Items related to Great Britain and Reza Shah: The Plunder of Iran, 1921-1941
"A completely fresh interpretation of the 1921-1941 Pahlavi period. . . . Majd has come upon a gold mine of information on this controversial period of Persian history. . . . The details and freshness of the figures are explosive. . . . Even more explosive are the land acquisitions materials and the information on the work of the Shah's secret police."--Hafez Farmayan, University of Texas at Austin
Using recently declassified U.S. State Department archives, Mohammad Gholi Majd describes the rampant tyranny and destruction of Iran in the decades between the two world wars in a sensational yet thoroughly scholarly study that will rewrite the political and economic history of the country.
The book begins with the British invasion of Iran in April 1918 and ends with the Anglo-Russian invasion in August 1941. Though historians are aware of the events that ensued, until now they have had no written evidence of the dreadful magnitude of the activities. Majd documents how the British brought to power an obscure and semi-illiterate military officer, Reza Khan, who was made shah in 1925.
Thereafter, Majd shows, Iran was subjected to a level of brutality not seen for centuries. He also documents the financial plunder of the country during the period: records show that Reza Shah looted the bulk of Iran's oil revenues on the pretext of buying arms, amassing at least $100 million in his London bank accounts and huge sums in New York and Switzerland. Not even Iran's ancient crown jewels were spared.
In contrast to incomplete and unreliable British records for the period, the recently declassified archives and bank records that Majd uses encompass a wide range of political, social, military, and economic matters. A work with immense implications, this book will correct the myth in Iranian history that the period 1921-41 was one of unqualified progress and reform.
Mohammad Gholi Majd is the author of Resistance to the Shah: Landowners and Ulama in Iran.
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About the Author:
Mohammad Gholi Majd is the author of Resistance to the Shah: Landowners and Ulama in Iran (UPF, 2000) and of numerous articles in Middle Eastern Studies, Middle East Journal, and International Journal of Middle East Studies, among others. An independent scholar, he has taught at the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He was born in Iran and lives in Rockville, Maryland.
Review:
"A completely fresh interpretation of the 1921-1941 Pahlavi period.... Majd has come upon a gold mine of information on this controversial period of Persian history.... The details and freshness of the figures are explosive.... Even more explosive are the land acquisitions materials and the information on the work of the Shah's secret police." - Hafez Farmayan, University of Texas at Austin
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherUniversity Press of Florida
- Publication date2001
- ISBN 10 0813021111
- ISBN 13 9780813021119
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages448
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Great Britain and Reza Shah The Plunder of Iran, 1921-1941
Published by
University Press of Florida
(2001)
ISBN 10: 0813021111
ISBN 13: 9780813021119
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Hardcover
First Edition
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. First Edition. Xiii, 429, [3] pp. Notes, bibliography, index. Illustrated with b/w photos, tables. Teal hard boards with navy buckram spine, silver gilt. Small dark pinprick stain at front cover, half title has 2 institutional stamps, otherwise clean and unmarked. Good copy. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 448 pages. Seller Inventory # 10071
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