Worlds Apart
A Documentary History of US–Iranian Relations, 1978–2018

An expertly curated and annotated collection of declassified records, revealing the inner workings of US-Iran relations after 1978.

Malcolm Byrne (Author), Kian Byrne (Author)

9781108838528, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 August 2021

283 pages
23.5 x 15.5 x 2.5 cm, 0.67 kg

'It's not a pretty story, but it should be required reading to understand how our two countries have been stuck on a road to nowhere for forty years. It's all here: the ignorance, the obliviousness, and the insights ignored. Thanks to the authors for giving us the raw material of history free of biases and personal agendas.' John Limbert, Retired American diplomat and author of Believers: Love and Death in Tehran

A relationship beset with extraordinary acrimony, the US and Iran rarely see eye-to-eye, if only to avoid war or nuclear catastrophe. What is at the core of this troubled rivalry that has stymied policymakers and scholars alike? Using a carefully selected collection of White House, CIA, State Department, and other records, Worlds Apart provides a comprehensive answer to this question: starting from the 1979 revolution and hostage crisis, through the Iran-Iraq War and the spread of radical Islam, to 9/11 and the nuclear impasse, to the 2009 Green Movement and the Obama and Trump presidencies. The records, which form the heart of the book, offer a rare, unfiltered view into the perspectives and experiences of the American and Iranian governments over 40 years. Providing timelines, glossaries, discussion questions, and a guide on reading declassified documents, Byrne and Byrne explore this complicated relationship accessibly and innovatively in this unique documentary history.

How to Read a Declassified Document
Introduction
Chronology of events
1. Blindsided: confronting the revolution and the hostage crisis, 1977–1981
2. Turmoil in the Gulf: the Iran-Iraq war and the spread of radical Islam, 1980–1989
3. Leaps of faith: from containment to dialogue, 1990–2000
4. Missed opportunities: from 9/11 to Iraq to the nuclear impasse, 2001–2008
5. Breakthrough: long road to a short-lived deal, 2009–2016
Epilogue. Back to basics: déjà vu after four decades, 2017–2018
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], 21st century history: from c 2000 - [HBLX], Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000 [HBLW3], History of the Americas [HBJK], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]