“All books about all revolutions begin with a chapter that describes the decay of tottering authority or the misery and sufferings of the people. They should begin with a psychological chapter, one that shows how a harassed, terrified man suddenly breaks his terror, stops being afraid.”

On its surface this is a book about the Iranian Revolution of 1979. But it’s really much, much more. With superb writing style, fascinating structure, and an incredible eye for the wider context and the human detail, Kapuściński pieces together lots of little mini-vignettes, to show, rather than simply tell, not so much what happened, but why, mixed throughout with his thoughts — distilled through having reported on dozens of previous revolutions before this one — on power, fear, secrecy, democracy, oil, development, corruption, symbols and metaphors, movements and structures, the difference between revolution and revolt, and enough of a broad sweep of history to provide sufficient context, without getting tangled in the tendentious details (and one of the better Sunni vs Shia explanations I’ve ever read.)

If you’re looking for a comprehensive, blow-by-blow account, you won’t find it here. This book is significantly more valuable than that. Though the details may change, the central story keeps playing out again and again and again, and will likely continue to do so. Most of this is as relevant to the revolutions of the past few years, as it was to thirty-five years ago.