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پشت پردۀ کودتا: اوباش، فرصتطلبان، ارتشیان، جاسوسان
پشت پردهی کودتا میکوشد خردهتاریخِ مفصلِ آن دست از وقایعی را ارائه دهد که در ۲۸ مرداد به اوج خود رسیدند. این کتاب نه دربارهی مصدق است و نه فهرستی است از هدفهای دولتِ او و دستاوردها یا شکستهای این دولت، بلکه بیشتر پژوهشی است در باب سرنگونی مصدق و نیز در خصوص شرایطِ تحققِ این سرنگونی. هم مصدق و هم متحدان و مخالفانش این وقایع را به راه انداختند، به آنها واکنش دادند، و با آنها تعامل برقرار کردند. از این رو، هر مطالعهای دربارهی سرنگونی میبایست هم به مصدق و طرفدارانش، و هم به کسانی که او را سرنگون کردند، بپردازد و موقعیتها و اعمال هر دو طرف را تجزیه و تحلیل، ارزیابی و گزارش کند. این مطالعه با تکیه بر شواهد و مدارکِ بهکاربسته، نهایتاً قصد دارد به این سؤال پاسخ دهد که آیا برکناری مصدق از قدرت، به دست خارجیها طرح و اجرا شد، یا اینکه این واقعه یک کودتا، یک انقلاب، یک قیام خودجوشِ ملی و یا چیز دیگری بود. با غلبهی مواضعِ قطبیشده، احتمالاً هر گونه نتیجهگیریای برچسب طرفدارِ مصدق و یا ضدمصدقبودن را به این اثر و نویسندهی آن خواهد زد. بازتعریف تاریخچهی ۲۸ مرداد، همچون تاریخچهی هر کشمکش اجتماعیـسیاسی دیگری، به بروز بعضی دلخوریها و برآمدن پارهای از قضاوتها میانجامد. اثر حاضر تاریخچهای است از وقایع ۲۸ مرداد برای کسانی که کنجکاوند بدانند در آن روز چه اتفاقی افتاد و چگونه چنین نتیجهای حاصل شد.
- GenresIranHistoryNonfiction
560 pages, Hardcover
First published October 20, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 30, 2020
پشتپردهی کودتا نمونهای عالی از خردهتاریخ است. تاریخنگاری با تمرکز بر یک واقعهی خاص که در اینجا کودتای بیستوهشتم مرداد است. کتاب نه دربارهی مصدق است و نه دربارهی مخالفانش. بلکه تنها بر سقوط دولت مصدق تمرکز دارد و وضعی را بررسی میکند که این سقوط را ممکن ساختند. کتاب گزارشی دقیق و مفصل از آنچه منجر به سقوط دولت مصدق شد و کنشها و واکنشهای متحدان و مخالفان مصدق ارایه میکند و در نهایت با تکیه بر اسناد گوناگون داخلی و خارجی به روشنی نشان میدهد که ماجرای بیست و هشتم مرداد نه ـ آنچنان که زاهدی و کاشانی و شعبان جعفری و محمدرضا پهلوی میخواندندش ـ قیام مردمی بود بلکه کودتایی بود که نطفهاش را انگلیس و آمریکا بسته بودند و زایمانش را به ایرانیانی همچون زاهدی و کاشانی و بهبهانی و براداران رشیدیان و شعبان بیمخ و حسین رمضان یخی و طیب حاجرضایی سپرده بودند.
با این که در ترجمهی کتاب لحن روایت مناسبی انتخاب شده بود مختصری هم ایرادات ویرایشی داشت که گویا قرار است در چاپ بعدی اصلاح شود.
با این که در ترجمهی کتاب لحن روایت مناسبی انتخاب شده بود مختصری هم ایرادات ویرایشی داشت که گویا قرار است در چاپ بعدی اصلاح شود.
November 28, 2025
شیوهٔ کاری که علی رهنما در این اثر ارائه داده برام تازگی داشت. فارغ از این پرسش مهم که برخی منتقدان اضافه کردن: "آیا محتوای جدیدی به موضوع *کودتای ۲۸ مرداد* اضافه کرد؟" در کل به نظرم برای مخاطبانی که خوندن پژوهشهای تاریخی براشون کسلکنندهست یه اثر متفاوته. همچنین نقد فخرالدین عظیمی به این کتاب هم خوندنیه و اشکالاتش رو به نحو مفصلی توضیح داده. اما من شیفتهی روشی شدم که مؤلف به کار بسته. راغب شدم که دیگر آثار ایشون رو هم بخونم. به ویژه کتابی که دربارهٔ علی شریعتی نوشته.
June 20, 2023
حرف جدیدی درباره کودتا ارائه نداد.
March 4, 2021
گزارش لحظه به لحظه کودتای ۲۸ مرداد از لحظه آغاز نخست وزیری دکتر مصدق تا سرنگونی دولت او
July 21, 2026
In light of ongoing turmoil and regional conflict, understanding how Iran arrived at this point requires looking back at our history. The 1953 coup remains one of the most polarizing events among Iranians, with deeply fractured narratives depending on who you ask. Having grown up under state propaganda, transparent and strictly unbiased language isn't just a preference for me—it is an absolute requirement for building trust in historical writing. My framework for reading history is to examine works from opposing sides of a conflict, searching for truth in the overlaps where competing narratives agree.
