From Publishers Weekly
The memoir of Farah (Diba) Pahlavi, widow of the Shah of Iran, seems, at first glance, like a clone of Noor's bestselling Leap of Faith. Both queens were intelligent young women when they met and married their older kings; both remain discreet about their intimate lives with their husbands (who both loved piloting planes and playing with their children); both immersed themselves, as new queens, in cultural programs and social betterment work for their people; and both end their memoirs shortly after the deaths of their husbands. The parallels are almost uncanny - at least until midway through Pahlavi's story, when the real differences emerge. In 1963, the Shah began his "white revolution" to modernize Iran by instituting land reform, women's rights and workers' rights; Communists and fundamentalist clerics vehemently opposed these changes. In Pahlavi's eyes, the monarchy stood for liberalization, even if its enforcement agencies were condemned worldwide for human rights abuses. To her, criticism of the monarchy only supported Khomeini's Islamic fundamentalist opposition. As the insurgency gained strength and the royal family weighed exit strategies, Pahlavi shouldered a new, personal burden: the Shah's concealed battle with cancer. Asylum offers were few. Sadat welcomed them to Egypt, but their stays in the Bahamas, Mexico, the United States and Panama were politically difficult. The Shah's medical treatments, meanwhile, were so bungled, so shaded by political maneuvering, that Pahlavi resorts to quoting extensively from one doctor's records. She ends her account with the Shah's death in 1980, their youngest daughter's death and the Iran-Iraq War, while Pahlavi's life has continued in Paris and Washington, DC. Readers seeking a female perspective on Iran's turbulent recent history will enjoy this candid, straightforward account.
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From Booklist
A lot has been written, over the years, about the 1979 overthrow of the shah of Iran, and most of it has been political history. This book, written by the shah's widow, the former queen of Iran, should appeal mostly to those readers whose interests run more to personal than political history. Although there is politics in the book, it is primarily the story of a young architecture student who, in the late 1950s, wandered into what looked like a fairy tale. It's the story of a girl who becomes a queen and who embraces all the pomp and circumstance that come with the position but who also works to retain her individuality. Pahlavi followed her husband when he left Iran and, since his death in 1980, has lived in exile, finally settling in the U.S. Gracefully translated from the French by Clancy, the book is a loving portrait of the man (and country) Pahlavi loved and lost. Yes, many will say this picture of the shah and of Iran during his reign is a portrait seen through rose-colored glasses. Tint aside, however, the book offers a fascinating look at a remarkable woman and contributes a new perspective on the history of a troubled nation. David Pitt
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