--- product_id: 4123303 title: "Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup – The First Biography of a Misunderstood Icon and Middle East Hero" price: "853367₫" currency: VND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.vn/products/4123303-patriot-of-persia-muhammad-mossadegh-and-a-tragic-anglo-american store_origin: VN region: Vietnam --- # Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup – The First Biography of a Misunderstood Icon and Middle East Hero **Price:** 853367₫ **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup – The First Biography of a Misunderstood Icon and Middle East Hero - **How much does it cost?** 853367₫ with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vn](https://www.desertcart.vn/products/4123303-patriot-of-persia-muhammad-mossadegh-and-a-tragic-anglo-american) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The Economist ’s Tehran correspondent Christopher de Bellaigue brings to light the never-before-told full story of one of the great anti-colonial heroes of the twentieth century: Muhammad Mossadegh, the great Iranian leader whose untimely demise resulted in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and a man who has been demonized, ridiculed, and misunderstood in the West while remaining an icon and an inspiration across the Middle East. Patriot of Persia , the first biography exploring his life and impact, opens a crucial new window into Mossadegh—whose role in the evolution of Iran’s political climate cannot be overemphasized—providing a resource that will prove equally invaluable to academics, newshounds, and activists as they struggle to understand Mideast politics, Iran, Ahmadinejad, and the future of the region—and the world. Review: Well written and highly informative - The is a well written and highly informative biography of Muhammad Mossadegh, which concentrates on the 1953 fall of his government of Iran. The book captures Mossadegh’s highly idiosyncratic life and his impact on Iran and on the history of the 20th century. The book is a complete biography, covering his early life and education France and Switzerland, and his early political life leading up to his becoming the Iranian prime minister. The emphasis is, however, on his tenure as prime minister and on the coup that drove him from power. While the book clearly favors Mossadegh side of events, he is also criticized as having contributed to his own downfall. While the US and Britain are held responsible for the 1953 coup, the book also shows how others, - the leaders of the religious establishment, the communist Tudeh party,royalist elements in the army, and Mossadegh’s indecisive leadership in the crisis all led to the fall of his government. Mossadegh is described as a man who could not compromise on his beliefs, even when a short-term compromise would have likely fostered his long-term goals. He was focused on the British control over the oil fields of Iran, but refused to accept a deal that, while not 100% of what he wanted, would have given Iran almost all of what he wanted and would have alleviated a severe economic crisis. He is pictured as a man prone to dramatic gestures, but indecisive when action was critically called for. I liked the book a lot and found that it gave me a better understanding of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that was in effect a continuation and result of the events of 1953. The book contains photographs, but in this paperback edition they are printed on the same course paper as the rest of the book and are therefore quite indistinct and rather useless. It has a bibliography, notes and an index. Review: Excellent! - de Bellaigue has written an exceptional book. Although there's a good bit about the coup that took down Mossadegh, the book's focus is greater than that. It serves as a lesson on Iranian politics from the 30's to the 50's and it gives a good glimpse of life and politics at the time. The British do not, of course, come out of it looking good, neither do the Americans, who even going against the advice of some of its own more enlightened foreign service men, lets the British fool them into a coup that did not benefit American interests. That it later led to the '79 Revolution and the Iran of today is even more tragic. It also helps the reader who does not know the real history of the area to understand the deep mistrust and oftentimes hatred of the US and the UK that can be found in some Iranian circles. Sometimes is hard to think them wrong. It is tragic to see that had the US taken a different path, the history of the Middle East could have been different. BUT, and it's a big but, de Bellaigue does not tell an one-sided story. He criticizes Mossadegh on many occasions and points out on others how his behavior helped, in the end, the positions taken by the US and the British. Had he been more politically able on the international scene, he could have helped his cause a lot. So it is a balanced book, which gives praise and criticism on the right places. It does not make an excuse for anything that came after or during that time. That the author has real experience living in Tehran is a welcome bonus, since some books about this period have been written by people with fairly limited real experience of Iran. It is a recommended reading for today, since Iran is back on the news for the wrong reasons and it, at least, shows the reader that meddling in other countries carries long term consequences that can hardly be foreseen. It is also a tale of how a country can do something so contrary to it's values and principles (the US and UK) while the 'victim' also fumbles the ball and helps the cause against it, sometimes out of political ineptitude. A sad, but real and very interesting tale. