King of Kings

The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation

By: Scott Anderson

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner, Scott Anderson

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR NONFICTION • KIRKUS PRIZE WINNER • From the author of the landmark bestseller Lawrence in Arabia comes a stunningly revelatory narrative history of the Iranian Revolution, one of the most momentous events in modern times. This groundbreaking work exposes the jaw-dropping stupidity of the American government and traces the rise of religious nationalism, offering essential insights into today's global unrest.

“A masterful and propulsive account that chronicles a devastatingly transformative series of events whose aftereffects reverberate to this day.” —The Kirkus Prize 2025 Jury

“An exceptional and important book. Scrupulous and enterprising reporting rarely combine with such superb storytelling.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A masterful and gripping account. Anderson gives us a page-turning history lesson that is more relevant than ever.” —Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author Imperial Life in the Emerald City, a finalist for the National Book Award

On New Year’s Eve, 1977, on a state visit to Iran, President Jimmy Carter toasted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, King of Kings, Light of the Aryans, Shadow of God on Earth, praising Iran as “an island of stability “ due to “your leadership and the respect and admiration and love which your people give to you.” Iran had the world’s fifth largest army and was awash in billions of dollars in oil revenues. Construction cranes dotted the skyline of its booming capital, Tehran. The regime’s feared secret police force SAVAK had crushed communist opposition, and the Shah had bought off the conservative Muslim clergy inside the country. He seemed invulnerable, and invaluable to the United States as an ally in the Cold War. Fourteen months later the Shah fled Iran into exile, forced from the throne by a volcanic religious revolution led by a fiery cleric named Ayatollah Khomeini. The ensuing hostage crisis forever damaged America’s standing in the world. How could the United States, which had one of the largest CIA stations in the world and thousands of military personnel in Iran, have been so blind?

The spellbinding story Scott Anderson weaves is one of a dictator blind to the disdain of his subjects and a superpower blundering into disaster. Scott Anderson tells this astonishing tale with the narrative brio, mordant wit, and keen analysis that made his bestselling Lawrence of Arabia one of the key texts in understanding the modern Middle East. The Iranian Revolution, Anderson convincingly argues, was as world-shattering an event as the French and Russian revolutions. In the Middle East, in India, in Southeast Asia, in Europe, and now in the United States, the hatred of economically-marginalized, religiously-fervent masses for a wealthy secular elite has led to violence and upheaval – and Iran was the template. King of Kings is a bravura work of history, and a warning.

Great read that breaks down many factors leading to 1979

I loved how this book did a deep dive into the history and factors that caused the revolution. Also, the narrators attempt at pronunciating Ruhollah was hilarious and admirable.

An engaging story of a profoundly important chapter in our history

This is, quite simply, an excellent, excellent book. I learned so much about the origins of and fallout from the Iranian revolution. It is easy for a layman grasp, with its depiction of the personalities, both here and abroad, that were so crucial to our country’s catastrophic failure of intelligence and ideas. The narration is great, too. A wonderful Audible purchase for a history buff like me.

A great analysis

King of Kings is very detailed and fair analysis of the events in Iran and the actions of the United States

Gripping account of the last Iranian Shah

Well told with analysis and history with multiple perspectives of the Shah of Iran and his loss of power

Given current events in Iran

Given current events in Iran, this is a must read/listen. If you’re interested in how we got here and why Persia is the key then listen to this historic account.