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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 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.
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 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.
448 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 10, 2015
كتاب «رضاشاه و بريتانيا» مجموعهاي است كه براساس اسناد وزارت امورخارجه آمريكا به ويژگيهاي رفتاري و اخلاقي رضاشاه در دوران حكومت بر ايران پرداخته است. اين كتاب كه در 12 فصل تهيه و تنظيم گرديده است.
كتاب حاضر در حقيقت ترجمهاي است از اثر دكتر محمدقلي مجد كه توسط انتشارات دانشگاه فلوريدا در سال 2001 منتشر شده است. متن انگليسي داراي 15 فصل ميباشد كه به پيشنهاد آقاي دكتر مجد از ترجمه فصل دوم، سوم و چهارم به دليل تكرار مطالب آن در كتاب «از قاجار به پهلوي»، كه همزمان با اين اثر توسط اين مؤسسه
.منتشر ميشود خودداري شده است.
به نظر من با این که نقل قول های دکتر مجد از اسناد وزارت خارجه امریکا فوق العاده جالب و با ارزش است، نتیجه گیری هایشان و ناسزاگویی هایی که به رضاشاه و انگلیسی ها دارند هیچ ارزش علمی و تحقیقی ندارد و حتی خواندن این بخش دوم هم اتلاف وقت است
كتاب حاضر در حقيقت ترجمهاي است از اثر دكتر محمدقلي مجد كه توسط انتشارات دانشگاه فلوريدا در سال 2001 منتشر شده است. متن انگليسي داراي 15 فصل ميباشد كه به پيشنهاد آقاي دكتر مجد از ترجمه فصل دوم، سوم و چهارم به دليل تكرار مطالب آن در كتاب «از قاجار به پهلوي»، كه همزمان با اين اثر توسط اين مؤسسه
.منتشر ميشود خودداري شده است.
به نظر من با این که نقل قول های دکتر مجد از اسناد وزارت خارجه امریکا فوق العاده جالب و با ارزش است، نتیجه گیری هایشان و ناسزاگویی هایی که به رضاشاه و انگلیسی ها دارند هیچ ارزش علمی و تحقیقی ندارد و حتی خواندن این بخش دوم هم اتلاف وقت است
December 13, 2007
I would like to correct my earlier review, and say that it is an uninspiring rant mostly against the person of Reza Shah and the West (this edition: Britain... There's another book dedicated to hatin' on the US). Not that his criticisms aren't fair, but he makes his point altogether too often and too bluntly, and occasionally on rather scant evidence.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews