A revelatory, myth-busting insider’s account of the Iranian Revolution of 1979 that details the escalating horror as Ayatollah Khomeini seized power, altering the course of history in the Middle East and the world.

James Buchan was studying in Iran in the 1970s when the turmoil that culminated in the revolution began. Fluent in Persian, he draws on a wealth of Iranian records, memoirs, and newspaper reports and brings an extraordinary depth of knowledge and personal experience to the first full account of that tumultuous time.

Buchan explores the roots of the revolution in the old regime and the role that American, British, and Russian interference played in creating fissures in the Shah’s base of power. He illuminates how even as the Iranian economy flourished, the Islamic clergy began to capture public loyalty, and argues that Ayatollah Khomeini was not the instigator of the first protests, as received wisdom stresses, and that religious frustration played a more important role.

Buchan captures the wildly escalating violence and overheated passions that gripped the country, reaching a fevered pitch when Khomeini returned from exile and launched a reign of terror and mass executions that left no viable opposition to his rule. A dramatic, scene-by-scene account with rich characterizations of the leading players as well as of the ordinary Iranians who were swept into the maelstrom, Days of God is history writing at its vivid best.