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #341,626 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #50 in Iran History #384 in Middle Eastern Politics #1,045 in History & Theory of Politics | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 151 Reviews | ## Images ![Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup – The First Biography of a Misunderstood Icon and Middle East Hero - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61kjpAs1bcL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Well written and highly informative *by M***T on March 24, 2017* The is a well written and highly informative biography of Muhammad Mossadegh, which concentrates on the 1953 fall of his government of Iran. The book captures Mossadegh’s highly idiosyncratic life and his impact on Iran and on the history of the 20th century. The book is a complete biography, covering his early life and education France and Switzerland, and his early political life leading up to his becoming the Iranian prime minister. The emphasis is, however, on his tenure as prime minister and on the coup that drove him from power. While the book clearly favors Mossadegh side of events, he is also criticized as having contributed to his own downfall. While the US and Britain are held responsible for the 1953 coup, the book also shows how others, - the leaders of the religious establishment, the communist Tudeh party,royalist elements in the army, and Mossadegh’s indecisive leadership in the crisis all led to the fall of his government. Mossadegh is described as a man who could not compromise on his beliefs, even when a short-term compromise would have likely fostered his long-term goals. He was focused on the British control over the oil fields of Iran, but refused to accept a deal that, while not 100% of what he wanted, would have given Iran almost all of what he wanted and would have alleviated a severe economic crisis. He is pictured as a man prone to dramatic gestures, but indecisive when action was critically called for. I liked the book a lot and found that it gave me a better understanding of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that was in effect a continuation and result of the events of 1953. The book contains photographs, but in this paperback edition they are printed on the same course paper as the rest of the book and are therefore quite indistinct and rather useless. It has a bibliography, notes and an index. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent! *by F***S on September 3, 2012* de Bellaigue has written an exceptional book. Although there's a good bit about the coup that took down Mossadegh, the book's focus is greater than that. It serves as a lesson on Iranian politics from the 30's to the 50's and it gives a good glimpse of life and politics at the time. The British do not, of course, come out of it looking good, neither do the Americans, who even going against the advice of some of its own more enlightened foreign service men, lets the British fool them into a coup that did not benefit American interests. That it later led to the '79 Revolution and the Iran of today is even more tragic. It also helps the reader who does not know the real history of the area to understand the deep mistrust and oftentimes hatred of the US and the UK that can be found in some Iranian circles. Sometimes is hard to think them wrong. It is tragic to see that had the US taken a different path, the history of the Middle East could have been different. BUT, and it's a big but, de Bellaigue does not tell an one-sided story. He criticizes Mossadegh on many occasions and points out on others how his behavior helped, in the end, the positions taken by the US and the British. Had he been more politically able on the international scene, he could have helped his cause a lot. So it is a balanced book, which gives praise and criticism on the right places. It does not make an excuse for anything that came after or during that time. That the author has real experience living in Tehran is a welcome bonus, since some books about this period have been written by people with fairly limited real experience of Iran. It is a recommended reading for today, since Iran is back on the news for the wrong reasons and it, at least, shows the reader that meddling in other countries carries long term consequences that can hardly be foreseen. It is also a tale of how a country can do something so contrary to it's values and principles (the US and UK) while the 'victim' also fumbles the ball and helps the cause against it, sometimes out of political ineptitude. A sad, but real and very interesting tale. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Forensic Examination of the Rise and Fall of Muhammad Mossadegh, Premier of Iran *by D***N on December 10, 2020* This book relates the life and overthrow of Muhammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran in August 1953. The book is interesting in that it analyses the life and career of Mossadegh in forensic detail, and in doing so tells us much about the history, politics and social customs of Iran between the turn of the century and 1960. The book is a highly valuable piece of work mainly for this reason. Despite having to grapple with a host of Iranian names and characters I felt I had learnt a lot about the country and could appreciate better why modern Iran adopted some of its present postures. I remain unconvinced that the coup that took place, which is described in moment by moment detail, was actually Anglo-American. Whilst British diplomats certainly frequently expressed their desire to be rid of Mossadegh because of his intransigence in negotiations over the British restarting of oil extraction and refining facilities at Abadan after nationalisation by the Mossadegh government, that does not make them co-conspirators. As far as I can understand from the evidence presented by the author, no British diplomats or agents were in Tehran at the time of the coup. It appears to me to be an entirely American affair, and they were certainly short term beneficiaries from the restoration of the Shah and his subsequent dictatorship. American companies were subsequently heavily involved in the Iranian oil business. The coup was in line with the Dulles-Eisenhower policy of the time to combat the perceived threat of communism on all fronts. Certainly, the chaos promoted by the actions of Mossadegh facilitated a much more prominent role for the Tudeh (Communist) Party and its Soviet backers in Iran which would have been a cause for alarm. The book is clearly the result of copious research and for the most part reads well. However, the story of the premiership of Mossadegh can become a little tedious as he was a difficult and infuriating politician to deal with and it is a tale of frequent lost opportunities. Probably the benchmark work in English on Mossadegh and recommended for all interested in the history and background of modern Iran. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vn/products/4123303-patriot-of-persia-muhammad-mossadegh-and-a-tragic-anglo-american](https://www.desertcart.vn/products/4123303-patriot-of-persia-muhammad-mossadegh-and-a-tragic-anglo-american) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vietnam* *Store origin: VN* *Last updated: 2026-06-08*