博客來1970年代的伊朗革命，是二十世紀最關鍵的國際事件之一，
《萬王之王：伊朗革命的傲慢、妄想與災難性誤判》
是一部精采絕倫的歷史作品，也是一記警鐘。
斯科特‧安德森（Scott Anderson）曾以《阿拉伯的勞倫斯》（Lawrence in Arabia）登上紐約時報暢銷榜，作者令人引頸期待的新作《萬王之王》，將回顧「伊朗革命」這個二十世紀重大的歷史事件，揭露美國政府當時令人瞠目結舌的愚昧決策，以及宗教民族主義的興起。
伊朗革命與法國、俄國革命一樣，是足以撼動世界的歷史巨變。1977年除夕夜，美國總統吉米‧卡特（Jimmy Carter）訪問伊朗，向伊朗國王穆罕默德-禮薩‧巴勒維（Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi）敬酒。巴勒維被稱為「萬王之王」、「雅利安之光」，卡特讚揚伊朗在他的領導下，是擁有石油和全球第五大軍隊的富強國家──當時德黑蘭的建設興盛，共產反對勢力及國內保守宗教界也紛紛被鎮壓及收買，伊朗國王的統治被認為堅不可摧，在身處冷戰的美國眼中，更是其不可或缺的重要盟友。
然而短短14個月後，什葉派宗教領袖何梅尼（Ayatollah Khomeini）所領導的革命卻推翻了君主政權，垮台的國王流亡海外並爆發人質危機。CIA在此一事件的情報失靈，徹底重創了美國的國際聲譽──何以在伊朗駐軍千人的美國，對此巨變的前兆毫無所覺？
作者以扣人心弦的筆法重現這段歷史，足見中東局勢遠比美國外交決策者所知的更為複雜。安德森指出，無論是在中東、印度、東南亞、歐洲，甚至今日的美國，經濟上被邊緣化、宗教信仰虔誠的群眾，對富裕菁英階級產生的憤怒與敵意，已引發一波波暴力與社會動盪——而伊朗，正是這股浪潮的先聲。
《萬王之王》不僅是一部敘事精采絕倫的歷史作品，同時也是理解全球變局的一記警鐘。(文/博客來編譯)
書籍評論：
「魯莽的領導者們，根據錯誤資訊所下的決策，播下了混亂的種子......《萬王之王》描寫一連串的誤判，導致伊朗爆發1979年那場『無人預見、無人能止』的革命。」——出版人週刊（Publishers Weekly）
「這本書令人著迷，深入探究不受制衡的權力心理——那種權力會讓人自我孤立、變得盲目，最終招致背叛。安德森擅長捕捉關鍵細節；他不只揭示沙阿政權垮台的教訓，也揭露美國政府過度依賴僵化假設的弱點。而歷史，一再粉碎了那種全盤在握的幻覺。」——國家圖書獎得主伊凡‧奧斯諾斯（Evan Osnos）
From the author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Lawrence in Arabia, a stunningly revelatory narrative history of one of the most momentous events in modern times, the jaw-dropping stupidity of the American government, and the dawn of the age of religious nationalism.
＂A must-read that is both urgent and unforgettable.＂ --Steve Coll, author of The Achilles Trap, Directorate S, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Ghost Wars, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
＂A masterful and gripping account of the Iranian revolution. 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
＂Anderson’s brilliant new account of the events leading to the shah’s fall is both masterful and mesmerizing.＂--Joby Warrick, author of Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
＂Instantly absorbing, King of Kings is an exhilarating plunge into the psychology of unchecked power, which secludes, blinds, and ultimately betrays its holders.＂--Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition, winner of 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.
