真实的历史比写得最棒的fictional narratives都刺激。说起近代史，借张先生的贴推荐一本书，保证你拿起来就

一本书，保证你拿起来就放不下去。

All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

一位中东通名记者在2003依据解密档案，几乎是逐时纪实描述的1953年伊朗政变。揭露了英美情报机关策动推翻伊朗民选首相摩挲台的内幕。CIA一手把巴列维，由立宪君主变成倚赖美国的独裁者。这是近70年来中东动乱的根源。

2003年这本书出版时，来自纽时、经济学人、华邮的好评如潮，就是因为它在当时具有的重大现实意义：

“As zealots in Washington intensify their preparations for an American attack on Iran, the story of the CIA's 1953 coup—with its many cautionary lessons—is more urgently relevant than ever. All the Shah's Men brings to life the cloak-and-dagger operation that deposed the only democratic regime Iran ever had. The coup ushered in a quarter-century of repressive rule under the Shah, stimulated the rise of Muslim fundamentalism and anti-Americanism throughout the Middle East, and exposed the folly of using violence to try to reshape Iran. Selected as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and the Economist, it's essential reading if you want to place the American attack of Iraq in context—and prepare for what comes next.”

很不幸，书出版后20年，深陷中东乱局的美国学会了“以史为鉴”吗？（我最好的学生中伊朗人占了多数，所以对伊朗历史产生了兴趣）。

同意你的观点，有用没有，学人秉笔直书是他们对人类文明的责任。篡改销毁史料是最卑鄙的行为。