In 1953, Iran was at loggerheads with the US and UK, after Prime Minister Mossadeq nationalised Iran's oil reserves.

By 1968, under the autocratic rule of the Shah, Iran was a booming export economy, benefiting from high oil prices and consumer demand. It had unambiguously become a modern industrial economy.

Sifting through primary and secondary sources, Ali Rahnema charts Iran's progress in this vital fifteen-year period. He asks, who can claim the credit? And who bears the blame for its critical failures?