LE MARÉCAGE DES AYATOLLAHS.

Simultaneously witnesses and historians, Christian and Pierre Pahlavi, father and son, have given us the key to understanding this major revolution, a crucial event in contemporary global history.
The true story of the “green” revolution that changed the world.

The result of thirty years of study and reflection, this extraordinary book provides an animated account of the fall of the last Persian emperor and a dissection of what caused his collapse. At the same time, the authors, father and son, members of the imperial family and the great Iranian diaspora, give us their analysis of the Islamic Revolution. The book is a joint effort, using notes and information gathered in the heat of the action by Christian Pahlavi, who was a first-hand witness of the revolutionary process. It restores the complete and accurate chronology of the events (including the downfall and death of the Shah, the rise of Khomeini, the Islamic reign of terror and the American hostage crisis) that forged the destiny of Iran from 1977 to 1979. It offers an independent view of one of the major historical upheavals of the last century. The authors also present vivid portraits of key Iranian and international figures who played a part in the drama. Fast-paced, the book is a real-life espionage thriller, complete with the CIA's direct involvement in the plot. Adopted son of Ali Reza Pahlavi, brother of the last Shah of Iran, Christian Joachim Pahlavi has a degree from the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (national foundation of political sciences) where he presented a thesis in 1975 on the White Revolution, under the direction of Hélène Carrère d'Encausse. He has also written a series of articles for the journal Politique Internationale and his memoirs, Les Grains du Sablier, Thaddée, 2011 (Grains of the Hourglass). Pierre Pahlavi, who holds a PhD in International Relations, is associate professor and deputy director for research at the Department of Defence Studies of the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, where he specializes in influence strategies, Iran's foreign policy, institutional analysis and irregular warfare. He writes articles for such publications as Défense nationale, Small Arms & Insurgencies, Journal of Strategic Studies and Terrorism and Political Violence.