Review (PDF) Operation Ajax: The Story Of The CIA Coup That Remade The Middle East
Graphic true-life spy thriller about the CIA mission that overthrew Iran’s democracyThe year is 1953. As the value of oil skyrockets, global power brokers begin to take interest in the political regimes of the Middle East. British agents have controlled Iranian oil exports for a generation, but the Shah’s hold on peace is shaky as a charismatic leader enters the scene. Mohammed Mossadegh’s calls to overthrow the elites resonates among the people, and as rumors circulate of an impending revolt, American, British and Persian agents hatch plans of overthrow. Deals are made behind closed doors. Every actor has a stake. Iran’s oil will flow, by any means necessary. Operation Ajax is the story of the CIA coup that removed the democratically elected Mossadegh and reinstated the monarchy. Introduced by New York Times–bestselling author of All the Shah’s Men, Stephen Kinzer, Operation Ajax is a thrilling tale of real-life intrigue.
Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: Verso (August 18, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1781689237
ISBN-13: 978-1781689233
Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.8 x 10 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #726,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #306 in Books > History > Middle East > Iran #609 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Biographies & History Graphic Novels #18449 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels
'Operation Ajax' by Mike De Seve and art by Daniel Burwen is a fascinating read. It's also an app for the iPad, and I bet that it's a good one.If you want to know why Iran has a hatred of the West, this book will clear it up for you. It tells the story of Iran, from the discovery of oil, up to the end of 'Operation Ajax' where Prime Minister Mossaddegh is ousted in 1953. We see first the UK, then the US playing politics with Iran with the hopes of securing oil. British Petroleum was founded based on this. We see the frustration on both sides, but we see the Iranian people being used as pawns to foment revolution and eventually a coup. The story would be a fascinating fictional thriller, but it's all true.What a compelling way to tell the story. Using a graphic novel this way brings in non-historians and students and presents a story that comes alive. I knew about some of this, but I appreciated the chance to learn more. It's no wonder our relations with Iran and it's people are so shaky even to this day.I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Verso Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
I was THOROUGHLY blown away by this book. The fact that it was ENTIRELY based on, and is what amounts to a true retelling of, actual events that have since impacted the entire world as we know it, makes it even more incredible to me. This was indeed a case of "stranger than fiction" and I found myself flabbergasted at the sheer magnitude of deception and the lengths our country and others would/will go to in order to secure their own ends.It reads like a Hollywood plot, only all of it actually happened. What's more, actual photo-copies of the now de-classified files all of it is based on are included in the book. I'm not one for spoilers and long-winded reviews that are actually cliff-notes of an entire story so I'll leave it at this. If you enjoy good art, good storytelling via sequential art as the medium, and you think you might be interested in learning about a HUGE moment in the completely sordid history of our involvement in the destabilization of the middle east- look no further.This book is incredible from start to finish.The pacing, the artwork, the frames, the coloring.. all are top-notch.It held my attention throughout, creating art out of a history lesson and educating me while holding me spellbound.I'd go so far as to recommend it to history teachers [if they're interested in teaching actual history].LOVED IT
If you think you understand the Middle East, but you don't know the story of Operation Ajax, then you probably don't actually understand the Middle East. This gorgeous, complex graphic novel expertly tells the little-known true story of a CIA operation which essentially overthrew the democratically-elected government of Iran in the 1950s.It's an utterly-engrossing, masterfully-woven tapestry of intrigue, conspiracy, politics, ambition and avarice laid out across the globe.This is a brilliant, important book, and I, quite simply, cannot recommend it highly enough!
I first read Operation Ajax as an app and loved it. I wanted to teach it a few years ago, but I couldn't require students to have a tablet, so I was thrilled last fall when I realized there was a book version. I understood that the book version would, of necessity, lose some of the charm of the app--sound effects, sliding panels, embedded dossiers and news reels; but even without those perks, the book was brilliant and beautiful. I was irritated at the lack of page numbers, especially since I was using it as a college composition course text which teaches, among other things, textual citation. But lack of page numbers is a fairly common error (imo) in graphic texts, so I considered the error a teachable moment and moved on. What's not forgivable and what makes the lack of numbers more troubling is the quality of stitching and glue: after just a few weeks everyone's book started falling literally to pieces--pages scatter everywhere and it's bloody difficult reassembling them w/out numbers. If it had just been one or two books, I would have let it slide, but it was everyone's book. I wrote the publisher and heard nothing back. I assigned my students to write the publisher and they, to date, have heard nothing back. I don't know if all Verso Books are this shoddy or if Verso always has such crappy customer service, but I will avoid them in the future. Sorry authors, you had a lovely project and Verso screwed you.
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