Excellent -- Charles Glass Spectator A rich and timely immersion -- David Gardner Financial Times De Bellaigue's book is unsurpassed as a rounded portrait of Mossadegh Times Literary Supplement De Bellaigue portrays some fascinating, and often farcical, stories of political life in Iran Independent