The skeptical doctor reviews a new book on the end of Iran’s Pahlavi dynasty over at Law & Liberty.
He thought that he had both the right and the duty, genuinely for the sake of his country, to rule rather than reign, but while he had the ideas of an autocrat, he also had those of an ordinary decent person who baulked at the shedding of much blood, the only way, in the end, that he could have preserved his throne (and possibly not even then).
Thanks for sharing. Dalrymple’s discussion of foreign countries and cultures, many which he has visited in his career (as in this case), is always enlightening.
Hi, Matt. Thanks for the comment. I’m in complete agreement and I would highly recommend some of his travel memoirs. I have read the following two written in the late 1980s: Zanzibar to Timbuktu and Coups and Cocaine. The first is an account of Dalrymple’s trek across Africa, while the second is about his travels through South America. I found both of these books to be insightful and interesting. Cheers.