To understand 1953, I put together a shortlist spanning various perspectives—including Ervand Abrahamian's The Coup, Stephen Kinzer's All the Shah's Men, Gasiorowski & Byrne's Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran, as well as Abbas Milani’s historical analyses and the Ardeshir Zahedi Papers. I decided to start with Ali Rahnema's Behind the 1953 Coup in Iran because early reviews promised a forensic, unbiased reconstruction of events. While the book is undeniably dense, comprehensive, and rich in granular detail, I strongly disagree with the consensus that it is objective. Despite its rigorous academic framing, Rahnema’s narrative frequently reveals clear partisan leanings that erode reader trust.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the book is its condescending tone toward ordinary street participants. Rahnema repeatedly dismisses lower-class actors and street crowds as mere "thugs" and "ruffians." This habit of intellectuals looking down on the working class is precisely why so many regular Iranians lost faith in the academic elite in the first place. When educated voices refuse to listen to or humanize ordinary people, the public stops listening to intellectuals and historians—and our society pays the price for that disconnect.
Beyond this class bias, the book suffers from internal narrative contradictions where the facts presented earlier in the text conflict with the author's later conclusions. Rahnema insists at the end that Mosaddegh was a staunch constitutional monarchist who never wanted the Shah gone. Yet, in the days immediately following the Shah's departure, Rahnema details how Mosaddegh's supporters removed royal portraits from government offices, stopped morning military routines mentioning the Shah, and tore down statues. To an objective reader, these actions look like a coup initiated by Mosaddegh's faction, making the Shah's eventual return resemble a counter-coup.
Similarly, while the book documents extensive Tudeh Party mobilization calling for a democratic republic, the author abruptly attributes much of their chaotic street disruption solely to CIA agent provocateurs. Time and again, the narrative frames Mosaddegh as blameless—suggesting there were no genuine grassroots protests against him and treating his falling out with close allies as entirely external failures. When an author urges future generations to "honor Mosaddegh and tell the truth," but includes details that directly undermine his own conclusions, trust vanishes.
Rahnema offers a valuable archive of historical data, but his emotional and ideological bias keeps this work from being the honest, transparent account Iranians desperately need. To break the cycle of endless political arguments, our generation needs unvarnished truth over hero worship. I recognize I need to read the remaining books on my list to fully judge this era, but Rahnema's work served as an important lesson: dense research does not automatically equal objective history.
To understand 1953, I put together a shortlist spanning various perspectives—including Ervand Abrahamian's The Coup, Stephen Kinzer's All the Shah's Men, Gasiorowski & Byrne's Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran, as well as Abbas Milani’s historical analyses and the Ardeshir Zahedi Papers. I decided to start with Ali Rahnema's Behind the 1953 Coup in Iran because early reviews promised a forensic, unbiased reconstruction of events. While the book is undeniably dense, comprehensive, and rich in granular detail, I strongly disagree with the consensus that it is objective. Despite its rigorous academic framing, Rahnema’s narrative frequently reveals clear partisan leanings that erode reader trust.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the book is its condescending tone toward ordinary street participants. Rahnema repeatedly dismisses lower-class actors and street crowds as mere "thugs" and "ruffians." This habit of intellectuals looking down on the working class is precisely why so many regular Iranians lost faith in the academic elite in the first place. When educated voices refuse to listen to or humanize ordinary people, the public stops listening to intellectuals and historians—and our society pays the price for that disconnect.
Beyond this class bias, the book suffers from internal narrative contradictions where the facts presented earlier in the text conflict with the author's later conclusions. Rahnema insists at the end that Mosaddegh was a staunch constitutional monarchist who never wanted the Shah gone. Yet, in the days immediately following the Shah's departure, Rahnema details how Mosaddegh's supporters removed royal portraits from government offices, stopped morning military routines mentioning the Shah, and tore down statues. To an objective reader, these actions look like a coup initiated by Mosaddegh's faction, making the Shah's eventual return resemble a counter-coup.
Similarly, while the book documents extensive Tudeh Party mobilization calling for a democratic republic, the author abruptly attributes much of their chaotic street disruption solely to CIA agent provocateurs. Time and again, the narrative frames Mosaddegh as blameless—suggesting there were no genuine grassroots protests against him and treating his falling out with close allies as entirely external failures. When an author urges future generations to "honor Mosaddegh and tell the truth," but includes details that directly undermine his own conclusions, trust vanishes.
Rahnema offers a valuable archive of historical data, but his emotional and ideological bias keeps this work from being the honest, transparent account Iranians desperately need. To break the cycle of endless political arguments, our generation needs unvarnished truth over hero worship. I recognize I need to read the remaining books on my list to fully judge this era, but Rahnema's work served as an important lesson: dense research does not automatically equal objective history.
February 13, 2024
این کتاب با تمام جزئیاتی که بر اساس اسناد ارائه داده، منبع و مرجع کاملی هست برای کسانی مثل من که با جستجو در تاریخ معاصر ایران، بهدنبال راهی هستند برای پذیرش حقیقت و هستی و جبر و همچنین درک و ریشهیابی مشکلات سیاسیِ پیش رو و البته [شاید] رهایی و دگرگونی.
این کتاب درک درستی از اوضاع امروز و ریشهی آلام اجتماعی ایران به مخاطب میدهد. جامعه ایران هشتاد سال است که بیمار مانده، بخوانیدش که متوجه شوید چرا؟!
پ.ن: این اثر ابداً روانشناسانه نیست
این کتاب درک درستی از اوضاع امروز و ریشهی آلام اجتماعی ایران به مخاطب میدهد. جامعه ایران هشتاد سال است که بیمار مانده، بخوانیدش که متوجه شوید چرا؟!
پ.ن: این اثر ابداً روانشناسانه نیست
November 3, 2015
Highly informative and well-worth the price tag. Normally it's $100 due to printing only when you order. However, this work is scholarly enough that it's the highest valued resource on the 1953 collection I currently have found.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews