Book excerpt: The inner workings of Iranian politics, as experienced by two key figures at their center, are revealed as never before through the meticulously preserved documents and photographs in the Ardeshir Zahedi Papers at the Hoover Institution Library and Archives. These materials are essential for understanding modern Iranian history and its global context.These archives were preserved over the course of two illustrious careers: those of Ardeshir Zahedi, Iran's ambassador to the United States and United Kingdom and minister of foreign affairs; and his father, Fazlollah Zahedi, military general and prime minister of Iran after the 1953 overthrow of Mohammad Mossadegh.Abbas Milani, American-Iranian historian and an expert in US-Iran relations, has sifted through these archives to select resources of unparalleled value and fascination for understanding Iran's politics, culture, and history--both before and after the 1979 Revolution that toppled the shah and sent him and the younger Zahedi into exile.Published for the very first time, the papers and photos included here are connected with many of the key events and figures of the twentieth century. They are indispensable primary sources for scholarship on modern Iranian history as well as intriguing studies on the mechanisms of international diplomacy.