Stolen Revolution

A brilliant investigative history of modern Iran, a powerful story of ambition and survival amid the deepening coercion and repression of the Islamic regime. With prodigious research and unforgettable characters, the authors reveal the truth about Iran’s tumultuous revolutionary epoch —from mullahs to start-ups — and offer hope for a future beyond it

David E. Hoffman, author of The Billion Dollar Spy, a New York Times bestseller, and The Dead Hand, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Anyone who cares about the future of Iran should read Stolen Revolution. Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin explain how the 1979 revolution was subverted by Iran's corrupt and arrogant leaders—and how courageous Iranians continued to fight for a free and modern country. The Iranian people's struggle, told here though more than 130 interviews, should inspire us all

David Ignatius

The best book to understand Iran today. Torbati and Sharafedin have written a masterful narrative that moves seamlessly between grand historical turning points and the intimate details of private lives . . . Beautifully written, perfectly timed, and impossible to put down, Stolen Revolution is a kaleidoscopic portrait of modern Iran by two of its most clear-eyed observers

Edward Fishman, bestselling author of CHOKEPOINTS

A consciousness-changing record of the oppression of extremism lived and resisted at the personal level . . . We are left with a portrait of a nation more nuanced, complicated, and promising than the world—and perhaps even its own leaders—have fully appreciated

Kirkus Reviews

A profoundly affecting account of life in modern Iran through the eyes and experiences of a group of remarkable – and remarkably brave – individuals. It is also a sobering examination of the brutal instruments of repression the regime employs to maintain power. This is one of the most incisive works on Iranian society in a generation

Scott Anderson, author of KING OF KINGS

Rigorous and revelatory, a kaleidoscopic history of modern Iran that is gripping and suspenseful and endlessly interesting. Torbati and Sharafedin tell the vivid story of a group of idealists who have crashed up against the realities of a revolutionary project gone terribly awry. A masterwork of reporting, this book is a kind of skeleton key for understanding the present moment

Jonathan Blitzer, author of EVERYONE WHO IS GONE IS HERE

Stolen Revolution is truly revelatory. It is at once a searing exposé—showing how the Islamic Republic really works, and for whom—and a tragic tale of all that has been robbed, materially and morally, of Iranians who sought to make their country a better place. It is investigative and narrative journalism at their best

Laura Secor, author of CHILDREN OF PARADISE

This excellent, rigorous, sensitive book tells the tragic but often inspiring story of Iran over the last fifty years. It is a rare window into a rich and varied world of protest, ideology, hope and fear. Essential for anybody interested in the country and the Middle East

Jason Burke, author of THE REVOLUTIONISTS

Stolen Revolution is a must-read for anyone seeking an honest appraisal of revolutionary Iran and the bloody twists and turns of its theocratic regime. By narrating Iran’s convulsive modern history through the lives of six Iranians in clear prose and engaging personal detail, authors Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati have turned a potentially complex story into one that is compulsively readable, and they deserve high praise for this achievement. I found Stolen Revolution unputdownable, and cannot recommend it highly enough

Jon Lee Anderson

A rare and riveting chronicle of a major political story of our time. Powerful personal stories are woven together to provide new insight and understanding. Well-researched, well-written and well worth reading

Lyse Doucet

Stolen Revolution is a vital dissection of Iran’s Islamic Republic over the past fifty years. Through the eyes of people at the heart of the country’s progressive resistance, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati reveal the deepest flaws of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime in Iran and the inspiring resilience of those fighting for its improvement. With the world’s gaze on Iran’s future, this compelling history is a must-read

Cara McGoogan, author of THE POISON LINE

Stolen Revolution is a captivating read, and illuminates the human motivations that drove the 1979 revolution and its fallout. Sharafedin and Torbati's intimate storytelling makes you feel like you have the rare privilege of really knowing the six Iranian protagonists – who will go on to surprise you in the decisions they take. Whether this is your first book on Iran or your tenth, it will show you something new

YUAN YANG, author of PRIVATE REVOLUTIONS

This book would have been important to read at any time, but now it is essential reading . . . beautifully written and – in its portrayal of the lives of key Iranians betrayed by the revolution – extraordinarily powerful

Jack Straw, former British Foreign Secretary

Rarely has a book been so timely, and so apposite. By chronicling the Iranian revolution through the lives of six Iranians – in the tradition of John Hersey’s classic Hiroshima – Sharafedin and Torbati tell the story of modern Iran in a compelling and accessible way. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the protests that broke out in January 2026, and the Islamic Republic’s resistance to the subsequent attacks by the US and Israel

Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News and author of I BROUGHT THE WAR WITH ME

A deeply reported and quietly devastating account of half a century of upheaval in the country. The result is one of the most perceptive books on modern Iran in years . . . There are scenes of striking intimacy . . . If the first half of Stolen Revolution traces the consolidation of power, the second turns to the persistence of resistance

Reza Aslan, New York Times

Brilliant . . . We can't recommend it highly enough

Sam Freedman & Lawrence Freedman, Comment is Freed

The most timely book is Stolen Revolution . . . The authors conclude of the natives who hoped Israeli strikes would bring down the Islamic Republic's rulers "that any Iranian would welcome such an assault was stark evidence of how deeply the Islamic Republic had alienated most of its people". This powerful book explains how matters reached such a stage

Martin Chilton, Independent

A riveting insight into the reality and complexity of an often demonised and misunderstood place . . . superb . . . reads like a high-octane political drama . . . With a cast of characters to rival War and Peace, and shaped by a rollercoaster narrative of political manoeuvring and backstabbing, Stolen Revolution is an impressive work of investigation, interviewing and analysis

Rosemary Goring, Herald

This account of the Islamic Republic and its discontents told via six contrasting lives should be required reading . . . Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati’s powerful history of the Islamic republic is a badly needed corrective because it is at once an engrossing story and a balanced, meticulously researched primer on modern Iran (the clearest I’ve ever read) . . . it is dramatic, personal and often heartbreaking

Dina Nayeri, Guardian

A blistering takedown of the Islamic Republic, revealing the structural rot on which it was built and the courage of those who resist it . . . The devastating sections on Kosar Eftekhari and Rozhin Yousefzadeh will move some readers to tears . . . Stolen Revolution is a genuinely remarkable achievement

Justin Marozzi, The Times

Superb

Spectator

The definitive inside story of how the ideals behind Iran's revolution were subverted and crushed - and of the brave Iranians who still keep those dreams alive

Catherine Belton, author of PUTIN'S PEOPLE

Two books I immensely enjoyed in recent months . . . I'd recommend Stolen Revolution by the journalists Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Yeganeh Torbati, which tracks the lives of six Iranians, including one major political figure, to reveal how the Islamic regime lost legitimacy. It's a book about courage, revolt and, above all, disappointment

Roula Khalaf, Financial Times

Outstanding . . . a brilliant and compelling tapestry of humanity and history using the stories of six Iranians, researched in 130 interviews . . . The inside story of Iranian politics is little known and often viewed with rose-tinted blinkers by sympathetic Westerners. Stolen Revolution tells it clear-sightedly and grippingly

Simon Sebag Montefiore, New Statesman