Shokat's extensive biography of Bakhtiar is a significant contribution to the political history of Iran after WWII. Bakhtiar's long presence on Iran's political stage, as a prominent member of the opposition to the Shah, his brief tenure as the last prime minister of Iran before the establishment of the Islamic Republic, and his subsequent high-profile opposition in exile, and his assassination in 1991 by the agents of that regime, provide an extraordinary lens through which to examine Iranian politics and society during ...
Read More
Shokat's extensive biography of Bakhtiar is a significant contribution to the political history of Iran after WWII. Bakhtiar's long presence on Iran's political stage, as a prominent member of the opposition to the Shah, his brief tenure as the last prime minister of Iran before the establishment of the Islamic Republic, and his subsequent high-profile opposition in exile, and his assassination in 1991 by the agents of that regime, provide an extraordinary lens through which to examine Iranian politics and society during that period. Shokat has consulted an extensive range of primary and secondary sources, many of them previously unexamined, in Persian, English, French, and German, in various national archives. He has also interviewed various political personalities including Bakhtiar's relatives and associates. This unprecedented account of Bakhtiar's life and the changing Iranian political milieus he lived through is a work of immense historical achievement and significance.
Read Less
